Chapter Five: Awakening.

A/N: The first half of this chapter is written from Serafina's point of view, so I haven't distinguished between what Yugi and Yami say. You just have to work it out for yourselves. Actually, Yami does most of the speaking, but of course Serafina thinks it is Yugi that is talking.

The second half of this chapter is from Malik's point of view. After this chapter, Ryou will go back to becoming the main character, and all the action will happen from his point of view, and you hear his thoughts and feelings about it.

I'm really sorry this took so long to update, I've actually been working on "A Day at the Carnival" which should be up on Wednesday.

Also, please could someone tell the meanings of the following Japanese words? : onegai, ja ne, arigato

Please don't mock my ignorance! I know I don't NEED to use Japanese words, but I can't stay ignorant! I'm already ignorant of so many things!

**********

Serafina Pekkala was worried, as she bustled around the room, mixing up different combinations of herbs. She had tried virtually every remedy she knew, and her patient still wouldn't wake. Ryou had been unconscious for seven days now, but there didn't seem to actually be anything wrong with him. The boy had an uncommonly large amount of bruises on him, too many to have been caused by the fall alone, and Serafina could sense something unusual about Ryou, but she wasn't exactly sure what. She frowned slightly as she recalled the conversation she had had with his friends earlier…

*Flashback*

"You called?" Serafina looked up to see Yugi and Malik standing patiently in the doorway.

"Oh, yes. Can either of you tell me how Ryou got so badly hurt?"

Malik looked down at the floor. "He fell a long way."

"I know that. But some of these bruises look older. And there's this, too." She pushed back Ryou's shirt slightly to reveal a long scar down the side of his ribs. "This wasn't caused by a fall. It looks almost like a knife wound, as if he was stabbed." She watched their faces carefully for a reaction.

Yugi's eyes narrowed, and he muttered a mixture of Japanese and Arabic words under his breath. Malik was silent, his face expressionless, almost mask-like. Serafina chose her words carefully. "Does…does he have problems at school?"

Yugi didn't look as if he had heard. Then he spoke calmly and without emotion. "He…has trouble with bullies."

Malik shot him a glare, and Serafina was surprise by the forcefulness of it. Meanwhile, her mind was racing, trying to work out what Yugi had been muttering. She didn't know he spoke Japanese, or Arabic. Although he did have a slightly Japanese look about him. Witches knew most human languages, and she had understood about half of what he had been saying. There had been the word "yarou," which she knew was a Japanese insult, translating roughly to "bastard." Who was a bastard? And there had been another word, one that she hadn't quite heard. It had sounded like "Robber" or "Thief." Then more Arabic, and then, more clearly, "he will pay for this." It didn't seem to make sense. Who would be made to pay? And for what? She had also thought she heard the Arabic word for "grave" or "tomb" used several times. What did it all mean?

Knowing that she wouldn't get much more information out of these two, she dismissed them, saying she needed quiet to work. They left quickly and, she thought, with relief.

*End Flashback*

Serafina bent more closely over Ryou, checking to see how he was healing. Her eyes took in the strange pendant he wore around his neck, and she peered at it curiously. She put out a hand to touch it and, as she did so, she could have sworn that for a second it flashed a deep gold, as if in warning. It didn't look very heavy, so she took it in one hand, feeling its weight. As she held it, it seemed to grow heavier. Her curiosity and suspicion now fully aroused, she decided to take it off and examine it more closely. She lifted it carefully over her patient's neck, careful not to snag the cord on his soft white hair. As she picked it up, it grew even heavier, and she could barely lift it, as if it didn't want to be removed.

She placed the Ring carefully onto the small table next to the T.V, and pulled up a chair. While running her hands over it's cold, smooth surface, she suddenly felt the tingle of magic come from it. There it was, that feeling again, of something hidden away trying to get out…

She sighed and went to get herself a cup of tea.

