HCG: Aaaand, we're back for the long awaited chapter 4 of Negative Chaos...the one when NR Bakura and Ryou are introduced!
NR Bakura: *grins* Ah, my adoring fans all love me...I'm just so damned cool ^_~
HCG: *snickers* Of course you are! ^_^
NR Ryou: *dryly* Har, har. I, for one, think your readers/reviewers have bitten off more than they can chew when they requested myself and my yami make an appearance.
HCG: o_O;; NR Ryou? How'd you get here?
NR Ryou: My yami conveniently shares the same body as I do. He comes through the Realm Gate, so I do too.
HCG: Oooh...I see....well, in any case, I think I'm gonna have some fun writing up your personality *grins* I think the readers may be pleasantly shocked at the outcome...
Karma: But...didn't they see NR Ryou in "Shadow Turned Light"?
Kaiba: No, remember, he was either delirious and in pain, or JUST recovering from being sick and therefore not acting the same as usual. You know, how when you aren't feeling well you act way different than normal?
Karma: I...suppose...
HCG: But the point is, the readers HAVEN'T seen how NR Ryou acts yet. *evil grin*
NR Ryou: ¬_¬;;
HCG: Anyway, we shall now move onto the reviewers notes!
stupid kid 04 and blah ~ *blinks in confusion* You know...I'm not QUITE sure that you mentioned that you can't wait...could you perhaps say it again?
Towairaito Zoon ~ I get the pun! I get the pun! *rolls on the floor, laughing*
Karma: ¬_¬;; You are in DESPRATE need of a Vanilla Coke...too bad you gave it up for Lent...*watches HCG as she continues to laugh hysterically*
Silver Fang ~ Everybody DOES need an evil laugh, it's true! Oh, and as for your "Kaiba name suggestion"--a good idea, but I've already had the name situation planned out for a while. Chapters 3 and 4 (and maybe a bit of 5) will have the "confusing" touch, but after that it should be relatively easy to understand. I think YOU'LL understand THIS more after you finish the chapter ^_^
Aibou ~ x_X Yeah, I had the same problem with those signs...though it took me, I dunno, three reviews before I actually realized that everything I wrote AFTER the signs had been completely erased -_-;; Oh, and NR Kaiba appreciates you feeling bad for him, because, well, nobody really mentioned him ^_^;;
NR Kaiba: *growls* Everybody loves Bakura, not me!
NR Bakura: *hugged* @_@ At least you don't get pounced on as much as I do! And I want a refund on that defective Anti-Hug Shield!
Wingleader Sora Jade ~ Yeah, True Realm Ryou probably WILL have a fit if he doesn't die of a heart attack first, XD. Oh, and yes, yes you're right! *repeats "Long Chapter is Good" over and over* And, here's a challenge for you: while editing this story, I ran over an accidental pun/weird similarity in the first bit that I hadn't noticed when I was writing it--it connects to chapter 1 of your story, "Visions of the Heart." Can you find it? ^_~
Daricio ~ So you predicted NR Kaiba's little misfortune, huh? Smart you are ^_~
NR Bakura: O_O;; They broke my defective Anti-Hug Shield with a saw?! Will the insanity never end?!
HCG: I doubt it.
NR Bakura: *sighs* *signs his autograph for Daricio*
HCG: *reads over the rest of the review* And...you put me on your Fave Authors list? You admire my writing?! You look up to me?! WOW!
NR Kaiba: *observing* Geeze, Daricio, you're making her head swell with pride. I wouldn't be surprised if she explodes from that growing ego in a few hours.
HCG: *still grinning* Seriously, though, I am honored that you'd say such a thing about me and my writing ^_^ Thanks!
ANYWAY...now that the notes are done, and I really have nothing else to say...well...shall we start the fic?
NR Bakura: Of course! I wanna kick that idiot True Self of mine's a--
HCG: *whacks him over the head with the keyboard* NO UN-NEEDED SWEARING! It's bad enough I put it in my actual stories, I don't want to hear it from you when you're off duty!
NR Bakura: @_@ Okay...
NR Ryou + Kaiba: *snicker*
HCG: Okay...Karma! Disclaimer!
Karma: Aaah, the dreaded disclaimer. As said previously, High Crystal Guardian does not own Yu-Gi-Oh or any of it's characters. The plot, Negative Realm, and Negative personalities are credited to HCG, however, and she would greatly appreciate it if you ASKED before using them. As for myself, I do belong to Guardian. And Slash does too, though he's disappeared for the past few chapters and we're not sure where he went...
Kaiba: *breaks in* He's probably robbing some high-security area with Bakura again -_-;;
NR Bakura: o_O;;
HCG: Anyway! On to Chapter 4...first, notes!
/word/ ~ Yugi to Yami
//word// ~ Yami to Yugi
word ~ Ryou to Bakura
word ~ Bakura to Ryou
italics are thoughts or dreams/memories
As for Bakura...Ryou's the light side, Bakura's the darker half.
"hikari" un-capitalized will probably mean Ryou, while "Hikari" capitalized means Yugi
Another note, much the same as the last...confusing-ness enclosed in chapter! Again, there will be a meeting between two of the same person, so Negative characters will often be pointed out when I say "The Negative" or "The opposite." True Realm characters are referred to in a normal way. I swear, this is almost over! You'll see why at the end of the chapter ^_~
Oh, and I think it's pretty easy to see where this chapter is starting, but just to clarify...True Realm Ryou and Bakura first. And yes, I am just like all other Ryou/Bakura centered fic writers...although I DO have a much different ending than you'll probably find in all the other fics out there ^_^ And there's the obvious fact that it's not centered entirely around Ryou and Bakura, too...but....*gets pelted by reviewers with random objects* Okay, okay! I'll start the fic, I swear!
