Chapter 5: The Darkness Liberated and the Search for Ryou Begins
That darkness was all around him. It was the barrier that kept him from escaping. It was the marionette that was created to fight him with unrelenting hatred. It was the fiery sphere of energy that sent Ryou flying back. It was the darkness that he had though he grew accustomed to that was now mindset on killing him, just because Ryou fought back to survive the hellish nightmare.
Even though it was only a few seconds ago, it seemed like an eternity of wishing that this was all just another bad dream. That he would once again wake up in his own room with a few bruises from his yami's latest heist of the local jewelry store or wherever and having his said yami detailing the stolen item for resale value. Oh how he had wished it would be just another illusion in his head.
But life is never the way one wants it to be. Fate will relentlessly rip your dreams of a normal, peaceful life away as deliver pain and despair in its place. Yes, Fate was a force to be reckoned with and it seemed like a worthless attempt; trying to overcome Fate. It always seemed ironic to Ryou that Fate had it out for particular people.
Ryou being one of those people. At first he though that his life would be peaceful once again, like it was before he was given the Millennium Ring, that Battle City had been won by Yugi and the spirit of the Millennium Puzzle, Yami and when the darkness that plagued Ryou was rid of forever. But Fate dealt a devastating blow which came in the form of a field trip.
It was all because of the stupid field trip that he had tried to 'save' the Kagome girl from falling into the well, not knowing she had spent a full year becoming accustomed to the Feudal Era and learning to protect herself from the monsters and madmen that inhabited it.
But Fate had been ready to strike again. Whoever the employer of the Shadow Magic user was had wanted Ryou, most likely for some kind of trophy of even as another of countless servants. And now, with Ryou's worst fear coming to life, the Panic-look-alike just smirked as another fiery ball of Shadow Magic struck home, hitting Ryou square in the chest, and having his Bakura marionette charge up another.
Ryou lay on the ground at the base of a nearby tree. His breaths were shallow and his lungs were heavy, possible filled with his spilt blood. Small flows of blood were present at almost all openings in his being. His whole body was filled with the fiery burning of pain. He was now at the mercy of his darker half as his blood was mixed with tears.
"Bakura. . .why?" It was a short breath, almost all Ryou could afford in his condition.
"Isn't it obvious you fool? By getting rid of you, your vessel will be without a soul and mine of the taking. I will no longer have to worry about you getting in the way with your notions of friendship and what not.
With Yugi and his friends still believing I'm gone, it will be easy to take them out one by one. And not only will I be rid of them, Yugi's Millennium Puzzle will be mine! Just like Fate destined it." 'Bakura' laughed.
"Fate?!" Ryou asked, his voice was filled with malice and anger. "What do. .-you know about . . Fate?! You just. . go around hurting people. . for your own fun! Not to mention. . MY FRIENDS!" The pain lo longer meant anything for Ryou. He stood up, completely oblivious to the warning pains sent from all over his body. An aura of purple mist resonated from within him as several of his own wounds were beginning to heal themselves.
"Ever since you showed up, you've done nothing but destroy the lives of the people who try to be my friends; who try to help me in life. And now, just when I think I've found friends who can be there for me and I can be there for them, you plan on killing them?!"
The Panic-look-alike began to look a bit discouraged. It had now seemed to have been a bad idea for the marionette to insult the boy's friends. With the sudden explosion of anger and sorrow, he could sense Ryou's power exceeding to levels beyond his own.
"And besides," Ryou continued. "You of all people should know what happens to you if I die."
"What are you talking about?" The Bakura fake questioned "Of course I know what will happen, your body will be left without a soul and free for the taking!"
"If you really are Bakura you should remember the duel you had with Yugi and Yami at Duelist Kingdom!"
Flashback
Bakura sneered as the spirit of the Millennium Puzzle had reused his Monster Reborn card to bring back the Flame Swordsman, with Joey's soul trapped with in it. Joey had been rescued and now the effect of the Electric Lizard was no longer in effect and the Dark Magician, the card with Yugi's soul within it, was free to attack again. There where enough good cards within his hand to take out some of Yugi's friends, but there was one play in particular that he knew would automatically win him the duel.
