Disclaimer: Yu-Gi-Oh! is the intellectual property of Kazuki Takahashi and Fullmetal Alchemist is the intellectual property of Arakawa Hiromu
Author's Notes: Hmm...A third chapter... This one is...not what you're expecting. Time to take a brake from the humor of the last two for a moment. I have no idea where this came from...
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On Parenting Class and Serious Issues
Ahh…remember parenting class? Good old parenting class, where they expected otherwise self-respecting students to carry around dolls that cried at all hours of the night in the interest of education. Domino High has parenting class too, you know. You're not alone. Students around the world have been forced to suffer just like you. Of course, you'll get no sympathy from me, as I too have had to suffer. But if it helps during the following therepy sessions, you can imagine Yugi, Jounouchi, and Otogi carrying those same screaming, tattle-on-your-teacher-if-they're-ignored dolls and smile, knowing they must have been far worse off than you. You can even laugh at them for dueling against arrogant, unimpressed CEOs, meeting street fight challenges, and appearing on national tv with the little papoose strapped to their backs. But no matter how much you're yelled at to shut up while rolling on the floor in hysteric laughter, never laugh at Ryou for it. For Ryou, we have nothing but sympathy. When teams were paired, boy-girl, boy-girl, boy-girl…Ryou was the odd one out. No, the class didn't just run out of girls, there was no one left. Ryou was all alone. Not only that, the very last doll had been given to the girl directly in front of him. The teacher of course could not understand the mix-up. She'd been certain she'd ordered the exact right amount of dolls, but alas, such was not the case.
"I'm sorry, Bakura- san. Would you like to join another group instead?" she asked him, slightly embarrassed for the error on her part.
Ryou smiled kindly and shook his head. "I wouldn't want to intrude. I can borrow a doll from my neighbor for the week if that's ok."
Ryou's grades, you see, were such that he could easily have passed the class without even doing the assignment, which made up a great portion of the grade. The teacher was so impressed with his calm, polite manor and high grades that she agreed, provided he wrote a report on his experiences. The report due the following Friday would then determine his grade.
Two days went by. For Yugi it was two days of constant "I see you brought your toys to cheer you on. What happened to all your so-called friends?" and "Where's the security blanket?" from a certain blue-eyed person who apparently was rich enough to buy his way out of certain classes. Jounouchi got laughed out of his own parking lot, his fights all but forgotten in the hysterics. And Otogi, well Otogi received thirteen marriage proposals, but in an unfortunate turn of events, CNN also made the mistake of declaring the doll an illegitimate child as their footage apparently was long range and the particular reporter at the time happened to be a charter member of his fan club. Of Ryou, they had heard nothing. Concerned for his friend, Yugi (along with Hikari – the project name for his doll) took the bus out to Ryou's house on Sunday night and knocked gently at the front door. Bakura answered. In his shock, Yugi simply stared at the spirit. Bakura was not known for interaction. He never answered the door that Yugi knew of and when he answered the phone, it was only to yell into the receiver that he was busy and the noise was annoying as hell. And then whoever happened to be unlucky enough to be on the other end of said device received the usual shadow threats and if he was having a particularly bad day, a string of colorful swear words followed.
"Yea? What da'ya want?" Bakura asked impatiently.
Yami appeared next to Yugi. "We came to visit Ryou, not you, so if you would kindly step aside…"
"Why I outta…" Bakura might have finished had Yami not side-stepped him and went ahead anyway. Yugi followed his dark. This was also a common occurrence. Bakura shut the door loudly behind them.
"Bakura." Ryou called from the kitchen. "Who was at the door?"
Bakura never needed to answer him however, as Ryou appeared in the doorway, a familiar figure in one arm and a mixing spoon in the other hand. Yugi's eyes widened as he observed the doll Ryou held more closely. It was horribly broken, yet Ryou held it with the utmost care. There were no clothes covering the toy but the most disturbing aspect of it was that Yugi recognized that particular doll. It was the doll that the Dark Necrophere carried.
"Ryou, what are you doing with that?" Yami asked, a cautious concern evident in his voice.
Ryou looked down lovingly at the figure, giving it a reassuring smile. "I borrowed it for the week." and he brought the doll to his chest as though it were a real child. "It doesn't have a gender so sometimes I call it a him and sometimes it's a her but he's a good baby. She doesn't cry much." Yugi's mouth had dropped slightly as he stared at his friend unbelievingly. "Would you like to hold her?" he asked of Yugi who somehow managed a "Huh?" Ryou smiled understandingly and handed the baby over to Bakura. "I have to finish the cooking or it'll burn." Bakura nodded and held the doll close while Ryou turned and headed back to the kitchen.
Yami turned on Bakura angrily. "What is that doll doing to him?" he demanded.
Bakura laughed. "The doll didn't do anything." he said shoving it into Yugi's arms to prove his point. Yugi took the thing hesitantly, still trying to sort out what was going on in this twilight zone. "Yadonishi wants to play house for a week," Bakura went on "so what?"
Yami narrowed his eyes at the thief. "You're encouraging this."
Bakura grinned back. "What's the matter, Pharaoh? Gotta blame me for somethin'? Ryou's happy with it. Isn't that what all his little "friends" are supposed to want?" He directed the last part at Yugi, who looked down slightly in shame.
"Dinner's ready." Ryou announced, appearing in the doorway, with his…slightly worrisome constant smile.
Although it wasn't necessary for either Yami or Bakura to eat unless they planned to keep their solidified forms for several hours, both sat to the table and ate with their hikaris; although most of Yami's time, as well as Yugi's, was spent staring at Ryou as he carefully fed the doll pretend food from a bowl on the table before eating his own dinner. Bakura ignored him, eating his own dinner in silence.
