How you remind me, Chapter three:
You're gonna get a very strange note here, okay? You see, right now, while I'm posting this, I'm hyper as heck. I feel absolutely awesome. I've had some really rough days, but all that's better now. But down there, if you read it, you'll realize that I wrote this during a very depressing and upsetting time…
However, with the awesome reviews, my awesome friends, and some decent time, I got a lot better. This is pre-posting writing…so, don't send sympathy. I'm happy right now. Honest.
Disclaimer: Like I said, I don't own Reliant K. I am exceptionally ticked off, once again. I have had a rough day. If I posted this story now, I would likely hunt down and murder any flamers. Brutally. -Wry smile- So, I'm going to have to wait, aren't I?
Warnings: ...Very ticked off author.
Dedications: ...Do I LOOK like I wanna give anyone credit for ANYTHING? ...Didn't think so. ...No, wait, I do. Divey, thanks for being the only person who has truly worked through actions to comfort me today. I appreciate you and your friendship more then you'll ever know, so you deserve it. Sadly, this is an angsty chapter. -chuckle- Well, maybe the last one can be yours too, ne?
I'm am slowly beginning to loathe my own existence. Please bear with me, and pray I don't kill anyone. -takes deep breath- Better.
Tears...pain...confusion.
Darkness...regret...anger.
Patient joy...bubbling laughter...excitement.
Watchful eyes...a mental maze...anxiety.
Such were the four teens whose lives were called into question tonight...though two could barely be called as mere teens. One brooding in his own thoughts...the other merely asking why.
The moon let its aura extend to the corners of the vast veil of ebony known as the great heavens; buildings reached up on the tips of their foundations to grasp the beautiful light that represented secret and all-too faint hope...
Ryou: I've given up, I'm giving up slowly, I'm blending in so
you won't even know me apart from this whole world that shares my fate.
Such beauty was ignored carelessly...even by one who had delighted in it for a time, now shunned it with a drive for freedom...
Ryou: This one last call that you mentioned is my one last shot at redemption,
because I know to live you must give your life away.
The solemn silence that echoed with life was shattered in the same callous manner, also rudely interrupting the sweet serenade of crickets, the songbirds of night...
Ryou: And I've been housing all this doubt and insecurity and
I've been locked inside that house all the while You hold the key.
And I've been dying to get out and that might be the death of me...
This was a path he had taken...and for every road, there was its own version of a speed bump. He hasn't found it yet, and almost hopes that he'll just skip it this time. For now, though...his concerns are elsewhere.
Ryou: And even though, there's no way in knowing where to go, promise I'm going because...
Oooh...I gotta get outta here!
I'm stuck inside this rut that I fell into by mistake.
Oooh...I gotta get outta here!
God only knows when he'll come back to earth...but for now, he'd rather be gone.
'...In a few more miles, I'll be at the Kame Game shop.'
Ryou: And I'm begging You, I'm begging You, I'm begging You to be my escape!
A tanned male that one would guess by sight was around the age of seventeen watched a pacing figure with a maniac grin and absently fingered his newest play-thing...possibly a spoon or some random object.
"Hikari..." He purred softly, raising an eyebrow. "If you don't stop pacing, you'll wear a hole in the floor, and Isis is already mad about that broken lamp..."
"That incident was not my fault, and Isis can throw a temper tantrum to rival yours for all I care. Just as long as he's okay, I'll go fight Ra barehanded. ...Gods, I can't just stand here doing nothing!" Malik continued to make his darkness dizzy as he paced the floor again.
"For the last time, quit your worrying...Bakura's not that stupid. I should know...even though you've known him longer, we're practically two of a kind. And stop pacing. You're giving me a headache."
Malik did pause for a moment to smirk, crossing his arms over his favorite white hoodie-like shirt."If you are two of a kind, then what does that make us?"
"Crazy beyond all reason?" Marik suggested, his crooked grin just a little less sane then before, no matter how impossible it seemed.
"...I meant aside from that, but sure." Malik continued to pace, apparently it was a die-hard habit he had gained from plotting world-domination in his earlier days.