Bakura had drawn the Change of Heart card, the one he would use to defeat Yugi and claim the Millennium Puzzle as his own.
"NO!" Yugi shouted in protest. "I refuse."
"You won't have a choice. For once I play the Change of Heart card, I will use you to destroy your friends!" Bakura had snapped back.
"Leave the young one out of this!" Came a shout from the spirit of the Millennium Puzzle.
"Why should I? By simply destroying him I destroy you as well! If you'd die to protect him, then protect him from this!"
End Flashback
The marionette Bakura had his eyes wide open in shock. And that was the perfect opening for Ryou. The up side to being blasted into the tree was the fallen branches. Ryou grasped one in his left hand and dashed towards the false Bakura. Now holding the branch in both hands, Ryou put all him might into the single swing. The branch flew threw the air and smashed broad side into the marionette Bakura's stomach.
Ryou quickly withdrew the branch, the Millennium Ring alight with unbridled rage and boundless confidence, and brought it down on the back of Bakura's head. The branch snapped as the false yami was sent clear across the battlefield from the force of the blow. But the assault didn't stop there. Black fire burned in Ryou's hand and the Millennium Ring danced, Shadow Magic coursing through it.
A sphere of Shadow Magic launched from Ryou's hand collided where the fake Bakura. A whirlwind of darkness burned the area, ripping the memory out of this dimension. The ground was scorched with burn marks whilst nearby plants were faintly burning.
A small speck of water fell on Ryou's head. Snapping out of his trancelike state from staring at the scars of shadow magic, he looked up. A small thicket of clouds covered the sky, causing a small sprinkle of rain to fall. It had been a nice change from the constant darkness of the shadow barrio. Ryou closed his eyes as a few drops fell on his face.
His eyes quickly bolted open and a frantic search of the area. The only way the rain could have hit him was if the shadow barrier had been dropped, meaning the Panic look-alike was getting away. Black fire burned around Ryou's hands again, but this time, his eyes went a shade of red.
A few yards behind him in the forest, a pillar of black wind and fire sprang into the sky, followed by the final scream of Lord Sesshomaru's Shadow Spy.
"I don't give a dam about whom the hell that kid is, I'm not going after him! The bastard brought those stupid hands to us, its probably best that they take him away and leave us alone so we can do more important things like try and find more jewel shards!"
"Inuyasha you arrogant, self-centered jerk! How dare you talk that way about Ryou!"
"Why should you care how I talk about him? You don't even know him!"
"It doesn't matter! He's lost somewhere in Japan and we got to help him or else who know what could happen! He could turn out to potentially be one of the most power people in the entire world in my time and if he dies, MY WORLD IS SCREWED! So were gunna go and find him!"
"Make me, ya damn wench!"
"FINE!"
"Here it comes" Miroku sighed.
"SIT, SIT, SIT, SIT, SIT!"
Inuyasha and Kagome had been at it again, performing another one of their daily arguments which ended up with Kagome sitting Inuyasha. Miroku, Sango, and Shippo just looked on at the fuming girl and the newly formed, smoldering Inuyasha-sized crater.
"What's our count for today?" Sango asked.
Miroku dipped a hand into one of his many robe pockets and pulled out a slip of paper and an automatic writing wand Kagome had given him for his birthday. A few more marks were made and a total count of bunches were tallied. "That's seventeen for this week. I have a feeling they'll be at twenty five by the end of it."
"You're on." Sango replied. "I have my bet on thirty."
"I'll bet a paralysis scroll on forty." Shippo chimed in.
Miroku pulled another item out of his robe pockets. This one was a small box make of chestnut and iron. Miroku placed the bets in the box and locked it with the key. "Kilala, if you please." The small pyromaniac-favorite cat meowed, taking the key and hid it somewhere in its large pelt.
