Chapter 3: The Spirit of the Ring

That night, I sat at my desk in my apartment, carefully writing a letter to my sister. I would send it to Father first so he could redirect it to her. I couldn't help thinking about Yugi and Jonouchi, how disappointed they probably were; I wished that I could play games with them.

"H-ha, ha, ha…"

That voice again! This time I heard the voice both out loud and inside my head.

"So…you can hear my voice now, can you?"

"Who's there?!" I demanded, leaping up from my chair. I felt amazingly alone, though there had to be someone speaking to me.

"I guess from now on I'll be able to speak with my host…Truly a day to remember! H-ha, ha, ha…"

What?! Host?! What does that mean? Now, usually when I asked myself a question like that, either Taro or Rhiamon would show up and answer it. This time, I heard nothing but this new voice.

"And yes…something else worth remembering…I've finally met him! The other boy with a Millennium Item…After three-thousand years! The Millennium Items must be resonating with each other to produce some kind of field…and that's why you can hear me now…"

"Who are you?!" I demanded. I really disliked this sadistic sounding voice in my head; it was like a mixture of all my psychic friends, though mostly Akira, and that scared me; why wasn't Taro answering?

"Who am I? I've been with you for a long time…hiding within you…and within the ring of wisdom, the Millennium Ring…"

"The Millennium Ring?" I was on my knees by now. "You mean, this pendant?" I opened my shirt slightly to look at the pendant; horrified, I saw that every spike was driven into my now bleeding chest, and yet I felt no pain.

"H-ha, ha, ha…Now you can't take me off…Because of you, I've finally found the bearer of the Millennium Puzzle…I've decided to keep you as my permanent host!"

"Get out! Get out of my body!" I exclaimed, trying to sound forceful, the complete opposite of the fear I felt.

"Now, now, don't be so cold. Believe me when I say, it feels good in here! In you!! And instead of paying rent, I grant your wishes! Why, I've granted them almost every day…"

Now I was really confused, and the voice seemed to sense that.

"Didn't you think this when you were playing those games? 'How fun this is!' 'I wish I could play games with my friends forever!' I granted that wish for you!"

"Wh-what are you talking about…? Y-you can't mean those–"

"Well, you'll realize soon enough…In any case, this is my chance to get the Millennium Puzzle! If I let this opportunity go by, I don't know how long I'll have to wait for another one…The Millennium Item are relics that house souls from the past…like memorial stones or portable tombs…However, if there is a guardian of the tomb, there must also be a thief to rob the tomb! H-ha, ha, ha…!"

It was silent for a few moments, and then the voice began again, with a slower, more serious tone. "Now…since I'm feeling good tonight, let me pay my 'rent'…"

"Wh-what are you up to?!"

"H-ha, ha, ha…So you want a crew cut? You may not believe it, but I care for my master…that gym teacher swore at you, didn't he…?"

I suddenly realized what this voice was going to do. "No! Don't…!"

"Sleep, Ryou Bakura, sleep…"

The Ring flashed and I blacked-out.

I didn't go to school the next day; I was afraid Koe, the voice, would somehow possess me again and hurt someone else. He informed me the previous night that he'd already almost killed the gym teacher; that Mr. Karita was in a coma in the hospital. Just like all my friends. Koe wasn't happy that I wanted to stay home, and I was almost afraid that he would force me to go, but he didn't; he respected my wishes. Instead, I started pelting him with questions, the first and foremost being:

"What happened to Taro and the others?"

Koe paced back and forth in front of me; his spiritual body was translucent, and I could clearly see the walls and features of the room through him. I was amazed that he actually had a body, but it also scared me because it meant he wasn't just a voice in my head; he was a different person.

"I got rid of those fools," Koe answered. "When I realized we could communicate, I saw no need for them."

"What?! But they were my friends!" I exclaimed. Then I thought came to me. "How did you get rid of them? They were me, weren't they?"

At this, Koe began to laugh. "Part of you? Fool. They were spirit guides, every one of them. That Taro came to you when you were little because you were scared and no one was helping you. Rhimon showed up the first time you had a vision to help explain it. The other three showed up for similar reasons, but none of them were actually you. And neither am I."

"You're…"

"The spirit of the Millennium Ring. I told you that. So I'm you're seventh spirit guide, I suppose, and I know everything the others did. You won't need anyone else." He inclined his head in thought, his white hair bouncing slightly, just like mine did. "Now, to business. One, you are not to transfer schools again. I'm to close to the Millennium Puzzle to let it slip away because of my host's fear."

"You're telling me what to do? Like I have no choice?"

