---Oh so many wonderful reviews, I want to comment on them all, but I don't want my notes to be too long... I'll see what I can do.
Sure you don't need payment Windy-chan; it'll help you get your Tarot Cards XP
Man... I have vicious fans... first you beat up my Marik-muse, now you beat up my cliffhangers...
Microwaved Ryou? Hmm... Haven't tried that one yet... Hehehe...
Yes, I am a fan of Linkin Park, I don't know about being a huge fan... Anyways, Zari, your review was a little hard to read, but I deciphered it. What songs have I used that are unreleased? All the titles I got were from "Hybrid Theory", "Reanimation" and "Meteora"
Take as long as you want to review Mikari-chan, there's a lot you have that I haven't reviewed yet...
Disclaimer: I've found another picture of Seto with long hair... it's a conspiracy I tell you!
Warnings: Twisted things from my mind, and death (I haven't gone too soft) ---
Chapter Eight
Easier to Run
Malik, once again, found himself in his Soul Room. He lay on the cold floor, staring up at the endless darkness above him. Blood fell from his eyes like tears; they ran down his face, creating small pools on the stone floor. Why did this have to happen? Malik thought to himself as another bloody tear fell.
Images of Ryou flashed in the back of his mind. His screams echoed constantly around the Soul Room, along with one thought from Malik.
It's all my fault...
Malik had tried with all his might to break out of his Soul Room when Marik had hurt Ryou. He banged on the stone walls until his fists were raw and bleeding, screaming for Marik to let him out, until he had no more energy left. He would have given anything to save his tenshi, but Marik was too strong. Malik hated Marik... but the blonde's hatred only made Marik stronger.
So Malik laid there. He had nothing; he felt so useless.
But of course... Where would you go...?
Malik froze as he listened to Marik talking to Ryou.
You have no other friends... And you'd be worse off going back to Bakura...
Malik closed his eyes as even more bloody tears flooded out. Malik had promised that Ryou would never have to be alone again. He had promised to keep Ryou safe from everything. He couldn't even protect him from himself. Malik had failed Ryou.
Decisions, decisions...
Malik prayed to whatever god that would listen, that Ryou made the right choice...
Ryou mustered up all the courage he had and looked Marik straight in the eye.
"I'm sick of being hurt by everyone around me," Ryou said, putting all the anger he felt into his words, "All I'm looking for is a way out, and I'll do anything to find it."
Ryou moved to the door and slipped his shoes on quickly. Marik stood up and followed him.
"So you're just going to run away again?" Marik asked with a sinister grin as Ryou reached for the doorknob. Ryou stopped and looked back at the blond.
"It's easier to run." Ryou said quietly. He felt ashamed. He always took the easy way out. Maybe his yami was right all along...
"Get out here you worthless piece of human filth."
Ryou could picture Bakura saying that to him. He bit back a sob as he turned away from Marik again, opening the door.
"You always were useless." Marik laughed. Ryou ignored him and stumbled out the door into the cold morning air.
Bakura ran down the streets of Domino. It was late afternoon by now and he wasn't at Malik's house yet. It didn't help that he'd never been to the house before and he didn't know where it was. The only thing he was relying on was vague hints that he could filter though Ryou strong mental defenses.
He finally saw a house that looked like the same one he got from Ryou's mind. Hoping that it was the right house, he sped up to the front door and knocked loudly. The door slowly opened, revealing Marik with a knife being played with in his hands.
"Ah, Bakura," Marik fleered at the spirit, "Fancy seeing you here."
Bakura glared at the blond and grabbed him by the collar of his shirt, pulling him close.
"Where is he?" Bakura snarled.
"Who?" Marik asked, not bothering to mask the laughter in his eyes.
"You know who, you fifthly worm!" Bakura yelled, pulling Marik closer and glaring him straight in the eye. Neither of them was threatened by the other.
"That hikari of yours sure is tight," Marik purred, smirking at the expression on Bakura's face, "I would have guessed him to be a virgin... but we both know that isn't true, right?"
Fury blazed in Bakura dark eyes as be punched Marik in the face, sending him to the floor, knocking the knife out of his hands.
"Fucker!" the ivory spirit spat.
"That I am," Marik retorted, sitting up, licking the blood away as it trickled out of his nose. He stood up again, still grinning, "But I am no better then you. How many times have you taken the angel?"
Bakura growled again and tackled Marik. Marik fell hard to ground with Bakura on top of him. Bakura pinned the blond down with one hand and reached over for the knife with the other.
"No one touches my hikari without a price." Bakura said, looking at the sliver blade. Bakura grinned down at Marik; silent laughter still gleamed in the blond's eyes. Bakura drug the knife down to Marik pants. "Let's see how you like it."
Bakura stabbed the knife up into Marik. As strong and psychotic the blond was. He still couldn't help but to scream out. Bakura chuckled as he felt the warm blood trickle out over his hand. Bakura pulled the knife out and stabbed it into him again. Marik bit down hard on his lip as his face contorted in pain.
Bakura smirked and licked the blood from Marik's lip as he continued to stab the knife deeper into the blond. Bakura closed his eyes, enjoying the screams when he noticed a change. He opened them again to see that it was Malik instead of the darker side. Bakura stopped and looked down at Malik.
The blond sobbed as unbearable pain shot though him. He tried to stand it. He tried to tell himself that this was just his punishment for having broken his promise to Ryou. He deserved everything the spirit did to him.
Bakura pulled the knife out of Malik. His whole hand was covered in blood and it ran down his arm. He held the knife over Malik and a few drops of the crimson liquid dripped down onto Malik's face. He opened his lavender eyes to the spirit.
"Not as good as Ryou's" Bakura mused as he licked the blood off the blade. "But it serves well enough as a substitute."
"I tried... to stop him..." Malik winced.
"I bet you did," sneered Bakura, placing the blade to Malik's throat, "Now, where is he?"
"He... left." Malik choked out, "Bakura I'm sorry."
"So am I." Bakura said softly as he slit Malik's throat.
Ryou slumped down onto an empty bench in the park. He'd made it this far, but he couldn't go on any longer. He lay back on the bench and a single tear escaped his eye. It hurt so much, mostly in his heart. The real physical pain had numbed with the cold. His whole body seemed frozen.
"It's easier to run," Ryou sang softly to himself as he watched the light snow fall soundlessly around him, "Replacing this pain with something numb..."
Ryou closed his eyes and imagined he was still in the warm arms of Malik. He felt safe and secure with the blond, but there was still something missing. The image in Ryou's mind changed so that it was not Malik holding him, but Bakura. Ryou shook his head; he must have been knocked crazy to think such an absurd thought.
"It's so much easier to go," Ryou continued as he felt himself slipping into an unconscious sate "This face all this pain here all alone..."
Bakura sat outside on Malik's front steps. He slowly licked the blood of his hand as he thought. Where would Ryou go? He thought to himself. He wouldn't go home, would he? Not with the way the spirit had been acting...
"If I could change I would," Bakura said quietly, "Take back the pain I would..."
If only he could say these words to Ryou... So much could have been done differently.
"Retrace every wrong move that I made I would." Bakura sighed "If I could stand up and take the blame I would."
Bakura stood up and decided that sitting wasn't going to help him find his hikari any faster.
"If I could take all the shame... to the grave..."
---Merry Christmas y'all!---