Negative Chaos
Chapter 4: Traitor and Thief
Ryou Bakura yelped in pain as he was thrown violently against the far wall for the third time in a row, sliding down the surface and crumpling in a heap at it's foot. The bitter taste of blood filled his mouth, and he hastily swallowed, the sticky substance taking it's time to roll down his throat and out of the way. Groaning, he curled up in a tight ball and fought the urge to leap up and run away from his attacker.
Running only makes it worse, he thought to himself, wincing as a sting of pain ran up his leg from one of the previous injuries. When you run, you're in for double the punishment when he catches you.
Still moaning in pain, the white-haired teen raised his head slightly and glanced frantically around the room. A small trickle of blood slipped down into his eye, darkening his vision for a second, and he hastily blinked it out of the way in order to better his sight. Despite his efforts, it didn't do him much good; the room was completely pitch black, a result of the closed shades over the windows and the lights being turned off. He shuddered and huddled further into the wall, as if trying to transport himself through it. His yami had always enjoyed impairing his lighter half's vision in such ways as punishing him in the darkness--it made it easy to attack from any side without so much as a warning for his victim, thus increasing the pain and the terror.
Abruptly, Ryou's yami--Bakura--seemed to grow out of the darkness, the gloom practically clinging to him as he paced forward. The spirit possessed the same silver-white hair as his hikari, though it was more sharply spiked and in some places resembled down-curved horns, like that of a demon. Narrowed brown eyes and a deadly, serious grin completed his facial look, and his clothes were the same as that of his host's--a simple tee-shirt and jacket, with light blue jeans and sneakers. A copy of the Millennium Ring, hanging around his neck, glowed dangerously.
The yami began to speak in a harsh, growling voice. "Well, well," he hissed, directing his speech towards the huddled Light soul on the ground at his feet. "So you finally built up the guts to disobey me, did you? I promise you, you will suffer for it."
He speaks as if I haven't already, Ryou thought to himself bitterly, careful not to let the thoughts travel across the mind-link. Despite his thoughts, however, he said nothing.
Bakura gave a half-hearted kick, aimed at his host's side, though he looked almost bored. "Now, Ryou, why did you disregard my orders?" The words had a dangerous tone woven into them, and the lighter of the two whimpered slightly, frightened.
"What did I do?" the hikari managed to gasp, forcing himself to sit up, but carefully keeping his eyes downcast to prove his yami's dominance.
"What did you do?!" Bakura yelled suddenly, his hissing voice nearly rising to a shriek. "What did you do?!" He yelled again, his eyes blazing in a fiery brown inferno. Without warning, he shot his hand down, grasping his host by the neck and closing his hand tightly. His grip firm, he half-pulled, half-lifted the younger boy to his feet, forcing him to stand on his toes or be strangled. His breathing becoming harder, Ryou quickly allowed his yami to jerk him upward, going limp and giving no struggle whatsoever. He only concentrated on breathing, a feat within itself. Noticing this, Bakura lessened his grip by a fraction, and Ryou gasped gratefully. It was still hard to get the air he needed, but he was no longer cut off from his oxygen supply as before, and that made all the difference.
"I'll tell you what you did," his yami continued, growling softly and cracking the fingers on his free hand. "You went to that party I told you specifically not to go to. You heard me restrict you from it, and you went anyway. You do not disobey the rules that I give you!" To emphasize his point, Bakura pulled his hand--still holding Ryou's neck--backwards, slamming him into the wall again with force. The poor teen's head whipped painfully, and a shiver of agony ran down his spine. The tomb robber, ignoring his lighter half's new groan of pain, brought his face very close to the other boy's, burning eyes meeting soft innocent ones. "Do you understand me?!"
Ryou nodded vigorously, even that small movement sending bolts of pain swimming through his head. "I do, I swear! Please, please just stop!" He winced again, clamping his eyes shut as his darker half began to speak menacingly once more.
"No," Bakura hissed, his tone decisive, almost taunting. "No, I don't think you did understand me. Perhaps I should continue with our little lesson, then." A small, twisted grin appeared on the thief's face, and he reached into his back pocket with his free hand.
Oh, no, Ryou thought to himself suddenly, his eyes widening in fear. God, no. He's...he's going for his knife...another whimper of terror, strangled sounding, escaped his throat, before he suddenly went mute, as though his mind had shut his voice off.
The grin of his yami widened considerably, and his hand began to withdraw from his pocket. A small glint of light, a reflection of the Millennium Ring's glow, glimmered on the blade of a long, freshly-sharpened knife. Eyes now burning, the spirit brought the knife closer to his host, ignoring the squirming of the teen as he tried desperately to wrench away from where the blade met flesh.
"Enjoy your lesson," Bakura hissed, as he began to place pressure on where the knife tip rested--somewhere around the base of Ryou's neck, though not too close to his throat. A small flow of blood began to seep out of the cut, and the white-haired teen bit his lip in preparation for the pain that would come within seconds...
...And felt a flood of relief as, unexpectedly, the doorbell rang, it's chime resounding through the house like an angel's harp.
Bakura withdrew the knife as if it had been yanked out of his hand, jerking his head to look over his shoulder towards the door. The small glass pane set into the top of the door showed a small flurry of movement outside, and a dim outline of a figure, though the glass was frosted and did not show detail well--it was impossible to identify the person standing on the doorstep.
Cursing, the tomb robber released his hold on Ryou's neck, letting the boy drop unceremoniously to the floor. "Get up," he hissed angrily, giving his host one last, vicious kick. "Answer that. Get rid of whoever it is quick. We haven't finished our lesson for the day." The last word was said with a sneer, before the physical appearance of the spirit faded away into the air--he had returned to the Ring.
Still gasping, Ryou managed to pull himself to his feet and half stumble towards the door. He wasn't sure whether to feel relieved or angry about the interruption; though the beatings he had been receiving had halted, they would begin as soon as the person had left, and would probably be stronger, now that his yami was angry.
Sighing, he reached the door, flipping on one of the light switches quickly and observing himself in the hall mirror. He looked a bloody mess, literally; he hastily grabbed a towel from the nearby bathroom, wiping his face off. The bruises he couldn't do much about; they would just have to be seen by the visitor. Thankfully, there weren't many in plain sight.