"Baby sleeps a lot." Ryou announced when he'd finished his dinner. "Yugi, if you like, I can put yours down for a nap with him while we play a board game."
"O…ok." Yugi nodded and Ryou took his doll, handing his own to Bakura who followed him from the room.
"Well be right back." Ryou called over his shoulder.
Yugi looked at Yami who only returned his own worried frown with a shake of his head and a shrug of his shoulders.
When Ryou and Bakura returned, the four played monopoly. It nearly became a shadow game when Yami and Bakura fought over Park Place but Ryou and Yugi managed to calm them down. By the end of the game an hour and a half later (I hope I don't have to tell you who won), it appeared to Yugi that Ryou had returned to normal. Yugi announced that he had to leave and Yami went upstairs to retrieve Hikari from Ryou's bedroom where the two dolls were "napping" on Ryou's bed. Yami opened the door and let himself in. A fat black cat was curled in the middle of the floor and Yami had to stop short when he nearly tripped over it. When had Ryou gotten a cat? The cat yawned and stretched, and peered up at Yami with glowing crimson eyes. Yami gasped. It was a Cat of Ill Omen, a shadow creature. Yami stepped around the cat on his way to the bed but the monster would not allow that. Hissing loudly it leapt at the intruder. Yami swung back, avoiding the strike and the White Fang from his deck materialized next to him barking at the cat ferociously. A large commotion erupted as the two duel monsters stood their ground. A Dark Cat with White Tail jumped down from a shelf and curled up with the dolls, watching the battle with interest. Ryou, Yugi, and Bakura appeared in the doorway just as White Fang took a leap at the dark cat.
"No!" Ryou shouted, shoving past the other two to save the duel monster, scooping it into his arms and cowering on the floor. The cat mewed and purred in his arms. "Please don't!" Ryou cried. "He can't fight your wolf. He was just protecting the babies."
Ryou was crying and Yami felt terrible. "Ryou, I'm terribly sorry." he said, kneeling next to the boy. "I didn't mean to…"
"Maybe you should go." Ryou whispered.
Yami didn't know what to do. Bakura handed Yugi his doll and shoved the little duelist out the door. "You heard him Pharaoh. Go home."
Yami stood, directing his anger at the other spirit. "Bakura! Duel Monsters are not pets!"
"They are if yadonishi wants them to be!" Bakura shouted back. "Look at him, genius! That cat's not the problem, you are! Not everyone on earth gets to grow up in a loving home or has their own cheerleading squad like some people I could mention. If Ryou wants to create his own play mates that's his business. Now get out of our house!"
Yami looked back to Ryou thoughtfully. "Ryou, I am truly sorry."
Ryou nodded and Yami left, ushering Yugi down the hall in front of him.
Ryou attended school the next day, oblivious to the stares and whispers directed his way. The Parenting teacher seemed so distraught over his constant care of the disgusting thing that she didn't bring up the subject to Ryou. At lunch, Ryou easily forgave Yami and he and Yugi enjoyed their lunch together with their friends. By sixth period, Yami had retrieved four bullies, two teachers, and a stray second grader from the shadow realm, sent there by Bakura for insulting his hikari's fixation on the shadow doll. And when school let out, Ryou, Bakura and the doll accompanied them to the arcade. Ryou insisted that his doll was happy when Anzu danced on the DDR game so she kindly humored him by challenging Jou to a game, and then stomping him flat at it. Afterwards, Ryou and Bakura went home and the scene repeated itself for the next four days.
On Friday when Ryou turned in his report the teacher seemed hesitant to accept it. Perhaps she was considering weather she should refer him to the school councilor before or after reading it. Eventually she decided on after and took the report with a smile. That night, Bakura summoned the Dark Necrophere and Ryou offered its doll to it. The Dark Necrophere looked down at him, holding its doll for a moment before gathering Ryou, doll and all, into its arms in a smothering embrace, petting his white fluffy hair like a favorite cat. Then it accepted the doll and bowed to Ryou, returning to the shadows from whence it had come.
"Bakura." Ryou said, lying in bed in the darkness at three am "I'm glad you're here."
Bakura looked down at his host from his perch in the window cell and studied the boy for a moment. Eventually his gaze returned to the world outside but he remained silent until Ryou fell asleep.
"That's…really sad." he whispered into the darkness when he knew there was no one to hear.
On Monday Ryou was his normal self again, though by now, Yugi and Yami were wondering just what Ryou's "normal self" actually was. He never brought the assignment up and they all silently agreed to never speak of it again. Aside from a few lingering tabloid reports; some uncovering the story of Otogi's secret love life and some telling stories of mysterious alien abductions from Domino High students and staff claiming Duel Monsters had devoured their brains, the incident was quickly forgotten and plowed over with duels and homework and life in general. And though you may find yourself worried for the state of poor innocent little Ryou's mental health, please keep in mind: this is the forbidden incident. Some things are simply best left alone. Forgotten. Never spoken of again. So his cats have glowing red eyes and he talks to people no one but he can see. That's not so bad is it? Who are we to judge? Now when he starts using Monster Reborn to resurrect the frogs in biology class…then we may have to give Ed and Al a call, or at the very least tell him that is a no-no, no matter how good his intentions were.
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Post Comments: Somewhere on the internet is a pic of Bakura and Ryou with some of their duel monsters around them and Ryou is holding the Dark Necrophere's doll. If for some reason you seriously want this pic, e-mail me and I'll send it to you.
You'll have to forgive me for all the lame comments. I'm a little worried for a friend right now and I can't seem to concentrate but I kinda designated Thursday as an update day so here it is.
If you like yaoi, please read and review for "While Isis Is Away". I really liked that one but it only got 1 review while 80 people clicked on it. sad.
Oh, and the two cats can be found in Dark Revelation 1, that's where I got mine.