I. Yami no Kagami: Mirror of Darkness

It was a new moon, so no light shone through the bedroom window of Ryou Bakura at 12:01 A.M. that night. Yet Ryou was suddenly, inexplicably, very much awake.

He lay in bed for a moment, wondering what had woken him—a sound, perhaps, or a sudden movement in his sleep? But he quickly dismissed both options. Such small disturbances rarely bothered him lately—for the past couple of months, he had slept like the dead every night.

No, it had not been something from outside of Ryou that had woken him. Could it have been…?

Ryou reached inside his nightshirt and pulled out his Millennium Ring. His stomach clenched as he saw that the artifact was glowing, and he braced himself.

Sure enough, a tingling, numbing sensation filled Ryou's body. Trembling, Ryou tried to pull the Ring off, but his brain's command never reached his hands. They were the numbest of all, and the feeling was quickly spreading up his arms. His vision began to cloud and he felt the darkness of unconsciousness beckon to him.

"NO!" he attempted to shout, but it left his throat as a feeble whisper. He could no longer feel any part of his body. It was as though he was a single pair of eyes—with rapidly fading vision. But he continued to fight the deadening sensation, trying with all his might to just lift a finger, anything to shake off the feeling that enveloped him…

Yadonushi, how many times do I have to tell you that fighting me will only hurt you?the cold voice of Ryou's other self asked nonchalantly.

/I… won't… l-let you take over…/ Ryou gathered enough strength to clench his fist, but as he did, a sharp pain shot up his arm, causing him to flinch inwardly and release his grip again.

You will give me control, yadonushi. Or you will get very, very hurt.

/You have no power over me…/

The spirit's cruel laughter flooded Ryou's mind. You are a fool, yadonushi.

Suddenly, Ryou's vision cleared, although the tingling numbness of his other's control remained. He found himself leaving the room, stopping only briefly to pick up a small round object. After walking into the bathroom, Ryou's yami turned the boy's eyes towards the mirror. Look.Ryou saw himself reflected back. Except, he didn't look like himself. The heavily shadowed reflection looked sinister and threatening. Only his eyes stood out, seeming to glow.

It was exactly how he had imagined his other self must look.

Ryou's yami forced their shared mouth into a smirk. You are the one with no power,the dark spirit said quietly. I can make you do anything I want. I can hide those things from you, or I can make you watch. I can help you… or hurt you.

Ryou had not yet given up on breaking his other's control. He tried desperately to raise his arm, hoping to turn on the light and eradicate the menacing shadows surrounding him. But as much as he strived to, he could not make his arm acknowledge his command.

Giving a slight snort, the yami raised Ryou's arm and flicked the light on. Give up, yadonushi.He then lowered their eyes to the object he had picked up.

Ryou started as he saw the item. It was a golden ball that bore a raised Eye of Horus: the Eye of Horus that his own Millennium Ring and Yuugi's Millennium Puzzle both shared… the Eye of Horus that also graced the Millennium Eye, which belonged to Pegasus.

/This isn't… this… this can't be…/

It is,Ryou's other said, his mind-voice filled with glee. The Millennium Eye belongs to us now, yadonushi. You should be happy. Think of all the power we have.

/You stole it!/ Ryou exclaimed in horror.

Ye-es,his other replied. I'm a thief. It's what I do.

The yami looked at the glittering Item in Ryou's hand meditatively for what seemed like an incredibly long time. Then, to Ryou's terror, he slowly lifted it to their left eye and pressed slightly.

/NO!/ Ryou thought desperately, realizing that his yami was trying to force the Millennium Eye into his face. /No! You can't! You—you wouldn't—!/ His other self didn't reply; instead he continued to push the golden Eye against Ryou's socket. /Please… d-don't…/

Ryou noticed then that his body, though still numb and under the control of his yami, was trembling. Was it possible that his other self was afraid?

His eye began to hurt. Multicolored dots from the applied pressure crowded both eyes, making it impossible to see. Again he felt the inviting blackness of unconsciousness, and this time he almost gave in—

But then the pressure on his eye disappeared. His yami had dropped the Millennium Eye… by mistake, or on purpose? As Ryou's vision returned, he found that he was staring down at the Eye. He could feel resentment radiating from his other self. His mouth was curled into a scowl. Consider yourself lucky, yadonushi,the dark spirit's voice said, and Ryou was plunged into oblivion.

Ryou woke unwillingly the next morning. He stayed with his eyes closed for a minute. Then he realized that one eye hurt.

Suddenly, he remembered what his dark side had tried to do during the night. He lifted a shaking hand up to his left eye and felt it—skin. Cautiously, he opened his eyes—sight through both of them. His yami had decided against installing the Millennium Eye. Thank goodness.

But, judging by the fact that his left eye still hurt quite a bit, the dark spirit had not made that decision immediately after taking full control. He had instead persisted in trying to force the Eye into Ryou's socket.

But he had not done so, and that was all that mattered.

Ryou sat up in bed and sighed. Despite what he tried to tell the dark spirit last night, he knew full well that he had no control over his yami. If his other had decided to put in the Millennium Eye, Ryou would have a magical golden object embedded in his socket. Ryou had grown somewhat used to this, though it didn't keep him from fighting back. What he was really fearful of was himself. He had become afraid to look in mirrors lately—he was always scared that he would see his dark self staring back at him, like he had the night before.

And he had changed, too, because of his possession by the spirit. Ryou found himself lying more often, sometimes for no reason at all. And the yami's role as a thief was reflecting in Ryou as well—only a few days ago, he had been tempted to steal a Monster World figurine from a store, simply because he hadn't wanted to pay for it.

These dishonesties had not been part of Ryou before he received the Millennium Ring, before he met the dark being that so often stole control of his body. He had picked them up from his yami. Ryou was becoming like the spirit he hated.

And he was terrified that he would be able to see that in a mirror, his own reflection shrouded in gloom, his expression mimicking the hate he always felt from his other self. A mirror of darkness, reflecting his shadowed—and often overshadowed—soul of light. Showing that no matter how much he tried to fight it, he was becoming his yami.