Allowing himself one last groan, he forced himself to give a weak smile for the benefit of the visitor and pulled the heavy door open quickly. His grin froze as he saw the figure on his doorstep, and his eyes quickly widened in shock and fear.
Bakura, narrowed eyes steady, was leaning casually against the door frame.
Oh, God, Ryou's thoughts screamed frantically at him. God, no, this isn't real. This is a joke. This is another of his cruel ways to mess with my mind. God, no, no...this isn't happening, this can't be real...he was startled to find himself trembling in fear, and hastily backed up a step.
Bakura's face instantly changed to one of concern. "What's the matter? Are you okay?" He seemed to be working a kind, gentle tone into his voice, as if attempting to calm the terrified Light across from him down.
If anything, it succeeded in frightening the hikari more. He was shaking violently now, his innocent brown eyes wide as saucers. He really is messing with my mind...he only ever acts kind when he's about to give me the worst beatings of my life...oh, God, please, please don't hurt me anymore, I can't deal with this! A low whimper of terror forced it's way out of Ryou's clamped mouth, and his shaking intensified.
Bakura's look of confusion increased at the Light's reactions to his comforting words, before a frown dominated his expression. His detail-oriented eyes flickered over the white-haired teen's face, instantly noticing the dark colored bruises, and paying particular attention to the new trickle of blood coursing down from his forehead to his cheek, next to one of his eyes.
"Those are fresh," the tomb robber said abruptly. "Is somebody hurting you in there? And if so, who?"
Ryou's eyes widened more. What is he trying to do? He kept his question to himself, however, and muttered with a confused and frightened tremble in his voice, "You...did...Master.."
Bakura's eyes narrowed almost instantly. "Master? And you're saying I've been doing this?" At the Light's nod, he continued, his voice gaining a powerful growling sound. "That bastard True Self of mine! I'll kill him!"
Ryou let out a yelp of surprise at the yami's anger, and hastily backed up a step, his eyes instinctively lowering. Bakura, not giving him the chance to get away, leaped forward into the house. He grasped at Ryou's Millennium Ring in one hand, pressing two fingers on his second hand to the white-haired teen's forehead, just below a small cut he had received earlier. Whimpering again, Ryou tried to tear away from the tomb robber's grasp and prepare for another beating at the same time.
To his surprise, it never came. Instead, the spirit across from him hissed loudly, "Get out here, you fool!" The sentence was followed by a brief surge of power, flowing from the yami's Millennium Ring, through his fingers on the younger teen's forehead, and into the second ancient Item. Both Rings glowed brightly before a great flash of light pierced Ryou's eyes, and he was forced to close them quickly against the blinding glare.
When he opened his eyes again, a new, startling scene met his vision. Bakura had released him and was staring angrily off to Ryou's side; turning his eyes, the Light soul saw...no, it couldn't be true, his eyes must have been playing tricks on him...saw another Bakura, standing with a confused frown at the duplicate across from him.
"What in Amun-Ra's name is going on here?" the frowning Bakura--his yami, Ryou could sense--growled, clenching a fist angrily.
"That," the second tomb robber spat, "is very much what I would like to know." He cut off his look-alike before the spirit had a chance to respond. "What the hell do you think you're doing?!"
"I don't know who, or what, you are--but what I'm doing is my own damned business!" the first Bakura replied, eyes narrowing even more.
"Then you had better start to fix your business before it ends completely," the second of the two spirits hissed angrily. "You have no right to treat your hikari that way. He's a living person, you fool--he's not some trash that you can throw around and away at will." Ryou's eyes widened at the statement, and his breathing quickened...was he hearing things correctly? He quickly snapped to attention as the second tomb robber continued speaking. "Now, what do you plan to do about your little abusive problem?"
Ryou's own yami grinned sickeningly. "How about...I decide it's time for you to leave?" Before the second spirit had a chance to react, the abusive version of Bakura leaped forward, slamming into his duplicate and shoving him violently out the door. Without waiting, he slammed the heavy door shut and locked it before whirling around to face his Lighter half. "Now then--"
He never got the chance to finish. With an almighty bang and an equally loud crash, the door exploded inward on it's hinges, revealing the second Bakura, standing coldly and with Millennium Ring glowing like frozen fire.
"That," the second dark being hissed, "was your last chance. I think it's time that you learned a few things, don't you agree?" With a roar, he leaped forward in a dazzling flash of light, darting straight for Ryou's own yami with the Millennium Ring glowing dangerously.
The white-haired hikari whirled around as the second of the two thieves dashed by him, instinctively crushing himself to the wall so as to avoid any pain. The tomb robber was not interested in hurting him, however, but rather was drawing back his fist to lash out at the first, abusive yami.
He connected in a thunderbolt, snapping the first Bakura's head back on impact and making him stumble. Not waiting, he continued his furious assault, but the first yami was regaining his balance and awareness and was starting to block, adding attacks of his own. Growling, the second, kinder tomb robber stepped back a pace, yelling angrily as a beam of light collected in front of the pointers on his Millennium Ring and shot at his opponent. With a yell of unexpected pain, the first Bakura stumbled backwards, into the hall, and showed his defiance by throwing a household object at his enemy. The second tomb robber dodged quickly and shot forward, ramming into his opposite and sending him flying backwards, adding to the abusive yami's distance by giving him a strong kick as well. The first Bakura hit the floor with a growl, sliding fully down the hall and rolling halfway into the next room. Eyes narrowed dangerously, the second of the two dark spirits followed him into the new room, and within moments the sounds of yelling and banging could be heard as the fight was taken to higher, more dangerous levels.
Ryou stared in complete silence down the now-demolished hallway, his pure shock practically vibrating in the air around him. His reaction was broken, however, when he heard a hauntingly familiar voice behind him, in the direction of the doorway.
"Bit direct, aren't they? Must be a universal trait they both inherited."