"You don't have a choice," Koe answered, smirking slightly. "That's my second rule. You have no free will to do what you want or any control over your life. Three, you are not to interfere with my plans, or what I do. Last night, I blocked your consciousness from what I was doing; in short, you fainted and I took control. I won't waste my energy on doing that again unless I have no choice."

"How can you think you can control me?!" I demanded angrily. I'd only just learned I have a guest in my body and now he thinks he can rule over me like a king!

"Quite easily," he answered. "But don't think there's nothing in this for you. As I've already said, I grant your wishes instead of paying rent. If you follow my rules, I'll continue to help you, as well as offer protection when it's needed."

"It's my body. You have no control over what I do," I argued hopefully. He laughed again, though this time there was a tone of warning in it.

"Do you really think that? You naïve fool. If you haven't realized yet, it's also my body, and I have every right to control what you do. For your protection as well as mine." He stared in into my eyes with his own chocolate ones and smiled maliciously. "For example, I would like to see you stand on your head."

I didn't move, and he laughed a third time.

"Now, now, we can't have that. Don't you know obedience is virtue? I'll have to show you what happens if you disobey me."

It suddenly felt like there were white-hot knives piercing my skin all over my body; the pain spread to my bones and throughout my very being; I fell to my knees from the torment, but it didn't stop. I felt like I would faint from the pain.

"It'll stop if you do what I asked," Koe said, his voice breaking through the agony. A tear ran down my cheek, partially because of the pain, and partially because I knew I had to obey. I struggled to my feet and fell into a handstand. Instantly, the pain stopped, and I fell onto my back, crying slightly. Koe walked over to me as I got to my knees and knelt down beside me. "You don't want to go through that again, do you, Yadonushi?"

I shook my head frantically, tears running freely down my cheeks. He gently lifted my chin so I was forced to gaze into his eyes. They looked cold and almost soul-less up close, though there was a tiny spark of compassion, so small that it almost wasn't there.

"You'll obey my orders now, won't you?" he asked quietly. I nodded reluctantly, and he smiled again. "Good boy. You'll be around for much longer that way." He stared at me for a few moments and started playing with my hair; I had the urge to draw back, but something told me that would be a bad idea so I stayed put. He wrapped his fingers around my hair and pulled me into a kiss; I was too shocked to do anything. I could feel his lips pressing gently, almost lovingly, against mine; the hand that wasn't holding my hair moved down my body and gripped my arm, pulling me closer to him. I melted into his touch, and we stayed like that on the floor for a few minutes.

DING-DONG.

Koe pulled away from me, hand still gripping my arm. "That's the door, Yadonushi."

"I know."

"You should go answer it. It might be important."

"I will."

"I'll be watching you. You're mine."

"Yes, Koe."

He wiped the tears from my face and disappeared. I stood up, a bit disoriented, walked to the door, and slowly opened it.

"Yes…?" I said before I realized who was beyond the door.

"Yo!" said Jonouchi. Yugi and the others were there too, probably having just come from school.

"Y-yugi…guys…"

"We came over to play with you, Bakura," Jonouchi went on.

"Let's all play Monster World together!" Yugi suggested excitedly. In that instant, I forgot almost everything Koe had told me about his rules.

"No!" I exclaimed. "Get out of–"

I was suddenly wrenched out of control of my body and ended up in a very strange place.

"–the hall and come on in!" Koe finished for me. "I'm so glad you could all make it. Right this way…"

I looked around me bewilderedly; I was standing on a grassy hillside close to a river; to my right were foggy Welsh hills like my father had described and like what I'd seen in books. Standing behind me were two tall, carved wooden doors, just standing on their own. The land on the other side of the river looked just like Giza, complete with the pyramids and scorching desert sun.

Whew, that was close…Don't be mean my host…It would be rude to turn away your friends after they've come over to play…H-ha, ha, ha…

Koe's voice was as clear as if he'd been standing next to me, though he wasn't.

"Where am I?!" I called out. He didn't answer me immediately; instead, he led my friends to the game room where they got their first look at my custom battle board.

You're in your soul room, Yadonushi, Koe answered as he watched my friends' amazement. That's where you go when you're not in control of our body. I expect you've never seen it before.

"Why does it look like this?"

It's a reflection of your soul and mind. Everything there must be important to you in some way. Now, if you don't mind, I have a Puzzle to win.

Calai'di–Going out on a limb a bit there, aren't I? Though, since the manga is in Yugi's perspective 90% of the time, it could have happened.

Ok, I don't own The Dark is Rising either, which is where I got the idea for the standing doors in Ryou's soul room.

Hey, do we ever see Ryou's soul room in the manga?