A/N: *dances* XD XD Yeah... I got off my lazy butt to write! GO ME! *cheers* Nothing to say here.. =3 just go on to read!!

Lalala~ This chapter may be a bit disturbing to few, for it hints a bit- A LITTLE BIT - of shounen ai. Shounen Ai lovers rejoice! *throws confetti* and Anit-Shounen Ai people beware. It's only a LITTLE bit, so don't worry. And no, the plot won't ride on the shounen ai, it just seemed to fit for this chapter =) Yes.. this is where the TRUE angst comes in! MWUAHAHA!

Disclaimer: Gaah.. you should already know this off by heart.

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Watashi no Tenshi Sukuinushi
(My Angel Savior)
Chapter 10: Corrupt and Tainted
By: Nadako-Mika




Dr. Kihatensu led the group of anxious teens down the corridor, down towards Ryou's ward. Yami noticed the deep frown embedded on the man's face, and wondered if something was wrong.

Up the stairway. Turn left. Down the long and unusually clean corridor. Turn left once more. They stopped infront of one of many doors leading into patients' rooms. 62, the door number read. Dr. Kihatensu turned around, to face the group of friends. He opened his mouth to speak, but stopped shortly and sighed, as if deciding against what he was about to say. There was a moment of silence before the man spoke.

"I must warn you," Kihatensu started, "Ryou's in an awful condition."

"How..awful?" Yuugi asked timidly.

"He- Well.. you'll have to see for yourself."

/Yami.. I don't like how he said that./

// Neither do I, Yuugi. //

/ Do you think Ryou's okay? /

// I... don't know. Let's hope. Let's hope. //

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An empty, cold, emotionless being. That was what Ryou was at the moment. He couldn't feel, he didn't want to feel. He couldn't think straight, but he didn't mind that. His vision was blurry, perhaps from the perspiration and tears. He felt the cold, though. He thought of anguish too, even saw pain. There was no explanation to it.

He had huddled up in a corner, shivering. He shuddered in fright, clawing at the wall for escape. Ryou had been this way for nearly a full day; shivering, scared, clawing endlessly and hopelessly at the wall. Blood had painted the scratch marks he had left. His fingertips were raw and red, yet he felt nothing. He was nothing.

'Other Me, where could you be?' he giggled quietly to himself at his tiny rhyme. 'Other Me, Other Me. Where in Seven Hells could you be?! You're killing me, can't you see?' Another fit of giggles erupted from the ill boy.

He was clearly losing his mind. He had no recollection of his other self, yet.. the phrase stuck with him.

'Other Me.' he thought over and over again. 'What is this Other Me? Who's half soul fits mine like a hole and a key. Where are you, Other Me? Come here and complete me!'

Scratch.. Claw..

He resumed to his futile efforts at escape.

The heavy metal doors creaked and slid open. The sound racked at Ryou's head like a hammer at nails. It startled him badly. He wanted so badly to scream and shield himself from the light that poured into his little room. He shielded his eye with the back of his hand, and shuddered violently at the brightness.

"Ryou? You're friends have come to visit."

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"R-Ryou?" Yuugi said meekly, staring at the heap of what was left of Ryou. "W-what happened to you? Ryou?!" The short teen ran quickly to the Ryou's side, tears streaming down his face. What had happened to his friend?

"Ryou? Can you hear me?" Yuugi shook his friend a bit, but no response. "Say something, Ryou!" he cried, "Ryou! What happened?!"

Yami shot a nasty look at the doctor. "What happened to him?" he asked calmly, his voice hinted much anger, "He wasn't like this the last time we visited. What did you do to him?"

Kihatensu looked away, unable to keep contact with those angry ruby eyes. "I did nothing to him," he stated stubbornly, "He did this on his own accord. He couldn't handle the stress and cracked."

Yami continued to glare at the man with anger and hatred.

"He's so cold..," Malik said quietly. He had made his way to Yuugi and Ryou, in efforts to comfort the small boy. "He's freezing."