Blinking in surprise, the white-haired teen whirled around quickly and stared in brand-new surprise. Leaning casually against the broken door frame was...was himself.
"Wh...what?!" Ryou managed to stutter, his mouth hanging open at the odd sight. The other him didn't seem to notice his confusion and discomfort, as he had continued speaking without a pause.
"Me'n Yami didn't like to hear of his abuse problem in this Realm, so when we figured out we had traveled here, we decided to put an end to it. Got here just in time, too, I'm guessing," he added, his eyes flickering over the unchecked trickle of blood down the side of Ryou's face. "Looks like he was up to his old tricks."
In reply, the beaten teen nodded weakly, muttering, "Th...thanks..."
His opposite frowned. "Hey, are you okay? You look like you're about to fall over. How much did he do to you?"
Ryou shook his head vigorously, ignoring the splitting headache that formed when he did so. "Not much...I was lucky you came so soon. He didn't get the chance to use his knife on me..." He shuddered visibly an groaned a bit, stepping backwards a pace.
His own duplicate across from him widened his eyes ever so slightly in surprise, before they fell into their original frown. "Okay, at least that's good. But what else is the matter? There's something on your mind. What's wrong?"
To his surprise, a half sarcastic thought wormed it's way into the abused teen's mind. Am I all right? I've just gotten a painful beating from my yami, suddenly discovered a second of the same being facing and defending me, and now I'm talking to an exact replica of myself! Do I look all right?!
His answer, however, took a more polite tone. "I'm fine, thanks...but...but this is just all too weird."
Some how, the words seemed to fit the picture exactly.
* * * * *
Yugi tramped hastily down the steps of the bus and waited impatiently for the rest of his companions--Joey, Mokuba, and both versions of Kaiba--to follow him. They, too, left the vehicle quickly, each sharing a similar look of worry.
Without hesitation each member of the group turned and headed in one direction--towards Ryou Bakura's house, only a few blocks away. As they ran, Yugi hastily explained to the True Kaiba about the Negative Realm Bakura, along with a brief outline of his travels into the Negative Realm. Kaiba's opposite would occasionally add a few details to the story, but for the most part he left the tale to the young Hikari.
Joey, too, was listening to the explanation. As Yugi began to explain about the Negative tomb robber's angry reactions to hearing about himself acting abusive, the blonde teen spoke up. "If this Negative Bakura wants to stop his True Realm self from being abusive towards Ryou, how could that possibly be bad?"
Yugi sighed. "Even if his intentions are good, keep in mind that we are still talking about Bakura, Negative or not. When he fights another spirit, he's bound to put a lot of power into it, and there's no telling how the True Bakura will act. It could end up in an explosive battle, and Ryou might be caught in the middle of it--both of them."
Joey frowned, the realization suddenly coming to him. "Oh, man," he muttered, "this could turn out ugly, then." Unconsciously, he put on an extra burst of speed, pushing himself ahead of Kaiba, who was at the front of the small procession.
After several more minutes of running down streets and around corners, the group suddenly found themselves at the driveway of Ryou's house. A gasp rippled around the five of them, and within his soul room, Yami echoed the sound with a second.
The house looked almost clean, at first glance. On closer inspection, however, one could see that the door had been blown inward, completely off it's hinges, in what looked like a high-leveled blast of magic.
"Oh, no," Yugi groaned in worry, a frown deepening his face as he stared at the broken door frame. "We got here after the others..."
The Negative Kaiba sighed. "Bakura does have a reputation for getting a little...shall we say...over-enthusiastic...around the Opposition base..." Without meaning too, the usually emotionless face twisted into a grimace.
The Millennium Puzzle swinging gently around Yugi's neck abruptly began to glow, and within moments a physical body had suddenly appeared and taken shape in front of them. Yami, now free of the Puzzle once again, began to approach the doorway slowly, murmuring gravely, "I will go first, in case they are battling. If they are using any kind of dangerous magic, I will be able to defend the rest of you against it."
The others nodded and crowded behind the Pharaoh, though the Negative version of Kaiba stood noticeably over to one side, as if still trying to avoid getting too close to the spirit. Sighing a little at the sight of the opposite figure, Yami moved forward and through the door frame into the hallway of the house.
As soon as he entered, he could practically sense the different atmosphere within the building. Broken objects lined the walls, as though they had fallen, shattered, and were instantly neglected. A few drops of blood spattered the floor, though it was surprisingly scarce. He could feel, too, the presence of Shadow magic, and of one that had tapped into it's huge quantities in order to fight. Frowning, he glanced around the room, searching carefully, as though trying to spot clues that were invisible.
"Ryou?" Yugi, behind him, called into the house, also looking around curiously.
"Hey, in here--living room," a voice called out from within the depths of the house. It sounded laid back, almost casual.
Frowning, Yami stepped aside and allowed the others to pass by him, sensing no immediate danger nearby. Yugi scampered down the hall quickly, followed just as fast by Mokuba. Kaiba, both versions of him, walked almost lazily down the hallway, as though they weren't seeing the scattered, broken objects lining the floors. Joey frowned as he looked around the tattered corridor, but said nothing, walking after the others, with Yami bringing up the rear of the small group.
As they stepped into the next room, all five of the group was instantly greeted with a calm-looking room. It evidently had not been touched by the problem that had reached the hallways; it looked almost normal, and didn't seem as if it should be part of the house after everything else they had seen. If the room appeared normal, however, it's occupants most certainly did not.
There were two figures sitting in the room, looking identical and very recognizable with their silver-white hair and brown eyes. One was sitting on a chair in the middle of the room, shock plain on his face. His clothes were simple; a light colored tee-shirt, jacket, and jeans, with the Millennium Ring hanging gently around his neck. His skin sported a few bruises and cuts, which had obviously been cleaned, and one or two bandaged. He was sitting very still, almost rigid, and was staring at the floor, his bewildered expression strong and easily seen. He was easily recognized as Ryou.