"So, Inuyasha. Have you changed your mind on whether or not you want to go rescue Ryou?" Kagome asked politely considering their previous argument.
Inuyasha picked himself up from the crater, followed by sever loud snaps which most likely came from his back popping back into place. "What the hell was that about?"
"No? SIT!"
"Why you-!"
"SIT!"
"I'm gunna-!"
"SIT!"
"FINE! You damn wench, I'll look for the damn kid, just no more sit commands!"
"That's the spirit, Inuyasha!" Stated Kagome in an all too chipper and clearly fake attitude. "Oh, and before I forget, SIT!" Inuyasha's face smacked against the ground again, this time making a nice three foot hole. "That's for calling me a wench."
"Twenty one, Miroku. At this rate it looks like I'll be taking this week's pot. Wouldn't you say?" Sango boasted.
"Though it does seem that way," Miroku agreed. "We should count you the winner yet. Remember, Shippo has his bet at forty. If these two stay in a bad mood, it's almost likely he could win."
"What are you two talking about?!" An outburst coming from both Kagome and Inuyasha. Sango, Miroku, and Shippo sweat dropped.
"Nothing, Kagome. In fact, I was just about t5o ask Sango if she would bear my-" WHAP!
The Hirakotsu rested softly back on Sango's shoulder after giving Miroku a knockout smack to the head. "Lecher." Was all she muttered before throwing the monk's body on the back of the transformed Saber Tooth Tiger-like Kilala, before mounting on herself.
Neither Kagome nor Inuyasha wanted to get in the way of Sango after she knocked out Miroku because of one of his stunts. Kagome climbed on behind Sango as the giant cat leapt into the sky, flying on flames that covered the neko youkai's feet and two tails. Inuyasha, being the energetic demon that he was, followed on foot.
Xero: Wow. I though I got rid of the writers block, and I probably did, but I hope you liked the fifth chapter. I hope you know by now I'm not a very good fight scene writer. Ja Ne!
That darkness was all around him. It was the barrier that kept him from escaping. It was the marionette that was created to fight him with unrelenting hatred. It was the fiery sphere of energy that sent Ryou flying back. It was the darkness that he had though he grew accustomed to that was now mindset on killing him, just because Ryou fought back to survive the hellish nightmare.
Even though it was only a few seconds ago, it seemed like an eternity of wishing that this was all just another bad dream. That he would once again wake up in his own room with a few bruises from his yami's latest heist of the local jewelry store or wherever and having his said yami detailing the stolen item for resale value. Oh how he had wished it would be just another illusion in his head.
But life is never the way one wants it to be. Fate will relentlessly rip your dreams of a normal, peaceful life away as deliver pain and despair in its place. Yes, Fate was a force to be reckoned with and it seemed like a worthless attempt; trying to overcome Fate. It always seemed ironic to Ryou that Fate had it out for particular people.
Ryou being one of those people. At first he though that his life would be peaceful once again, like it was before he was given the Millennium Ring, that Battle City had been won by Yugi and the spirit of the Millennium Puzzle, Yami and when the darkness that plagued Ryou was rid of forever. But Fate dealt a devastating blow which came in the form of a field trip.
It was all because of the stupid field trip that he had tried to 'save' the Kagome girl from falling into the well, not knowing she had spent a full year becoming accustomed to the Feudal Era and learning to protect herself from the monsters and madmen that inhabited it.
But Fate had been ready to strike again. Whoever the employer of the Shadow Magic user was had wanted Ryou, most likely for some kind of trophy of even as another of countless servants. And now, with Ryou's worst fear coming to life, the Panic-look-alike just smirked as another fiery ball of Shadow Magic struck home, hitting Ryou square in the chest, and having his Bakura marionette charge up another.
Ryou lay on the ground at the base of a nearby tree. His breaths were shallow and his lungs were heavy, possible filled with his spilt blood. Small flows of blood were present at almost all openings in his being. His whole body was filled with the fiery burning of pain. He was now at the mercy of his darker half as his blood was mixed with tears.