"Ryou! Snap out of it!" Yuugi screamed, "Stop playing with us! Say something! Move! Breath! Anything!" He turned abruptly to his yami. "Yami! Can't you do anything?"

"...Ya..mi..?"

All eyes snapped to the corner of the dark little room. The corner where a heap of white lay, accompanied by a sobbing teen and a worried friend. Lifeless orbs of chocolate snapped open and peered about. The word sounded familiar to Ryou. "Yami". Why did it sound so familiar? The room was deathly silent as all attention was turned to the pale and sickly boy.

'Yami? Could it be? Yami is Other Me!' his thoughts were still in rhymes.

"Other Me? Yami?!" Ryou's eye shot open wide, glossed over with a hint of insanity. Ryou pushed himself forward, eventually crawling towards Yami.

The undead pharaoh tried to edge away as the boy clung onto his clothes, pulling him down a bit. Yami soon found himself face to face with Ryou, the white haired boy's eyes tinged with a sadistic feel. Yami fought the urge to gulp and scamper away. The hair on the back of his neck tingled as a slow, insane grin crept onto Ryou's features.

"You're killing me, don't you know?" Ryou whispered, "Other Me?"

Yami fought an involuntary shudder. Ryou could really be creepy, even if he was a Hikari. "I'm not your other half, Ryou. That would be Bakura you're talking about," he explained. He could hear his own voice shake with anxiety. Ryou was frightening him with his odd behavior.

Ryou dropped the smile, and frowned deeply. "You're not Other Me?" he asked. Yami shook his head in reply. "Ba..ku-ra? He is the Other Me?" For a moment, his expression seemed to soften and return to his timid-looking state- but only for a moment.

Another insane and sadistic grin had been plastered on Ryou's face. If he were to have fangs, some may have mistaken him for a beast. Large brown eyes- glowing with anxiety and insanity -surveyed the others who were present in his little room. "Where is he?" Ryou hissed dangerously, "Where is He? Other Me? My savior, my demon?"

Malik stepped back a bit, his sudden movement caught Ryou's attention. Ryou (who had still been on the floor at the time) crawled slowly, seemingly with much effort, towards the blond beauty. He hoisted himself up onto his legs, and leaned onto Malik, holding onto him for support.

Malik felt Ryou's breath near his ear, and he blushed at the thought of it. Ryou pulled away and looked at his friend with those insane chocolate eyes. He smirked.

"Why is your face red?" Ryou asked innocently, whispering into Malik's ear. He felt Malik tense. "Are you my Other Me? My angel and demon? Could you be him?" he asked again. He traced lazy circles on Malik's back, whilst leaning against him for support as he stood. His fingers left blood stains on the boy's back.

"N-no."

That was all the bold blonde could say at that time.

Ryou smirked again. "Hm? I couldn't quite hear your answer," he said. "Are you Him?" Ryou asked once again. Out of the corner of his eyes, he saw Malik's yami curl his fingers into a fist. Mariku's eyes had narrowed and was glaring at him. Ryou merely grinned slyly, sending a message saying 'Try me'.

"No, I'm not your other self," Malik replied again, with more confidence.

"Hm.. I didn't think so." Ryou pulled out of the awkward embrace, and stared up at his friend. "You're much too beautiful to be him," Ryou commented, smiling with innocence once again.

Malik blushed once more.

"You truly are...beautiful," Ryou said, tracing Malik's jawline with a finger. Smearing the blood from his fingers along the way.

"Well.. I- um.. Yeah, er..." Malik was blushing furiously, trying to find the right words to say.

Something cold was suddenly pressed up against the skin of his neck. Malik blinked and tried to look down. Ryou quickly lifted his chin up again.

"Uh-uh.. that wouldn't be a good idea, pretty one," Ryou said, the insanity was glowing in him once more, "You wouldn't want to cut your pretty head off, now would you?"

Malik's hands went up instantly to his neck. He felt something metallic, it's edges razor sharp. A knife? A dagger? But what was Ryou doing with it? He wasn't going to...kill him.. was he? Malik gulped. Just how ill was Ryou?

