Ah, I'm so happy this story if finally coming underway; I now have a relatively clear view of what I want to happen, and the words are coming to me slowly but surely. I just finished this one, so I hope you all will enjoy it! 'tis a tad short ::grin::

Chapter 5: Double-Edged

Buildings flashed by as quickly as her hair whipped about her face, her sides screaming at her to slow her pace down, but she kept at it. Seto's maniacal laughter still resonated in her ears and kept her on her toes. What she saw frightened her to a greater extent than anything she had seen before, and it kept replaying in her head, forcing her to relive it. The spirit killed Anji, she thought worriedly as she pushed past a plump fellow reading his daily paper. And she looked so much like me… and… everyone's been calling me Anji recently… what the hell is—

Her thoughts were suddenly interrupted when her body collided with something quite solid, but whatever it was fell backwards as she stumbled to the side and remained standing. She clutched at her shoulder and slightly hunched over, suddenly aware of how little oxygen she had in her lungs. As she gasped for air, she heard a slight groan of pain and she slightly opened an eye to find that she had run into a white-haired someone, but only got that far in identifying who it was. He slowly got up, a hand going to his chest where she had hit him, a half grimace forcing its way out as he shut his eyes. Kinou collapsed to the ground and remained on her back, the world spinning about her.

Some slight coughing reached her ears, but she began to lose her sense of where she was as the dizziness overwhelmed her. The person she hit got up and leaned over her, some of his soft hair brushing against her cheek.

"Hey there," he said in a soft, quiet voice with a hint of an English accent. "Are you—" He suddenly cut off, and with what little consciousness she had left, she saw his face harden and sensed something evil creeping over her. The daylight turned to night, and she thought no more.

Something was tugging against her neck when she came to grips with her body again. Whatever she was set down upon was very soft and warm, and she didn't want to get up, but whatever was touching her was annoying enough to make her open her eyes. She immediately recognized Ryou beside her, but before he noticed that she was awake, she noticed that he had the same stiff expression on as before, and realized with a start that it was Bakura. He turned his eyes upon her and dropped her golden bird necklace, and his eyes softened as Ryou was forced back into his body to reclaim it.

"Hello again," he said warmly, his face breaking into a smile. "Forgive me if I frightened you."

"R-Ryou?" Kinou asked, sitting up slightly. She glanced at her surroundings and saw that she was on a couch in a modest little apartment lighted mostly by the sunlight still streaming in.

"Oh, you know my name," he said with a slight laugh. His voice sounded so much sweeter in person, Kinou could hardly believe that it was the same character. "Makes me feel slightly obligated to know yours, if I may ask it of you."

He seems so much politer, too, she thought. "I'm… Kinou," she murmured.

"I'm pleased to meet you."

"Is this where you live?"

"Yes, it is." He gave a somewhat embarrassed grin. "It's not much, but I find it quite comfortable."

"I like small spaces, too, actually." She swung her legs over the side of the couch. "…why did you bring me here?" she asked timidly, hoping she wouldn't sound accusing.

Ryou slightly pursed his lips in thought. "I don't know, really." He blinked and stared hard at the pillow beside her for a moment, shook his head, and looked back at her, smiling again. "You fainted after we ran into each other, and it didn't seem right to just leave you there, especially since my apartment was so close by." He stood up. "You're welcome to stay for some lunch, if you like."

Kinou nodded, and he took only a few steps before he was in the kitchen. "Do you like ham sandwiches?" he asked, leaning over the counter.

"That would be great," she replied, managing a small smile to cover up the slight uneasiness that had arisen in her stomach. She had a feeling that it wasn't Ryou that had brought her back to the living space, and the fact that Bakura was the first one she saw only confirmed her suspicions. Her hand found its way to her necklace, and she wondered why Bakura had been looking at it so intently.

Ryou came back over quickly with the sandwiches on a plate, along with two sodas. Kinou picked up one and peered at it, for the writing was in Japanese, but soon recognized the Pepsi logo and immediately opened it up and took a long drink from it. She gave a satisfied sigh as she took the can away from her lips, realizing how much she had missed the caffeine. The white-haired boy chuckled slightly and started into a sandwich.

After eating for a few minutes in silence, he took a small sip of his soda before putting it back on the small coffee table and gazing at her. She stopped munching on a sandwich and hastily swallowed a bite. "Is there something wrong?"

Ryou shook his head. "I've actually been meaning to ask you… what were you in such a hurry to get away from?"

Kinou paused, wondering how stupid she would sound. "Well… it's actually pretty complicated… erm…" She bit her lip, trying to find a way to put it into words. "You know how… how Seto was the original keeper of the Millennium Rod?"

He nodded and focused all his attention to her.