The second was an odd contrast to the first, despite their identical appearance. Though he, too, wore the Millennium Ring, his clothes were all dark in color, giving him an air that suggested he was not to be trifled with. A dark grey tee-shirt and long, baggy black pants adorned his figure, and a heavy leather jacket, it's length coming down to mid-upper leg, swept over his frame. A small, silvery chain ran from near his waist belt-loop down in a loose curve before running up and slipping into one of his back pockets, half hidden by his jacket. Even his expressions and facial features differed slightly; his eyes, though still harboring the innocent, friendly look, were also narrowed and suspicious, even dangerous looking to a certain extent. Unlike the first Ryou, he sat on a couch casually, as if he was planning on doing nothing more than kicking back and relaxing for the day.
It was this second version of Ryou that spoke. "So you figured out where we were heading, did you?" He asked evenly, his tone friendly. He glanced over Yugi quickly before adding, "Well, in any case, it's nice to see you again. And it's nice to meet the rest of you." His eyes roamed over Joey, Kaiba, and Mokuba easily. Everything about him, even his movements, seemed casual, but at the same time wary--as if he were made of liquid steel.
Joey blinked in surprise, his eyes flickering from the first Ryou to the second, calm one. After a few seconds, he spoke. "You're the Negative Ryou, aren't you?"
The opposite hikari chuckled easily, replying, "I am at that. I guess I stand out, compared to my True self." He glanced towards the still shocked Ryou before plucking absent-mindedly at the chain connected loosely to his belt-loop, his eyes now changing to glance around the remainder of the group.
Noticing the Negative Kaiba, he abruptly nodded respectfully, showing his recognition of the Blue Eyes. When the leader nodded back, he spoke, a questioning tone in his voice. "So, you're here, but have you found the Joey from our Realm yet?"
The Opposition leader shook his head. "Not yet," he said, frowning slightly. "We only just figured out where you and Bakura would be."
The Negative Ryou shrugged. "It makes sense," he said calmly, settling back into the couch pillows.
Yugi had taken to observing the True Ryou, who had not broken out of his shock. He frowned, asking slowly, "What happened to him?"
The opposite Ryou, following Yugi's gaze, shrugged again. "We found him getting a major beating from his version of our yami, which explains the cuts he has. The shock," he added, somewhat sarcastically, "would be from the fact that he saw his yami attack his yami, which was soon followed by a conversation with an exact duplicate of himself--me."
Yami, who was still standing unseen at the back of the group, was suddenly reminded of their original reason for coming when the Negative teen had spoken. Pushing gently through the group, he came to stand in front of them, directing his question to the other Realm hikari. "You mentioned the Bakuras. Where are they now?"
The Negative Ryou focused on Yami for the first time since the group had entered the house. His eyes flickered briefly, and he flinched slightly, but his rock-steady, cool expression never once wavered. "They're both...well, I guess you could say they're caught up at the moment. Fighting each other, that is." He chuckled slightly, checking his watch as he added, "They've probably dragged it out to the backyard by now."
The entire group, besides the Negative Kaiba, stared at this casually-delivered comment's owner in surprise. Before they could say anything, however, a loud bang was heard coming from the direction of the back of the house, and the whole building seemed to vibrate slightly.
"And that," the Negative Hikari said easily, "would be my yami throwing his yami against the side of the house." He jerked his right-handed thumb towards the True Ryou to emphasize his point, and for the first time Yugi noticed one black leather glove encasing the opposite's hand, like that of a fencing glove.
"How do you know it's your version of Bakura that did the throwing?" Joey asked skeptically, eyeing the white-haired opposite with suspicion.
The Negative laughed, pointing to his head with his gloved hand. "Mind link," he stated calmly. "After that bang, Bakura started laughing." Another bang shook the house, and the opposite hikari winced slightly. "And that was his yami getting revenge."
The second bang seemed to draw the stunned True Ryou out of his shocked stare, and he looked up, blinking as he saw the group of people gathered in his living room. "What?" he murmured softly, before seeing Yugi's reassuring smile and calming down. He didn't stop eyeing his opposite, however, and looked more confused than anything else.
The Negative Kaiba spoke up abruptly. "Shall we go stop those two spirits before they tear the house down?" he asked, his voice hinting at the slightest bit of sarcasm.
Yugi chuckled weakly. "Yeah, that would probably be a good idea," he said agreeably, adding in his head, because they probably would demolish the house if they kept at it for long enough.
Turning, Yugi, followed by his darker half, trotted quickly down the hall, following the path of demolished items until he reached the back doorway. He stepped out the opening and blinked as a glare of sunlight streamed down on him before pacing into the grass of the backyard, looking around carefully. Behind him, Yami also stepped out into the yard, followed by the Ryous, Kaibas, Joey, and Mokuba.
The first sight that greeted them was the flurry of silver-white hair as two figures fought dangerously only a few yards away. It was obvious that they were the two different versions of Bakura instantly; despite their quick movement, their spiked demon hair was unmistakable. The True Realm Bakura wore the copies of his host's light-colored clothes, while the Negative looked in his element in his own aibou's dark, dangerous-looking outfit. They both tore at each other angrily, and both sported vicious cuts and bruises, though of course in the end the wounds wouldn't effect them, as they were spirits in temporary physical forms. Each had a brightly-glowing Millennium Ring at their disposal, as well, which they were both currently using to attack each other.
"You don't abuse your Aibou!" the Negative tomb robber hissed, as he dodged a blast from the opposing Ring and launched an attack of his own.
"Do you think I care?! He's my business, and what I want to do to him I can very well do, no questions asked!" The True version replied hotly, growling as he dashed forward to try and connect a punch successfully.
Yami watched the fight in surprise, paying particular attention to the Negative Bakura. He couldn't believe his eyes; Bakura, defending Ryou? It seemed impossible...without thinking, he mentioned his thoughts. "This is odd...it's strange, seeing a kind Bakura for once."