"Like I said before," Ryou's voice was back at his ear, "You're too beautiful. MUCH too beautiful." He pressed the dagger down a little bit, drawing a thin line of blood. Malik whimpered.

"Wha- What are you doing, Ryou?"

"You're too beautiful, much more beautiful than my Other Me, my angel, my demon," he pressed harder, increasing the amount of blood that dripped. "Pretty, pretty you. Too pretty. I can't have that, now can I? Other Me is the only one who is beautiful."

Malik closed his eyes tightly and shook violently. This was it. His friend was going to kill him...

The cold metal that had been pressed against his throat threateningly was suddenly removed. Malik opened his eyes to see Ryou crumpling to a heap on the floor, sobbing. The dagger only inches away from him. He didn't take the chance. Malik quickly moved towards his Yami, clinging onto him for dear life.

Yuugi, who had been watching the whole event, moved closer towards the broken boy. He was stopped short as Yami grabbed hold of his arm, not letting him move any closer. Yuugi frowned and turned to look at Ryou. "Ryou? Are you alright?" he asked.

Ryou whimpered at Yuugi's voice, as if it was deafening to the ear. "Why?...Why can't I find my Other Me?" he mumbled, mostly to himself.

"Ryou.." Yami said, "Bakura isn't here. I mean.. You're Other You.. he isn't here right now."

More tears streamed from Ryou's eyes. "Where is he? Do you know! DO YOU KNOW WHERE MY OTHER ME IS?!" he cried out.

Kihatensu stepped forward. He had seen enough. "You," he pointed to Yami, "Don't play along with his game. It will only make him worse!"

Yami stepped back, startled at the doctor's sudden out burst. Game? The doctor didn't know anything about Ryou's life, about his Yami.. about the group of six. He didn't know anything!

"Game?" Ryou said, still sobbing, "Maybe that's it. It's just a game. Other Me is only playing a game with me. He'll come to me soon!"

"He's a mess..." Mariku stated, looking down at the heap of a sobbing Ryou.

"We'll need to give him some sort of sedative," Kihatensu said, "He needs to calm down. I think it's best that you all leave right now and give him the rest he needs."

They all nodded in a silent agreement and proceeded to leave the stuffed little room. Yami stopped just before walking out the door, suddenly remembering something. He quickly ran back to Ryou, before the doctor could urge him out. He pulled from his pockets the rare red gem he had acquired from Ryou's Yami.

Gently placing the stone around Ryou's neck, Yami said, "Don't take this off, Ryou." Then left to join the others.

As Kihatensu was escorting the group down the hall, Yuugi spoke up. "Doctor? Did Ryou by any chance have a large pendant with him when he arrived?" he asked sweetly.

Yami shot his Hikari a questioning look.

"A large pendant?" wondered the doctor, "Yes, I think I took it from him a few days ago. A sort of large ring with dangling points, right?"

Yuugi smiled brightly, "Yes! That's the one! Could we -er- possibly keep hold of it for Ryou? Along with his other things? His father's coming back soon and would probably like to keep his things." Yuugi asked, coating his voice with sugar and honey.

"Well, I guess that wouldn't be a problem." Kihatensu replied, stopping in his stride. "Why don't I take you to his belongings, then you could pick them up." He turned in the other direction and began walking again.

"Thanks a lot! We really appreciate it!" Yuugi said as he smiled again. He took step behind the doctor, turned back to the group and winked.

Yami chuckled at his Hikari's antic and proceeded to follow the doctor as well.

They had arrived in a large storage room with many shelves. Boxes with the names of patients in the complex were placed neatly in rows on the large steel shelves. The group walked passed each one, looking for the box that had Ryou's name on it. When they had finally found it amongst the many other boxes, they hastily flipped it open. They dug their way through Ryou's various items until they found their desired item: the Sennen Ring.

Yami looked up from the box and met Malik's eyes. He looked at the Egyptian's own Sennen item, then shifted his eyes to the waiting doctor. Malik quickly got the message.