"And—" She really didn't want to say the next part, as it would make the atmosphere quite awkward if she did. "He—well… erm…" She sighed, realizing that it would have to come out one way or another. "The Rod is a Millennium Item, and… it came with a spirit, as you—undoubtedly—" She sort of gestured with her hand to him.

"I know what you're saying; please go on," he said, nodding solemnly.

"Yes, well… we just went to see Ishizu to ask about it because he has it now, and he's being somewhat possessed by it—"

Ryou's attention had sharpened. "How does he have it now?" His voice was a little stronger, but he still looked like himself and not the spirit.

"Long story short… Marik kinda died a few months ago when Seto and I were there, so now Seto has the Rod, and… yeah," she finished lamely.

"I see. And now that he has it, the spirit of the Rod has started to appear?"

Kinou glanced at Ryou, slightly wondering whether it was him talking anymore. "Yeah, and we just went to see Ishizu, like I said, and we saw a few visions of his past… in the last one, the spirit killed a princess that Seto had been with for a while. Her name was Anji, and a lot of people have been calling me that recently. Actually, the reason we went was because the spirit attacked me, and he had called me Anji… I'm sorry, I'm probably not making much sense," she said, laughing slightly.

"Did you hear the spirit's name?" he asked sternly, making Kinou uneasy with the possibility that Ryou was the one in control of his body, but the spirit was now talking through him.

"Uh, yeah… I think it was Setokku."

"Setokku."

Kinou nodded and shot a glance at the door to the apartment.

"Anji had that necklace, didn't she?" he asked, looking at the little golden bird.

His gaze was making her extremely uncomfortable. "I—I can't remember if she did; the vision was a little vague," she lied, slightly getting up. "I think I should be getting back to Seto—he'll probably be worried about me." There was no way in hell that she was going to see the CEO, but she needed an excuse to get out of there.

Ryou stood up also. "Wasn't he the one you were running away from?" he nearly stated at her. She could see the dark looks of the yami starting to creep over the boy's features, and she took a step towards the door.

"Yeah—he was—but—" She turned quickly to reach for the door, but Bakura was faster and shot his hand out to grasp her arm. The action sent a surge of warm energy through her, and she gasped. His grip faltered and he let go, but in the small moment of their contact, she could have sworn that she saw him dressed in Egyptian garments, a large scar across his right cheek, his skin dyed a light brown, and he had been staring at her, for she was in elegant silk as well—Anji's royal outfit. It had flashed by so fast that it had surprised them a great deal.

Ryou blinked, and both of them were still in the little apartment; he reached out and gently took her hand to keep her from leaving. There was no reaction that time, but Kinou looked back at him with her other hand drawn up to her forehead, still trying to figure out what the hell she had just seen.

"I'm so sorry," he whispered. "I—I didn't mean for that to happen…"

"I'm alright," she said somewhat breathlessly.

"Do you have a place to go?"

"Well—I hadn't really thought about it, but—"

"If you were staying with Kaiba, then you don't, now that you don't want to go back."

"I—I suppose," she said nervously. "But I don't think—"

"Kinou," he interrupted. "I'll offer you a place to stay if you need it; I could easily sleep on the couch—"

"I'm—I'm not sure I'd want to stay here if that could happen—"

He shook his head. "I have him under control most of the time; I'm not trying to force you into anything. I don't know where you'll go if you can't go back."

Once again, Kinou suspected that Bakura was somewhat speaking through Ryou, and worried that if she refused any longer, she might get hurt. "All—all right," she said, swallowing.

His face went softer, and she knew that the yami had gotten what he wanted, leaving Ryou to finish it off. "Just for now," he said, now truly himself. "There is a lock on the bedroom door if he ever—"

"Yeah… thanks," she said, pulling her hand away from him.

"I was originally on my way to the store when we bumped into each other, so I think I'll go finish that errand," he said, drawing his hand back and slightly looking to the side. "You can come, if you want."

"I think I'll… stay here until you get back," she murmured.

"Alright, well, I won't be long. Make yourself at home and help yourself to whatever's in the kitchen," he said, waving a hand slightly at the apartment. Kinou nodded and walked to the bedroom, sitting down on the bed. She watched him leave, and could have sworn that she saw him slightly clutch nervously at his chest, probably where the Ring rested.

As soon as the door shut behind him, she laid back and curled up, hoping that her new home wouldn't somehow become a prison later on.

Just in case there's any confusion: in this fic, Ryou is the hikari and Bakura is the yami (I don't want to type Yami Bakura every time I mention him ::snickers:: yes, I am a lazy bum). So yeah! Just so that no one's terribly confused about that. I only want you guys to be horribly confused about whether it's Ryou or Bakura talking all the time ::evil laugh:: Hope you guys liked this chapter!