"Bakura. . .why?" It was a short breath, almost all Ryou could afford in his condition.
"Isn't it obvious you fool? By getting rid of you, your vessel will be without a soul and mine of the taking. I will no longer have to worry about you getting in the way with your notions of friendship and what not.
With Yugi and his friends still believing I'm gone, it will be easy to take them out one by one. And not only will I be rid of them, Yugi's Millennium Puzzle will be mine! Just like Fate destined it." 'Bakura' laughed.
"Fate?!" Ryou asked, his voice was filled with malice and anger. "What do. .-you know about . . Fate?! You just. . go around hurting people. . for your own fun! Not to mention. . MY FRIENDS!" The pain lo longer meant anything for Ryou. He stood up, completely oblivious to the warning pains sent from all over his body. An aura of purple mist resonated from within him as several of his own wounds were beginning to heal themselves.
"Ever since you showed up, you've done nothing but destroy the lives of the people who try to be my friends; who try to help me in life. And now, just when I think I've found friends who can be there for me and I can be there for them, you plan on killing them?!"
The Panic-look-alike began to look a bit discouraged. It had now seemed to have been a bad idea for the marionette to insult the boy's friends. With the sudden explosion of anger and sorrow, he could sense Ryou's power exceeding to levels beyond his own.
"And besides," Ryou continued. "You of all people should know what happens to you if I die."
"What are you talking about?" The Bakura fake questioned "Of course I know what will happen, your body will be left without a soul and free for the taking!"
"If you really are Bakura you should remember the duel you had with Yugi and Yami at Duelist Kingdom!"
Flashback
Bakura sneered as the spirit of the Millennium Puzzle had reused his Monster Reborn card to bring back the Flame Swordsman, with Joey's soul trapped with in it. Joey had been rescued and now the effect of the Electric Lizard was no longer in effect and the Dark Magician, the card with Yugi's soul within it, was free to attack again. There where enough good cards within his hand to take out some of Yugi's friends, but there was one play in particular that he knew would automatically win him the duel.
Bakura had drawn the Change of Heart card, the one he would use to defeat Yugi and claim the Millennium Puzzle as his own.
"NO!" Yugi shouted in protest. "I refuse."
"You won't have a choice. For once I play the Change of Heart card, I will use you to destroy your friends!" Bakura had snapped back.
"Leave the young one out of this!" Came a shout from the spirit of the Millennium Puzzle.
"Why should I? By simply destroying him I destroy you as well! If you'd die to protect him, then protect him from this!"
End Flashback
The marionette Bakura had his eyes wide open in shock. And that was the perfect opening for Ryou. The up side to being blasted into the tree was the fallen branches. Ryou grasped one in his left hand and dashed towards the false Bakura. Now holding the branch in both hands, Ryou put all him might into the single swing. The branch flew threw the air and smashed broad side into the marionette Bakura's stomach.
Ryou quickly withdrew the branch, the Millennium Ring alight with unbridled rage and boundless confidence, and brought it down on the back of Bakura's head. The branch snapped as the false yami was sent clear across the battlefield from the force of the blow. But the assault didn't stop there. Black fire burned in Ryou's hand and the Millennium Ring danced, Shadow Magic coursing through it.
A sphere of Shadow Magic launched from Ryou's hand collided where the fake Bakura. A whirlwind of darkness burned the area, ripping the memory out of this dimension. The ground was scorched with burn marks whilst nearby plants were faintly burning.
A small speck of water fell on Ryou's head. Snapping out of his trancelike state from staring at the scars of shadow magic, he looked up. A small thicket of clouds covered the sky, causing a small sprinkle of rain to fall. It had been a nice change from the constant darkness of the shadow barrio. Ryou closed his eyes as a few drops fell on his face.
