hey there - back again (though i don't think i really need to keep announcing the obvious...;)

as always, i'd like to pass out some thanks to people...
Cettie-girl - wow, u always manage to get in a review asaip (as soon as i post...) more thanx for u to add to a growing pile... y do i make bakura suffer so? even i don't get it, then again, there's a lot of things i just don't get, but i'm rambling now...lol
mom-mi-oh - aaah! the dreams still haven't stopped (i like dream sequences - in case u couldn't tell ) just as much thanx as ever 4 u...
R Amythest - ummm, should i be scared? lol, then again, i can be pretty scary myself...i definatly got a smile outta u're review...but yeah... - go u on all the pokemon stuff, i'd consider myself a pretty decent fan, though u seem to be in a class by yourself.
in fact (as i've had to explain before) the name joey is actually a character in what i consider my first real fanfic (pokemon by the way...) which i've revised and might be posting somewhere along the line here - but yeah - it's also become my nickname in real life too, and in answer to your question, i am a girl - how else could i get away with a major ryou bakura obsession....lol!

and Fyredra - YAY! haven't heard from you in a while... as far as to why Bakura took part of Ryou's soul, he doesn't really know much about Ryou's true (and possibly magical) powers, but he has figured out that by taking even a bit of his soul which is essentially Ryou's life force, he can use that to sustain and increase his own dark power...
and as far as Kira's stubborness, i'll have to agree with you there, though you gotta admit, since she's not quite so head over heels for him as the rest of us are, and since she honestly thinks that ryou was just being weak and spying on her for bakura so that bakura could destroy her, she does have sorta a good reason for her feelings (though i promise she'll come around eventually, even if i do have to take it upon myself to bash some sense into her...lol) and as far as Bakura's plan, well, he just wants total dominance over both realms and as much evil power as he can handle (ya know, the usual) and the girl? well, u'll just have to find out later, ty again for reviewing!

wow that was long...
hope u all enjoy this - now i'm gonna go work on all those fun applications i should have had in like a month ago....sighs and waves cya all l8r!

Part 1 (Chapter 3) – Remembering Forever Long Ago

Yami?!

Hikari, you're shaking. What is it?

A dream. Yugi struggled to breath calmly as he turned on a lamp for light. I saw Ryou.

Yugi...

He was in pain, Yami! Not even like before; not even like what Kira suffered! It was different...

How?

I don't know. But I felt like I was losing him – like he was fading away – dying almost...but somehow worse than that.. And I had to watch! Yugi closed his eyes, but two silent tears escaped. It was horrible. I was losing him and I couldn't even help. Yami, I can't stand it! I can't even help him in my dreams!!

Hush, young one. Yami materialized faintly beside Yugi, resting a transparent hand on the small boy's shoulder. Yugi drew up his knees, hiding his face, and he trembled with sobs. It was only a nightmare.

But what if it wasn't? Yugi demanded. What if Bakura really is destroying Ryou in the shadow realms? Ryou's trapped, and what if I really can't save him? What if I've already lost him?

We've got to have faith, Yugi, Yami instructed. We've got to remain strong.

"Ryou..." Yugi broke into tears again, unable to speak anymore. Yami sat there next to him all night, even after the boy fell asleep again. There was no more that Yugi could say, and no more that Yami could do to comfort him. They hadn't been able to find Ryou in the Shadow Realms for days, and there was no sign of him, for better or for worse. There was no sure hope of rescuing him, and no promising guarantee that Yami could provide. They had little left to go on.

Ryou lifted his head, his soul recovering from a long, rested nothingness. Thankfully, Bakura was nowhere in sight. Still, as consciousness made rise to meet him, so did the lasting pain; his soul was no longer whole. Bakura had violated his most sacred essence, and Ryou, though still full of good, was finally beginning to break.

Then came a soft sound, like a wind whistling through tree branches with a strange, haunting melody. Closing his eyes, Ryou found deep within himself, memories of a breezy spring day turning into a warm summer's night. He saw himself, long ago, as a young boy just looking for fun and friends.

"Yugi?"

"Hmm?"

"What do you think of the future?"

"What do you mean?"

"The future. What'll happen when we grow up?"

"I don't know. Does it matter?"

"Maybe."

"We'll still be friends."

"Yeah. Always."

"So why worry?"

"I was just wondering."

"Wonder later. There's always tomorrow."

"You're right. Race you!" And two small boys took off. Ryou, his white hair flying behind him, led the way, shouting for Yugi to catch him while the smaller Yugi gave chase in between bursts of laughter. Running through the park, they engaged in a wild game of tag, until they both collapsed to catch their breath. Spending the afternoon doing all the things that young boys do – catching bugs, climbing trees, swimming, and playing pirates by the stream – Yugi and Ryou spent a carefree time, never worrying about what might be yet to come.

"So long, Yugi."

"I'll come over tomorrow morning," Yugi waved as they separated, each on his way home.

"I'll be waiting."

"Good-bye."