***

Serafina was reading a book when she heard a moan come from the bed, and the sound of blankets being stirred. Ryou was waking up! For a moment she was struck dumb with astonishment, then she raced to the door and hollered, "Lyra! Will! Yugi! Malik! Ryou is waking up!" A passing maid eyed her pointedly.

"No shouting in the corridors."

Serafina ignored her, shutting the door and returning to Ryou's bedside. "Ryou?"

***

Ryou opened his eyes. There appeared to be a young woman bending over him, and she was calling his name. He sat up slowly, realising he was in a bed. His body ached as if he had been punched all over, and there was a throbbing pain between his eyes. "Who are you? Where am I?" His voice sounded weak and distant to him.

The woman smiled comfortingly at him. "You may call me Serafina. I am a witch from Lyra's world, and I am going to help you get better. You are in an inn, and are perfectly safe. How are you feeling?"

"Okay, I guess." The pain was bad but tolerable, and was nothing compared to the agony Bakura could inflict.

Serafina beamed at him. "Excellent."

Ryou snuggled deeper into the covers, trying to keep warm. He supposed it must be an effect of being ill, because somehow he felt empty inside, almost hollow. His hand went automatically to his chest, where the Ring was, only to close on thin air.

"Where's my Ring?" he whispered.

"Oh, your necklace? I took it off earlier," Serafina said cheerfully.

Ryou froze. The Ring! Images flowed into his mind of what Bakura would do to him when he found out the Ring had been taken off. His fear engulfed him, and he started shaking.

"Could I have it back?" he asked, forcing his voice to stay calm.

"Of course." Serafina went over to the table and came back with the Ring. "But could I ask some questions about it first? I don't mean to sound rude. It's just that I could feel power coming from it and-"

"Please." Ryou made a feeble grab for his Item.

Serafina held it just out of his reach. "In a moment," she said firmly. "But first can I just ask where you got-"

"GIVE IT BACK!" Ryou shouted.

The witch stepped back, clearly surprise by his unexpected outburst. "C-Calm down, Ryou."

"Give it to me." Ryou made another grasp, weaker than the last, and nearly tumbled out of bed.

Serafina pushed him back in. "You should rest."

"I know what you're doing!" Ryou cried wildly. "You're trying to save me but it won't work! He'll come back!"

Serafina stared. "Who?"

"He always comes back!" Ryou shouted desperately. "You can't stop him! For he is the shadows, and the shadows never die!"

Yugi appeared in the doorway, interrupting them both. His presence only agitated Ryou further. "Ryou? You're awake!"

"GET LOST PHARAOH!"

Yugi stepped back, looking totally and utterly crushed. "R-Ryou? It's only me." His eyes narrowed. "You're not Ryou…" he murmured.

Yami manifested and walked over to Ryou's side. "Tomb Robber-"

"GET AWAY FROM ME!" The hikari spat.

Yami looked at Serafina in obvious worry, combined with amazement. "What happened?"

"I don't know," Serafina confessed. She was feeling very confused. "All I did was take off his pendant and-"

Yami interrupted her. "You took off the Ring?!"

"Yes! She did! And I want it back! Give it back!"

Yami spoke very slowly and clearly, hoping the boy would listen. "Ryou, you know what will happen if you put on the Ring. Do you really want that to happen again?"

"Just give it back!" the white haired hikari snapped.

"You know, maybe I should give him back this Ring," suggested Serafina.

"No!" the Pharaoh exclaimed vehemently. He cleared his throat nervously. "I mean, no, don't do that."

There was the sound of footsteps, and Yami whirled around to see Malik standing in the hall. "Is Ryou really awake? Can I see him? And what's all the shouting about?"

Yami quickly moved so he was blocking Malik's view of the room. "Nothing," he said hastily. "Absolutely nothing is happening."

The Tomb Keeper raised an eyebrow sceptically. "Yeah right," he said sarcastically. "What's really happening in there?"