His eyes quickly bolted open and a frantic search of the area. The only way the rain could have hit him was if the shadow barrier had been dropped, meaning the Panic look-alike was getting away. Black fire burned around Ryou's hands again, but this time, his eyes went a shade of red.
A few yards behind him in the forest, a pillar of black wind and fire sprang into the sky, followed by the final scream of Lord Sesshomaru's Shadow Spy.
"I don't give a dam about whom the hell that kid is, I'm not going after him! The bastard brought those stupid hands to us, its probably best that they take him away and leave us alone so we can do more important things like try and find more jewel shards!"
"Inuyasha you arrogant, self-centered jerk! How dare you talk that way about Ryou!"
"Why should you care how I talk about him? You don't even know him!"
"It doesn't matter! He's lost somewhere in Japan and we got to help him or else who know what could happen! He could turn out to potentially be one of the most power people in the entire world in my time and if he dies, MY WORLD IS SCREWED! So were gunna go and find him!"
"Make me, ya damn wench!"
"FINE!"
"Here it comes" Miroku sighed.
"SIT, SIT, SIT, SIT, SIT!"
Inuyasha and Kagome had been at it again, performing another one of their daily arguments which ended up with Kagome sitting Inuyasha. Miroku, Sango, and Shippo just looked on at the fuming girl and the newly formed, smoldering Inuyasha-sized crater.
"What's our count for today?" Sango asked.
Miroku dipped a hand into one of his many robe pockets and pulled out a slip of paper and an automatic writing wand Kagome had given him for his birthday. A few more marks were made and a total count of bunches were tallied. "That's seventeen for this week. I have a feeling they'll be at twenty five by the end of it."
"You're on." Sango replied. "I have my bet on thirty."
"I'll bet a paralysis scroll on forty." Shippo chimed in.
Miroku pulled another item out of his robe pockets. This one was a small box make of chestnut and iron. Miroku placed the bets in the box and locked it with the key. "Kilala, if you please." The small pyromaniac-favorite cat meowed, taking the key and hid it somewhere in its large pelt.
"So, Inuyasha. Have you changed your mind on whether or not you want to go rescue Ryou?" Kagome asked politely considering their previous argument.
Inuyasha picked himself up from the crater, followed by sever loud snaps which most likely came from his back popping back into place. "What the hell was that about?"
"No? SIT!"
"Why you-!"
"SIT!"
"I'm gunna-!"
"SIT!"
"FINE! You damn wench, I'll look for the damn kid, just no more sit commands!"
"That's the spirit, Inuyasha!" Stated Kagome in an all too chipper and clearly fake attitude. "Oh, and before I forget, SIT!" Inuyasha's face smacked against the ground again, this time making a nice three foot hole. "That's for calling me a wench."
"Twenty one, Miroku. At this rate it looks like I'll be taking this week's pot. Wouldn't you say?" Sango boasted.
"Though it does seem that way," Miroku agreed. "We should count you the winner yet. Remember, Shippo has his bet at forty. If these two stay in a bad mood, it's almost likely he could win."
"What are you two talking about?!" An outburst coming from both Kagome and Inuyasha. Sango, Miroku, and Shippo sweat dropped.
"Nothing, Kagome. In fact, I was just about t5o ask Sango if she would bear my-" WHAP!
The Hirakotsu rested softly back on Sango's shoulder after giving Miroku a knockout smack to the head. "Lecher." Was all she muttered before throwing the monk's body on the back of the transformed Saber Tooth Tiger-like Kilala, before mounting on herself.
Neither Kagome nor Inuyasha wanted to get in the way of Sango after she knocked out Miroku because of one of his stunts. Kagome climbed on behind Sango as the giant cat leapt into the sky, flying on flames that covered the neko youkai's feet and two tails. Inuyasha, being the energetic demon that he was, followed on foot.
Xero: Wow. I though I got rid of the writers block, and I probably did, but I hope you liked the fifth chapter. I hope you know by now I'm not a very good fight scene writer. Ja Ne!