"Hikari, trust me for once. Bakura won't really hurt Ryou...maybe a little, a bruise here and there, but that's just how Bakura deals with things. He's a thick-skulled jerk. But he's no murderer."
Malik plopped down into a dark green beanbag chair and shot his yami a wary look.
"First of all, trust you? Second, I don't want Ryou hurt. Period. And what do you MEAN, he's no murderer! He stabbed Pegasus in the gut, sent undoubtedly thousands of people to the shadow realms, and his obsession is blood."
A pause in thought.
"True...but Bakura is the way he is for a reason...and he has his reasons to not hurt Ryou. If he didn't, Ryou might have already died. Or don't you remember the day of Ryou and Yami's duel?" Marik licked his lips with a thoughtful expression, remembering quite well of the events which had gone on, though he was not yet freed.
"...That's right...I forgot about that..." Malik murmured softly, trying to recall those days, which he had worked desperately to forget.
"I don't think even the tomb robber himself remembers...but I know he just couldn't let it happen."
-
Flash back (To the actual episodes)
Slifer looked down to his opponent with a knowing smirk, waiting for his master's order to strike...his tongue flicked out in anticipation. The Pharaoh would definitely win this battle, it was only a matter of minutes before the command would come, and he could already feel the energy surging through his throat, begging for release.
The tomb robber glared angrily, sensing his imminent defeat only moments away...the Pharaoh would destroy him. Perhaps this time...he would not escape. He, of course, didn't really want to believe that one little blast could rid Yami of him.
But still...chances were not to be taken when considering one's own health, unless for a good cause. And losing to the Pharaoh was NOT a good cause.
Yami unconsciously let himself show a small smile of victory...it was over. It had been difficult, but in the end, he had won. Slifer was only moments away from destroying the spirit for good...and then Ryou would be free, Yugi would be happy, and he would be that much closer to saving this world.
Malik watched with a bitter frown, annoyed that the tomb robber had failed. No...he had hoped that Bakura could defeat Yami so he wouldn't have to. This made his job much harder...and it might even come to the point of revealing himself.
But there was another way...
"He will defeat you, Bakura...unless..." Malik grinned mischievously, as they talked through the mental link Malik had created for them for temporary use. Millennium items were such useful toys.
Bakura raised a thin eyebrow in surprise. "Speak, Malik. Our time grows short..."
"Watch." Malik said simply, as Bakura turned his attention to the cloaked figure approaching the battlefield.
Odion kept his face emotionless, remembering his job to convince the Pharaoh that he was Malik. He had to protect Malik from himself at all costs, and in order to stay close to him; he had to follow his orders. Besides...Malik was his master...his friend...he would do anything he asked.
"Slifer, attac---"
"I would wait before attacking with Slifer, Pharaoh!" Odion called, grinning with an evil essence.
"What do you want, Malik!" Yami glared at the newcomer with suspicion. This couldn't be good. Not at all.
"Muwahaha...because of the power of my rod, I am now controlling your friend, Ryou!"
The Pharaoh's eyes widened as his eyebrow raised. "That can't be...that dark spirit is controlling him, Malik."
"I am controlling him, and I'll prove it by freeing your friend's mind!" Odion lifted his fake rod, merely for appearance though, as he waited for Malik to explain the plan to Bakura.
"Just WHAT do you think you're DOING!" Bakura thundered, glaring at Malik darkly.
"Trust me. In order for you to win, you must free the mind of the young man you have possessed. The Pharaoh won't attack his friend."
Bakura's mouth twisted into a crooked grin. "Perhaps you're right..."
He freed Ryou from his control, and watched as the boy slowly awoke from his slumber...he fell to his knees, clutching his wounded arm.
"...Y-yugi? W-where am I? My arm...it hurts. Why am I in this duel...? Yugi, please help me..."
'It IS Ryou!' Yugi confirmed, distressed at his predicament.
Odion cackled with sadistic joy, playing a very convincing bad guy.
"Guess what, Pharaoh? If you attack your little friend with Slifer, you may damage him permanently! So...choose carefully. In his current state, do you really think he'd survive? Without his yami, he's too weak..."
Seto rolled his eyes and snorted. "Allow me to make your choice easy. Finish him NOW."