The Negative Ryou, standing next to him, answered dryly. "I know what you mean. It's interesting to see you sane for once."
The Pharaoh growled angrily at the insult, but abruptly his rage melted away and he murmured, "I deserved that." He allowed himself an inward smile at the white-haired opposite's surprise, but outwardly kept his face stone-hard.
The True Ryou, meanwhile, was watching the thief battle with obvious shock. "I...I can't believe that...that he's actually fighting to defend me..." he blinked, watching with growing hope as the other Realm Bakura managed to connect one of his Millennium Ring blasts with his opponent.
The Negative Ryou grinned as he watched the fight, as though it was some form of entertainment. "Yeah, he's fighting for you, and he's going to win, too. He's bound to win, eventually; there's no question about it."
"Actually..." the opposite Kaiba muttered slowly, cutting into the conversation.
"What?"
The Blue Eyes shook his head. "It would be impossible for Bakura to beat his True Self, and vice versa. Theoretically, it can't be done."
Yugi frowned. "Why?"
The Opposition leader sighed. "Have you ever played a game of chess against yourself?" He saw the True Kaiba's eyes light up in understanding, and continued. "Whenever you try to come up with a strategy to defeat your opponent, they always know how to stop it, because your opponent is you. Likewise, a person of the Negative Realm would never be able to defeat his or her counterpart in the True Realm, simply because they are the same person. They have the same thoughts, the same material of the soul, and so any battle to occur between them would end up in a standstill."
"Or," Kaiba added, catching onto the theory easily, "the two of them would destroy each other completely at the same time."
"Which is still technically a standstill," the Negative CEO finished.
Joey frowned. "Oh, man," he muttered, "if that's the case, then we gotta get those two to stop fighting right now."
The Negative Ryou sighed. "That is going to be a rather difficult task, but I think we can manage." He turned to face the two battlers, raising his voice and yelling. "Oy! Bakura!"
Deep within the fight, the darkly dressed spirit leaped to the side, dodged an attack, and retaliated, slamming a punch home into his opposite's head. "Kinda busy right now, Ryou, get back to you later!" His voice cut short as he took an unfortunate blow to the stomach, delivered by an annoyed True Realm thief.
"Er...so that didn't work," Mokuba muttered, making Yugi jump--he'd forgotten the boy was there, he'd been so caught up in the fight and the conversations.
"No, it did not," the Negative hikari said, rolling his eyes and sighing. "Okay, we'll try option number two--the mind link."
Retreating into his mind was no easy task, considering the action that was going on around him, but the opposite Ryou managed. He quickly set up a mind link to his darker half, contacting him hastily.
Bakura?
What is it, Ryou? I'm just a bit busy at the moment, if you haven't noticed. The mental voice sounded a bit annoyed.
I did notice, Ryou replied dryly, and that's the reason I'm contacting you. You have to stop fighting.
What in Amun-Ra's name would possess me to do a fool thing like that?!
There is the minor fact of your existence, you know.
What?
The lighter half sighed mentally. You can't beat your counterpart in another Realm. You're the same person, and apparently the Realms just don't work that way. If you do fight each other, you'll either always come to a standstill, or you'll both kill each other at the same time.
Ah, I can see how that would cause a problem. Very well, I'll break off the fight...just give me a chance to find a suitable moment.... The link cut off, and the opposite Ryou returned to his awareness outside his own mind.
The Negative Bakura was slowing, his movements becoming more slurred and his attacks less powerful. Abruptly, he broke off altogether, trotting easily towards his Light and leaving his other version standing in the middle of the yard, alone. Not even glancing back, he came to rest beside his hikari, standing with arms crossed almost protectively, and began to scan the people in the group calmly.
Seeing the Opposition leader, he, too, nodded respectfully, as his lighter half had. His eyes continuing to rove, he glanced over the True Kaiba and Mokuba easily, and frowned quickly at Joey before realizing that he wasn't the version from the Negative Realm. He noticed Yugi almost immediately and murmured a polite, friendly greeting, before turning his eyes on the figure standing next to him.
He stiffened almost as soon as his eyes made contact; he was staring at Yami, his brown eyes smoldering like coals. It was obvious that he recognized the ancient Pharaoh as the kinder, True version, but nevertheless he couldn't get the memory of his aibou's suffering out of his head.
Trying to put on a kinder, well received act, the Negative Bakura nodded politely and murmured, "Pharaoh," respectfully, though it seemed forced.
"Bakura," Yami returned, also nodding his respect, though it again seemed forced.
The odd meeting between two ancient spirits was broken abruptly as the True Realm Bakura took a step towards the gathering, sneering, "Well, well, why did the little imposter run away? Was he nervous that he might loose?"
The Negative Bakura, in turn, sneered right back. "I have no time for fools that want to call themselves a yami spirit," he hissed towards his opposite self. "I left the fight on the request of my Aibou. At least I have enough respect for him to do so. Unlike somebody I know."
The True thief laughed tauntingly, jeering, "Hah! You can't stand up to me. Just try to take me on, I dare you."
To the surprise of all, the Negative Ryou stepped forward to face his opposite yami, speaking in a cold, level voice. "My yami is being the responsible one out of you two again. By not fighting, he's ensuring that you both live to see another day. You should be lucky he backed out--he's saving your skin." He growled softly before changing suddenly to a chuckle, adding, "Though it's a pity, really. I was so looking forward to seeing my yami rip your guts out, you abusive freak."
The shock that came from this statement lasted for a full minute. It was particularly strong for Ryou, who could not believe he was hearing such words coming from his own mouth--albeit his in another Realm--although the True Bakura had his own share of surprise, hearing such a phrase coming from his normally kind hikari.
Slowly, the shock on the tomb robber's face faded away and was replaced by a grin. "Why, did I just hear a challenge?"
The Negative Ryou replied casually, matching the True spirit in an equally calm-sounding manner. "Perhaps it was."