"Doctor, I think the intercom is calling you down to your office." Malik said, his hand firmly gripping the Sennen Rod.

"What do you mean? I don't hear-" Kihatensu's eyes quickly glossed over. "I'll be back in a minute. I forgot something in my office," he said in an unfeeling voice, then left the room.

Mariku closed and locked the door after the doctor. He nodded to Yami.

"Okay. Now that Ryou has one half of the gem, and we found the Ring, what are we going to do?" Yuugi asked.

"Well.." Yami said, still thinking about the situation. "One of us will have to go into the Ring and bring the other half of the gem with them."

"Easier said than done, Pharoah." Mariku retorted.

"Is it even possible to go into another's item?" Yuugi asked.

"Yes, but the undead Pharoah here is the only one with the ability to do it." Mariku pointed out. He patted Yami on the back, "Good luck!"

Yami rolled his eyes. Like he needed any luck from THAT guy. He checked his pockets to make sure he still had the other half of the Setsuzoku-Tama. Then he prepared himself for the brief journey ahead of him. Just before entering the Ring, Yami turned to his Hikari. "Make sure that fool of a doctor doesn't come in."

Yuugi saluted in mockery, "Sure thing!"

And in he went, deep into the center of the Sennen Ring.

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"Checkmate!"

"What?! Again!? That's the fifth time in a row!" Bakura pulled at his hair, obviously frustrated by the game's outcomes. His Dark smirked. "You're cheating somehow! I KNOW YOU ARE!"

His Dark shrugged. "How the Hell does one cheat in a game of chess?"

Bakura's brow twitched. "You're reading my mind somehow! I know it! You must have some special ability, or something! YEAH! THAT'S IT!-- What? What's so funny?!"

Bakura's Darker conscience doubled over with laughter. "You forget that I AM you, and that I reside IN your mind. Of course I know what you're thinking!" He grinned wickedly.

"Another game! I'll find a way to block my thoughts from you! I'll win for sure this time!" Bakura stomped about, he hated this losing streak. In the physical world, he lost every time to that damned Pharaoh, and now, within his own mind, he was losing to 'himself'!

"You're on!" his dark smirked.

Silence. Deep concentration.. and then.. "HAH! I TOOK YOUR PAWN!" Bakura shouted out in victory.

"Yes, well.. I just took your king. Checkmate!"

Just before Bakura could turn over the chess board in a fit of rage, and possibly try to strangle his Darker Thoughts, a bright light erupted. As the light subsided, Bakura and his Dark were left blinking stupidly at the person in front of them.

"Pharaoh?"

"What, Tomb Robber?"

"What in Seven Hells are you doing here?"

"....."

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A/N: Oh jeeze. After FOUR months and I finally complete this chapter! REJOICE FOR I HAVE.. I HAVE... Finished this chapter? ^^;; I think I'm starting to get bored with drawing, so I'll be writing a bit more. I spoke with my mom the other day, and she told me that I should finish my progressing fanfics before I work on any more art. Being the great advice giver she is.. I followed it. Aren't you all glad?! YOU SHOULD BE! XD

Ah-hahahah! Ryou actually cracked! O_o Scary, isn't it? Oh well.. Let us hope that Bakura will save his Hikari soon.. or we'll all have nightmares of Ryou all bloody and seductive. Wait.. that's a nightmare? No.. couldn't be... X3

Yeah, ok. I have nothing else to say here...

Thank you for whoever's still continuing to read this after many months of not updating x_x I really, really appreciate it! *huggies for you all!*

I'm not going to respond to reviews this time. Why? It's been so long, I doubt you'd remember your question -____- sorry....

Thank you's to: koosei, duenna, Ciu Sune, Mina-chan AMD, Cettie-girl, Johanna Gen, sdrive, Windswift, Elle-FaTe2x1, UltimateKane99, Dragon Pearl1, Evil Chibi Malik, person6, VampssAmby10210, Anime Crazed, Mooncinder, UnknownDarkMystery, viva rose, Taichi Prime