Ryou managed a sad smile at the remembrance of those happier days. Their good-bye that day had been the last one when both were still truly innocent. Ryou had gone home only to find out that his mother had collapsed. The next days of his life were spent in a confused sort of trance at the hospital where she had been taken. Yugi and his grandfather came to visit every day, but Ryou hardly noticed his friend as his mother continued to grow weaker. A week after that first day, Ryou's father showed up, taking Ryou home where he cared for his son the rest of the summer.

"What's wrong, Ryou?"

"Nothing," he shrugged uneasily. "What are we doing today?"

Yugi was reluctant to give up, "You've never been quite the same since, well, you know."

Ryou shrugged again. "It's still hard sometimes, but I'll be fine." After his mother had passed away half a year earlier, Ryou's father returned to his work abroad, coming home for a brief visit nearly every month.

He hadn't told Yugi, but last time his father had brought Ryou a gift. He had been in Egypt where, as Ryou's father explained, a certain ancient artifact had caught his eye. A ring marked with mysterious symbols and made purely from gold...

He said that I was destined to have it, Ryou mused, a little bitterness mixed in his thoughts. But so far, the only destiny I've had is darkness. The ring had showed it's power first in subtle ways, almost as if a source of comfort, though only in darkness. For two years it hung, invisible and nearly silent, around Ryou's neck. Then, one day, a similar surprise came to Yugi.

"What's that, Yugi?" Ryou couldn't help but grin at his best friend's enthusiasm. The small boy had rushed over to Ryou's house the moment the gift had been placed in his hands.

"It's a puzzle," Yugi explained, holding up the curiously ornate box. "Grandpa gave it to me and dared me to solve it. He knows how much I like a good challenge."

Ryou look at Yugi respectfully, secretly wishing he still had his friend's innocence. As it was, his dreams had been especially dark in recent nights.

Yugi settled himself on Ryou's floor, spilling out the contents of the box in front of him. "Curious," he mused. "It looks like they're made of gold. I wonder what it's supposed to look like when I'm done." He lifted two pieces in his hand and began to look for some possible way to fit them together.

Ryou bent down to see, his own curiosity getting the better of him. One shiny piece caught his eye in particular: a flat bit of gold with jagged edges in all directions and a smooth eye imprinted on the top. Ryou let his fingers drift over the raised design, realizing how eerily similar it was to the eye on his own golden item that hung about his neck even then. Yugi was paying little heed to his friend's conflicting expressions as he happily worked on the puzzle.

That was the first time it had happened, and only for a moment then. Ryou lost it. Not in an extreme way, he just sort of blacked out, and opened his eyes a few moments later to find Yugi hovering anxiously over him. "Ryou? What's wrong?" Yugi's own violet pupils gazed with concern into fading green ones.

Ryou looked away. "Nothing. I'm just not feeling so well."

Yugi didn't seem to believe him, but sadly packed his things and left, leaving Ryou to face the darkness all alone.

Since then, Ryou's blackouts grew worse and more frequent. He attributed the problems to the ring around his neck. Strangely enough, during one of his longer spells, Ryou found himself conscious in another world - a world of shadows. It was the summer before his freshman year of high school when Ryou entered these Shadow Realms and lost himself to the malice of his ring and to Bakura...

With a sudden gasp, Ryou opened his eyes before any more painful memories could relive themselves. The song that had revived such strong childhood memories stopped abruptly as Ryou looked around. Before him were two child-like eyes of the purest green.

"Who are you?" Not at all nervous, very unlike the girl's previous company, Ryou observed the child before him with a faint interest.

"I'm not here to hurt you, if that's what you mean," the girl assured him.

Ryou raised an eyebrow at her size, "I wasn't exactly thinking that."

"Looks can be deceiving," the girl whispered, "In my case, I hope it's for the better."

"What's that supposed to mean?" Ryou asked. The girl only shrugged. Ryou glanced around him, "And how'd you get in here anyhow? I thought the garden was sealed off."

The girl nodded, "My music brought me inside."

Ryou's spirits raised with a thought, but the girl shook him off before he could ask, "But it cannot take you out of here. The strength for that will have to come from another source."

"But will it come at all?"

"Fate has many plans, but it ultimately rests in the hands of all people in this world and the choices they make. Even if some source of good is prepared, destiny cannot mold it to its given task."

Ryou shook his head, not quite understanding these words.

Her face full of pure sympathy, the child rested a hand on Ryou's shoulder in comfort. "Be brave. You will need every ounce of courage you possess." Ryou shivered at her words, but found comfort once again as the girl lifted a strange, wooden flute and began to play her magical melody.

He felt a healing strength seep into his soul, though it could not fully repair such a loss as he had suffered. Still, Ryou found shelter in the music, even long after the girl and her song disappeared and only a ringing echo remained.

go figure, she shows up yet again....
ya know, that little girl sometimes surprises even me...

and i really dunno what inspired all those memories - i made up most of it, though I tried to follow what little i did know about Bakura's past...shrugs either way.
i also found it kinda odd - i kept thinking of Lord of the Rings while writing some of that - ya know, with the evil millenium ring taking over our innocently favorite character... sorta like the one ring did to frodo, though at least he didn't get a torture-happy yami...lol
(maybe i'm just wierd)

well, ttyl
joey