Bakura laughed. "I see," he hissed, still chuckling. "I was just double checking, you understand. It's not every day you hear such things coming from a weakling like you. It is, after all, obvious that you could never beat me."
The opposite Ryou, surprisingly, stepped forward angrily, raising his gloved fist in an angry gesture and growling, "Would you like to make a bet on that?!"
The True Ryou's jaw nearly dropped in shock as he watched himself threatening his yami. Vaguely he felt a sense of relief, as though he had been looking forward to seeing such a thing for quite some time but could never work up the nerve to achieve it.
The Negative Ryou, meanwhile, had taken a few extra paces forward threateningly, fist still raised. Before he could get far, however, his own yami sighed, rolled his eyes, and reached out his hand, grasping his light's jacket collar and holding him in place. "You can't attack him yet, Ryou, we're a bit busy at the moment," he muttered, sounding almost bored. The opposite hikari allowed himself to be pulled back, shooting the True Bakura a rather nasty grin to make up for it.
Bakura, in response, paced forward angrily, heading for his own host with a burning look in his eyes. The True Ryou was beginning to look increasingly nervous, and backed up a step. Before the tomb robber was allowed to get even slightly close, however, Yami suddenly stepped in the way, arms folded and with a calm, steady gaze in his eyes.
"Go back to your soul room, thief," he said, an air of control hovering about him.
"As if you can control me, Pharaoh," the spirit snapped back mockingly in reply.
In response, both the Negative Ryou and Bakura stepped forward on either side of Yami, enforcing his command. Yami, taking advantage of the moment, repeated softly, "Go back to your soul room. Now."
Bakura hissed in vexation as he glared in hate at the three hard faces confronting him. He finally sighed, seeing no way out, and faded away, returning to the Ring.
When the spirit had left, his opposite counterpart sighed in annoyance and rubbed his forehead angrily. This action completed, he turned to the Pharaoh and muttered under his breath, "Thanks." Again, the word sounded forced, but Yami said nothing--he understood the tomb robber's distrust, and therefore did not mind.
The Negative Ryou, meanwhile, was calmly heading back into the house as though nothing had happened. The others quickly followed him into the living room, where he lead them, most carrying some sort of expression of surprise or nervousness. Only the Negative beings, along with the ever-calm Yami, showed no reaction whatsoever.
As they reached the living room once again, the opposite Ryou flopped down in his original seat, casual-looking once again. His yami sat down next to him, also carrying the nearly lazy look, and the True Ryou, after a nervous glance at the tomb robber, filled the third seat. The rest of the group found seats spaced out through the room, while Yami remained standing by his own Light's seat.
"What is going on?" Ryou asked abruptly, giving the Negative yami next to him another nervous glance. The opposite Bakura raised an eyebrow at the hikari's reactions, though said nothing.
"I never did tell you my story, Ryou," Yugi said hastily, apologetic tone in his voice. "See, a few months back, I went to a completely different Realm--the Negative Realm. It's an opposite reflection of the True Realm--where we live--but you still exist there, though with a different personality or with different actions taken by you. Those two," he said, indicating the Negative Ryou and Bakura, "are from the Negative Realm. That Ryou is still you, but he's your reflection, your opposite. Likewise, that Bakura is the opposite of your yami--which explains why he tried to beat the crud out of him," he finished, giggling slightly. Again, the opposite yami raised an eyebrow, looking slightly amused.
The Negative Ryou broke into the conversation, adding, "So you can stop giving Bakura the watchful eye. Believe me, he was furious to hear that he would ever think of abusing you, in any Realm. As you no doubt saw." He paused for a second to register his True self's relieved look before adding, "And don't worry, he won't lay a finger on you unless it's for your own personal safety."
The Negative Bakura nodded in agreement, staring at his True Realm aibou calmly. "And," he spoke, "I won't let that son of a bitch True Realm self of mine touch you, either."
Ryou looked a little surprised, but he nodded gratefully, suddenly finding himself growing to like the opposite version of his yami.
Yugi now found his own chance to talk, directing his comment to the Negative hikari. "So, Ryou, I'm guessing you've fully recovered since the last time I saw you?"
"I have," the white-haired opposite murmured, giving Yami the smallest of glances. "Thanks to you, anyway."
The Negative Bakura, sensing his aibou's small feeling of discomfort as he glanced at the Pharaoh across from him, almost unconsciously fixed Yami with a burning glare. His gaze never once wavered, and the spirit of the ancient ruler receiving the smoldering gaze sighed.
"I assure you," he said slowly, returning the tomb robber's gaze, "that I am nothing like the version of me you so despise. I, too, have a deep hate of my Negative self, but do not turn your anger on me. I had no part in causing your troubles, and I would appreciate it if you did not throw your blame on me. Unless you wish for me, in turn, to hand you back the blame of yourself in this Realm."
"It is hard to ignore an old instinct," the opposite thief muttered back, still watching Yami angrily. "I will, however, put more effort into seeing you as an ally, and not an enemy." Yami nodded in agreement, and the two parted stares at the same time, almost instantly.
Silence filled the room as each of the members in the group retreated to their own thoughts. Suddenly, however, Yugi broke through it, his voice sounding slightly louder than usual. "Er...I think we're going to have a small problem..."
"What's the matter?" Joey asked, frowning.
"Well..." the Hikari began, though slowly. "I just realized. We've got three groups of people that share the same name and all-around identity--Kaiba, Ryou, and Bakura. But we can't keep calling two people by the same name--it'll get too confusing."
The Negative Ryou shrugged. "That's easy enough to fix," he said, his voice even. "The three of us from the Negative Realm can just create new names--more like nicknames--for ourselves to use while we're here. In any case, it would be good for cover, in case we need to be secretive."
Yugi nodded. "That makes sense," he agreed cheerfully. "So...what are you guys going to pick for your True Realm names?"
The opposite Ryou thought to himself a moment, fiddling with the chain around his belt loop, before speaking. "I'll go with Kawari," he said easily. "It means 'alteration'...and I think it's safe to say that I'm definitely an alternate change from the True Ryou." He chuckled slightly and grinned at his other self, who smiled weakly back.