Yami ignored Seto and tried to help Ryou, running towards the injured teen. However, he was stopped by a commanding voice. The referee apparently had a liiiiittle problem with this new turn of events.
"STOP! You are not allowed to come in contact with your opponent during a duel! If you take one more step, you'll be disqualified!"
Tristan gaped at the callous words. "WHAT! Ryou needs help, you jerk!"
Joey was equally ticked off..."Ryou ain't gonna be the ONLY one who'll need medical attention if you don't knock it off, and I get up there!"
The referee only scoffed. "Get down, or you're disqualified too."
"WHAT!" Joey yelled as Duke and Tristan pulled him down.
'What do I do...? Will I risk Ryou's health for the fate of the world! What do I do...?'
Bakura and Malik watched in silence, partially amused by the Pharaoh's calm facade being broken so easily.
"The pharaoh won't attack his friend..." Bakura murmured, already feeling triumphant.
"Unless he doesn't want to lose...either way..." Malik watched to see what Bakura's answer would be.
Bakura raised an eyebrow, considering what thoughts Malik had left to his own imagination. But Ryou's soft and pleading voice broke them...he sounded so weak...
"I...I don't feel so good. Please...someone help me. It hurts...please...help me. Someone..." Ryou was so weak from his injuries that he had almost passed out, hopelessly staggering forward in pain.
Bakura's eyes surprisingly softened...
Malik seemed amused by this, if not confused.
"...Sorry, not this time. I'm not going to risk it. I still need him." Bakura murmured, taking over Ryou's body once more.
"Hey, Pharaoh! I'm baaaaaaaaack! So go ahead...attack me, already!" Bakura yelled tauntingly.
'He...he's back?' He quickly regained his composure before Bakura could change his mind.
"...Alright then! Go, Slifer!" The pharaoh commanded as the beast raised up its head like a viper before lashing with its fangs and spat raw energy at the white-haired figure as he cackled insanely into oblivion...
Ryou lay unconscious, but alive, as the others raced to him...Tristan carried him into the medical room and Tea watched over him...holding the disappearing ring in her hands.
End flash back
-
"...To this day, I don't know why he did that." The silk-skinned bishie shook his head in wonderment as his bangs gentle cascaded over his eyes as a built-in shade.
Marik chuckled softly, not as harsh or insanely as usual, and in that same low voice of an amused purr, he replied...
"Neither does he, hikari. Neither does he."
Ryou turned on the radio to calm his anxious nerves, forgetting where he put his CDs, and heard around the middle of a song...it had a good beat to it, and was rather ironic for his current situation...so he let it play.
"Cause I've been housing all this doubt and insecurity and
I've been locked inside that house all the while you hold the key.
And I've been dying to get out and that might be the death of me..."
Such a play on words...irony was one thing this band was known for, though Ryou had temporarily forgotten the name, he had heard them before.
"And even though, there's no way in knowing where to go, promise I'm going because:
Oooh...I've gotta get outta here.
I'm stuck inside this rut that I fell into by mistake.
Oooh...I've gotta get outta here!
And I'm begging You, I'm begging You, I'm begging
You to be my escape..."
The song was cut short by Ryou's arrival at the Game shop...but a certain tomb robber could tell you what the next verse was quite well...not that he had ever heard it before.
Bakura:I fought you for so long,
I should have let you in.
Oh, how we regret those things we do.
And all I was trying to do was save my own skin...
But so were you.
So were you.
"Naa! Ryou!" Yugi greeted his friend at the door, giving him a welcoming hug. Yugi offered to help Ryou with his luggage as the dark-eyed Hikari politely declined.
"Thanks anyway, Yugi-san." He nodded in appreciation, shouldering the duffel bag and trying not to wince at the slight pain of an object jabbing into his back from it.
"No problem...so...where do you want to sleep?" He attempted not to sound too hyper, seeing as how Yami had discretely mentioned that the boy looked very tired and it would be wiser to be calm...
"The couch is fine, if you don't mind." Ryou suggested, setting his bag down on it.
Yugi nearly yelped at such a suggestion. "Naa, you can't sleep on the couch! You're a guest! You can have my room, I'll take the couch."
