Ooh, new chapter. I'm churnin' them out now…

Phase Two

As Jounouchi walked away from Seto's mansion, he thought about his new predicament. He kept his head down, his long hair covering the golden monstrosity embedded in his eye socket.

'What do I do now?' he wondered to himself, forgetting something else was listening.

'Use your powers?' the voice, his new Yami, asked. 'No one will believe you, but you can use them. I can teach you.'

'What's the use of having a power you can't use?'

There was a pause, and a sigh. 'There is always that feeling of superiority. It is lovely.'

'I'm not going to like you, am I?'

'Not at all.'

Jounouchi kept walking, subconsciously making his way back home. His Yami didn't speak again until he reached the door. 'Are you going to get revenge?' it asked casually.

The question made Jounouchi stop and think. Not until he had found a drink and collapsed on the sofa did he reply. 'I'm not sure.'

'Yami no Bakura is an evil bastard. You should at least attempt revenge.'

"You're not quite as impartial as you made out, are you?" Jou asked aloud, enjoying his voice echoing around the room.

'I'm allowed to have opinions, my new hikari. Yami no Bakura stole the Eye from Pegasus, who was using it exquisitely, and then handed it over to you, finally casting a spell on this item which means I do not do my job.'

Jounouchi thought for a moment. "What can you do?" he asked. "And don't call me your hikari. Call me Jou."

'As you wish. I can still trap souls, but the gift of foresight has been tampered with. But the final outcome will remain the same, regardless of Yami no Bakura's interference. We are all going to die. Well, I'm not. You will, though.'

Jounouchi rolled his eye. "Can you do optimism?"

Half an hour later, and Jou was on the phone to Yuugi, who seemed certain that there was something wrong. Well, there was, but Jounouchi wasn't planning to admit it any time soon. One thing he had discovered, however, was that the Eye was connected to his emotions. As he got frustrated with Yuugi's questions, tendrils of Shadow Magic began to appear from nowhere. He swatted one away, and it curled in on itself like a shy kitten.

"Yes, I broke up with Bakura. No, I have no idea what this revenge is."

"But Ryou swears he heard Bakura talking about 'exacting revenge' on you." The tendrils grew braver as Bakura's name was mentioned. Jounouchi stood on one, and he swore he heard it whimper.

"Well, I've not heard anything about it," Jounouchi told Yuugi, a hint of a smile in his voice as he petted one of the tendrils. They really were quite cute when they weren't after you.

'Don't get friendly with the Shadows,' his yami said absent-mindedly. 'They'll get far too audacious.'

"Yeah, whatever," Jounouchi said, not thinking.

"What?"

"Ah, crap. Yuugi, I'm going to call you back. Pest problem."

Jounouchi put the phone down and contemplated smacking himself in the Eye. "Damn you. Yuug's going to think I'm crazy."

'I was simply informing you that you cannot keep the Shadows as pets.'

"Why not?" Jounouchi asked distractedly, petting one. "They're not going to harm me, and with this," he pointed to the Eye, "I should be able to stop them going after my friends."

'Fine,' his yami said. 'Just don't start naming them.'

By the time night had fallen, Jounouchi had discovered that if he put his mind to it, the shadow tendrils would follow orders. He was currently doing his homework from across the room.

'You show extraordinary skill, Jounouchi,' his Yami said, almost sounding impressed. 'Anyone would think that you were destined for a Sennen Item.'

Jounouchi shrugged. "Don't think so. The sooner I find out how to get rid of this, the better. I'm just having a bit of fun before I do."

Manako, as the voice decided to call itself, gave a small sigh and retreated into the relative safety of the Eye, watching with near fascination as Jounouchi summoned and dismissed tendrils as he wished. The blonde was talented, but he obviously had no idea of the dangers of his new Shadow Powers.

'Be careful.'