The Negative Bakura laughed as well. "An interesting way to choose a name, but a way that I like. In that case, shall we say my name will be....Kaeru? It means 'change,' which I approve of, as I am a change for the better, compared to that...other me." He managed to stifle the swear and replace it with his final two words, though it was obvious there was some effort in the attempt.
Each person's gaze now shifted to the Negative Kaiba, who looked deep in thought. After several moments of silence, he stated calmly, "Kaze."
"Wind?" his True counterpart asked, sounding skeptical. "What made you pick that?"
"Wind brings change, true, but it also brings hope, a feeling of one being able to achieve their destiny. As we were obviously brought here for a reason, it seems appropriate."
"So we're decided?" the newly-christened Kaeru asked calmly, still staring levelly around the room. The others nodded, and he sat back into the couch once more, satisfied.
"Now that that's been decided," Yugi said slowly, "what are we going to do about the Negative Joey?"
"You couldn't find him?" Kawari asked, frowning.
"Not exactly...we weren't sure where he'd head to, where as you two were fairly obvious." Yugi grinned slightly at these last words.
"Ah," the Negative hikari mused, thinking carefully. "Now that you mention it, it is kind of hard to place where he would go. He is devoted to the Opposition, true, but he does enjoy having fun as well--there's no one place that should be checked." He sighed and shook his head. "I have no idea where to look."
The rest of the group frowned, each trying to come up with an answer. Suddenly, however, Kaeru spoke. "Joey...what is the last place in the city you'd want to go to?"
Joey looked a little surprised at the question, but answered quickly. "Anywhere that Kaiba is," he muttered sheepishly. Kaiba snorted angrily, though he also looked a bit amused, and Kaze had a confused expression on his face that was crossed slightly with annoyance.
"Anywhere that Kaiba is, huh?" Kaeru continued, musing. "Well, Kaiba would naturally be at his company. And the Negative Realm Joey, being this Joey's opposite, will probably be close to the one place that his True self doesn't want to be at."
"So we're heading back to KaibaCorp?" Mokuba piped up, from his position between the two versions of his older brother.
"Indeed we are," Kaze said evenly, chuckling. "Very well thought out--Kaeru." He placed emphasis on the name, stressing it so as to lock it firmly into place for later.
As one, the group stood up together, turning towards the door to head back towards the high-ranking company building. Ryou, Kawari, and Kaeru found themselves becoming part of the group, eagerly joining in the search for the Negative Joey.
Within five minutes, the entire household was empty and silent, the entire band of hunters gone.
* * * * *
HCG: What a crappy ending for this chapter.
Karma: *blinks* I don't think so.
HCG: It's crap. Don't argue with me.
Karma: o_O Okies...
HCG: Anyway, a few after-the-story notes:
1) Special thanks to "Vampire Huntress D" (who doesn't even read this story, XD) for helping me out with the name for Negative Kaiba.
2) Special thanks to the "Under-The-Stairs-Kids" at my school, who inadvertently modeled for Kawari's outfit. *laughs* And just so you know, the "Under-The-Stairs-Kids" are the group of teens that hang out at "The Stairs" and are your basic gothic, sometimes-druggy kids o_O;;
3) Okay, the three names are Japanese. Now, I don't pretend to be an expert on Japanese, or to even know much about the language like some of you *coughWSJcough*, but bear with me here. If the words I picked were messed up, well...bleh on you o_O;; I spent a lot of time thinking their names through, so...yeah.
4) Well, unless you take Fencing or know anything about it, you probably wouldn't understand the insult Kawari threw in there when he was threatening Bakura. In a fencing bout, it is very rude to shake your gloved hand at your opponent, or to shake hands with your opponent with your gloved hand. As Kawari was making a threat implying a fight, he was, in a way, giving the finger--fencing style--to Bakura ^_^;;
5) This chapter was written by listening to heavy loads of Hoobastank, Bon Jovi, Eminem, and, for some reason, the Spirit: Stallion of the Cimeron soundtrack o_O;; As if any of you care.
Yay, notes are done!
Kaeru: x_X I didn't even get to kill that idiot True Self of mine?!
HCG: Uh...no? Okay, to you reviewers...I know you were looking forward to the Negative beating up the True Bakura (nearly every one of you mentioned something like that in your reviews) but, well--I can't seriously do that to one of my fave characters. And in any case, I still need Bakura to be conscious for later in the fic, and that would be kind of hard if he got the beating that Bakuras normally give. And that just sounded weird o_O;;
Kaeru: *siiigh*
Kawari: Well, at least I had a more interesting part in this chapter.
HCG: I know ^_^ I am going to have sooo much fun writing up your scenes....*grins*
Kawari: ¬_¬;; And I've yet to decide if that is a good or bad thing.
HCG: How could it possibly be bad?!
Kawari: Well, considering that you also enjoyed writing my scenes for "Shadow Turned Light"...
HCG: What about them?
Kawari: I just have chapters 3-6 very vividly in mind. Particularly 6.
HCG: O_O But that was my FAVORITE chapter to write! And I loved the mini-plot centered around you, when you were Mind-Lost and all...
Kawari: _;; Can we get off this subject?
HCG: *continues babbling* I particularly loved writing the scenes when you were seeing your memories over again, and Yugi saw them too...that took forever, but it came out really great, and--*WHACK*
Kawari: *sets down keyboard that was earlier used to attack Kaeru* Ah, quiet. Much better.
HCG: @_@;;
Kaeru: *nods approvingly* Not bad.
Kaiba: ¬_¬;; Anyway...review, people. We need some nice, big comments on this chapter. And keep'em coming, because I think it'll be a while before Guardian starts thinking strait again...
Kawari: *defensively* Well, it's not MY fault the keyboard is so hard!
Kaiba: *ignores* So just keep reviewing, and hopefully HCG will get back on track and bring you chapter five.