Hearing the discussion, Yami appeared out of the puzzle.
"May I make a suggestion?" He asked, seemingly a bit amused. Both boys nodded, waiting for the former ruler's idea.
"...We have a guest room. There is absolutely no need for anyone to sleep on the couch."
"...Oh." Yugi nodded, smiling sheepishly, embarrassed. "That's right...good idea, Yami."
Yami chuckled to himself. "Glad that I could help." He shook his head fondly as he wandered into the kitchen for a snack. Yugi showed Ryou where the room was, and followed Yami afterwards to make sure he didn't blow up anything.
Yami wasn't a bad cook, after a bit of practice and watching Yugi...he just...wasn't quite used to everything yet. Which was why Yugi pleaded with him not to use the stove while he was away. He'd rather keep the house in one piece.
Ryou examined his pleasant surroundings, the pastel like colors, which represented peace, and serenity...it was nice. He carefully unpacked some of the things he had brought, wondering how long he'd actually be here. He could tell somehow that Yami wanted to ask why he was here in the first place. After all, calling for a sleepover in the middle of the night just wasn't normal.
But then, when was he ever normal?
Somewhere around the last day of never, that's when.
Neither where the Motous, he assumed. At least Yugi could act like he was though...
He slowly fell back on the bed as it bounced slightly; a sighed passed over his lips. He didn't bother to undress or anything...didn't bother to move...just fell into sleep...
Into the darkness he believed he had escaped.
-
Translations:
Naa - Hey
Kun - Reasonably respected male peer.
Kame - Turtle
Hikari - Light
San - Also respected term. Usually meaning "sir". Yes, it's odd for Ryou to call Yugi sir, but that's not -exactly- what I was going for. He's just being exceedingly polite.
...And that's all you get. Now review.
Bakura: ...NOW!
Ryou: ...This isn't much of a chapter.
L.W.K: ...-.-; Yeah, yeah..I'll get there in the next chapter, okay? I'm gonna speed things up a little.
-Out am I, later l33t ones.
REPLIES:
First of all, OMG. Look at all the reviews! Thank heavens…I'm so relieved it's a success…this story has been my baby for months. I'm so glad.
StormySkys: Yeah, totally. Be proud of Ry-ry-chan. He deserves the support. Malik is now in a permanent good light in my stories. (It wasn't always that way, mind you. I didn't like him. And his yami? Don't get me started.) Reliant K rules! Yes! Look 'em up. And feel free to ask questions.
Happy Devil: Make him come back? …Now, now, if I told you the ending, where's the fun in that? –Cackles – Will he be back…? Hmm…
Hikari Skysong: I'm so pleased that I made a reviewer happy. I loved writing them, I assure you. No, no, no, dear…it's code for soul mate. He just can't say it openly. –Laughs – Ignore you? Impossible. :3
Browneyedalbino: Things look bad for him emotionally, dear reviewer. Look, I'll tell you a secret: I've read too many beating ficts. I'll make one of those in the future, but I just didn't want to do it this time. Too cliché for my first chapter BXR. This is "post-beating", alright? This is an "Examine the damage" fic. But that's all you get outta me.
Arkarian1771: Hold on, hold on. –Extends hand for a shake – Yes, I myself found the songs very very well done. That is why I used them. Pardon me, but, do what? And don't worry, I adore long reviews.
Moon-lit leaf: A pretty name. I'm glad you like it, and yes, I pity Ryou myself. It's a complicated emotion…and don't worry. Truthfully, this story has been finished, I'm only waiting for reviews for each chapter. (And I have to wait for my break days to post.)
Kaaera: Hey, I'm pleased I could inform a fellow writer. Nickleback is cool, ne? (Someone who reads my notes? –Proud and amazed-) I love it too. Five days? Well, I do what I can…but I need reviews. –hint-hint-
Eyes-of-Crimson: Thank you. (-Chuckles – You win for shortest review, my friend. I'd like to hear any thoughts you have…so feel free, eh? –smiles warmly – And thanks for your review on Penguins. I loved it. Speaking of which, yeah, that was fun to write.)