"SHE'S TAKEN THE RING! MAKE HER GIVE IT BACK!"

Malik's mouth fell open in amazement. "What?!"

"I really think I should give it back," said Serafina nervously.

"No!" protested Yami.

"Yes!" Malik snapped. "Are you crazy Ph-I-mean-Yugi?" he suddenly remembered that Serafina was watching.

"Malik, you know what will happen if he puts on the Ring!" Yami had obviously forgotten about the witch.

"You can't just try and control his life! He's destined to have it, just like Yug-I-mean you and the Puzzle!" Malik was getting impatient. And angry.

"I'm not having that baka ruining Ryou's life! Again!"

"That 'baka' you are talking about happens to be my friend," Malik said coldly. He was really getting angry now. He reached into his pocket to take out the Rod and make the witch give the Ring back, but Yami grabbed his wrist and forced it away.

"Get off me!" Malik snarled.

Yami could see the Egyptian boy's outline shifting and blurring. Recognising the danger signals, he attempted to calm Malik down.

Inside Malik's mind…

Malik's anger was eating through his mind, corroding the bonds that held Yami Malik back. Sensing his hikari's anger, Yami Malik decided that now was a good time to try and split off. He hurled his entire weight at his soul room door, trying to open it.

On the other side, Malik pressed himself against the door, trying to keep it shut. But his anger had done enough damage-the door was slowly coming open, and Yami Malik's fist shot out again and again, striking him in any place he could reach. Malik desperately tried to block the blows, but the door was coming open...

Outside…

Yami knew what would happen if Malik was made angry enough, and he fixed his gaze on the seething Egyptian, willing him to calm down. Malik clenched his fists, and Yami saw that blood was trickling between his fingers and dripping onto the floor.

"Look," he said, trying to be reasonable. "I know how you feel but-"

"Don't patronise me." Malik's voice was deceptively calm. "You have NO IDEA how I feel." He blurred harder, and for a moment there were two Maliks standing in front of Yami- one angry, and one with a triumphant smile on his face.

In a last desperate attempt to stop Yami Malik separating, Yami grabbed Malik's shoulders and shook them hard. "Control yourself!" he snapped.

Malik flinched. His eyes cleared and he stopped blurring, although he continued to glare at his enemy. Yami heaved a silent sigh of relief, which rapidly disappeared as Malik broke free of Yami's grasp, leapt forward and snatched the Ring from Serafina. He tossed it to Ryou, who reached out and caught it. He looped it around his neck, and then fell back onto his pillows with a shudder.

"What's happening? I insist that you tell me!"

"What in Ra's name have you done now, Tomb Keeper?"

Malik ignored them both and walked across the room until he was standing next to Ryou.

The Ring-holder looked up at him gratefully. "Thank you."

Malik shuffled his feet, slightly embarrassed. "It was nothing. Um, is he there?"

Ryou closed his eyes. After a few moments he opened them and shook his head in despair. "I…can't feel him."

Where is he? Why can't he come through? Malik thought for a few moments, then reached into his pocket and took out the Millennium Rod. If this doesn't work, nothing will. He extended the blade slowly. Dammit, Bakura makes this look so easy. The thought of Bakura was enough to spur him on, and he drove the blade into his wrist. The pain was immediate, and he nearly dropped the Rod. Shit! He bit his lip, trying to block out the pain. H-how can Bakura enjoy this? His breathing coming out in laboured gasps, he held his wrist out to Ryou. "Try again." Ryou nodded and closed his eyes.

He could see the pain in Malik's eyes, but thrust the image away, searching in his mind for that familiar, yet haunting presence. /Yami…?/ Nothing. Despair washed over him. But then something stirred in the back of his mind. A familiar voice said //…Hikari?//

Bakura opened their eyes, gazing around him in unveiled curiosity. Then he saw Malik. "Blood!" He lunged forward, and his friend withdrew his bloody arm just in time.

Malik smiled in satisfaction. "He'll be all right."