Friday morning saw Ryou limping into school. Yugi was the first person to notice his pain. "Are you alright?" he asked his friend.

Ryou nodded. "Yes, I'll be fine."

"Was it...?" Yugi looked down at the MIllennium Ring hanging around Ryou's neck.

Ryou nodded again. "We had a disagreement and I lost." He tried to laugh, but it turned into a grimace of pain and he put his arm across his ribs.

"Maybe you should sit down or something," Yugi said, and then led Ryou to his desk. Sabrina was already in her usual seat beside Ryou. She, too, noticed Ryou's limp as he came towards her.

"Are you alright? What happened to you?" she asked him once he had sat down.

Ryou thought fast. "I was running down the stairs of my apartment to get to the bus, and I tripped and fell down them."

"Are you hurt?"

"My knee's a little sore, but I'll be fine," he told her truthfully.

Sabrina smiled. "That's good. I didn't want you to be walking around and hurting yourself more. Especially for tomorrow."

"About tomorrow..." Ryou said. "I..."

Don't even think about it, Ryou. Bakura ordered in his mind. I went easy on you last night, but if you think that was painful you won't be able to handle your punishment for breaking the date. Ryou started shaking inside. Last night had been a nightmare. It had been a long time since Bakura had beaten Ryou, and he had forgotten how painful his yami could make it. He often used the Millennium Ring to multiply the pain and make an injury seem worse than it actually was. Last night, he had multiplied it threefold. By the end of the punishment, Ryou had a bruised knee and three broken ribs, but the multiplied pain had been more than Ryou could bear. He had fallen unconscious just after he had heard the third rib crack and hadn't woken until this morning-and then only when Bakura had used the last of his false body's energy to haul Ryou to his feet and made sure he could walk.

"I...can't wait." Ryou finished and Sabrina smiled.

"Me either." The bell for class rang and Sabrina faced the front. The smile on her face made her glow and sadness crept in on Ryou. He only prayed that Bakura would leave her alone.

That afternoon, after school, Ryou dragged himself home. He was tired and his ribs and leg were killing him. All he wanted to do was go to his room and sleep. Slowly, he unlocked the door and made his way to his room. Once he was safely inside, he removed the jacket and shirt of his school uniform. The sight underneath made him cringe when he looked in the full length mirror hanging on his wall. His torso was an angry mess of dark bruises. "Admiring my handiwork, Ryou?" Bakura suddenly said. Ryou looked around in fear, expecting to see his yami standing somewhere. "Over here." Ryou turned back to the mirror to see Bakura staring back at him in replace of his reflection.

"Go away!" Ryou shouted, but Bakura just laughed.

"You know I can't do that, Ryou. Besides-I have some business to take care of before you can sleep."

"What's that supposed to mean?"

"You'll see," Bakura said and then faded from the mirror. "Now sit down." Ryou whirled in terror when he heard Bakura's voice behind him. Bakura's eyes narrowed. Normally Ryou being frightened of him was a good thing, but he didn't have time to wrestle Ryou to the ground if he tried to run. "Calm yourself, Ryou. I'm not going to hurt you."

"What?" Ryou was confused. The only time Bakura appeared in corporeal form was when he was going to beat his host. Bakura growled in frustration and began raising a fist. Ryou cowered away, afraid of being stricken, but when a blow didn't come he opened his eyes cautiously. Bakura was standing with his hand held out to Ryou, and what Ryou had thought was a fist was actually an Ace Bandage. Ryou blinked and looked up at Bakura.

"I'm going to bind your ribs. Now sit down." Ryou was in such shock that he couldn't move. Bakura was going to help him? Bakura growled and grabbed Ryou by the arm. His grip was tight and made Ryou grimace in pain. Bakura ignored Ryou's small cry and dragged him to the bed. With more force than necessary, he threw Ryou down on the mattress and then sat down next to his host. Frustrated, he began wrapping the Ace Bandage around Ryou's torso. Ryou gasped at his rough care and cringed away. Bakura paused at his host's objection and glanced up at his face. Ryou felt his yami's gaze on him and opened one eye.

"I'm alright." he said, but his voice sounded pained. Bakura lowered his gaze back to his work. He forced himself wrap Ryou more slowly and was careful not to get the bandage too tight. They both sat quietly for a moment, Bakura still wrapping, before Ryou spoke. "Why are you doing this?"

"I've told you before, Ryou, believe it or not I care for my host." A smile pulled across his face. "Also, I need you to be in as little pain as possible tomorrow."

"Can't you just use the Millennium Ring to mask the pain?"

That earned Ryou a glare from his yami. "No," Bakura answered.

"Why?"

Bakura glared darker. "Because masking pain takes energy. Energy that I'm going to need."

"What do you mean?" Ryou asked.

Bakura finished wrapping Ryou's ribs and tied the bandage in place. "I have work to do," he stated and his corporeal form disappeared. Without warning, Ryou was ripped from his body and thrown into the soul room. Bakura locked the door and took over control of Ryou's body, leaving Ryou pounding on the soul room door.

/Bakura! What do you mean 'energy you're going to need'? Bakura! What are you planning to do? Bakura/

Saturday Night-Aproximately 9:30 p.m.

Sabrina and Ryou strolled happily down the street. The movie had let out about five minutes before and Sabrina was still rattling on about how great it had been. Ryou had taken her to see Inuyasha: Affections Touching Across Time. "Oh! And when she shot him with that arrow and then he found her in that snowy world and told her that he needed her with him-I wanted to cry happy tears."

Ryou smiled. "Yes. That was quite a touching scene."

"Yeah," Sabrina finished and mellowed out. A moment of silence ensued and Sabrina started to get nervous. "Hey Ryou..." she said, "I don't have to be home for another hour, not that my parents would notice if I wasn't there. Could we go back to your place?" Ryou looked at Sabrina in shock. "No wait! That wasn't what I meant it to sound like!" Sabrina let out a nervous laugh. "What I meant was, I don't know where you live or even what your house looks like. I was wondering if you would show me." A drop of sweat made its way from her temple down her cheek. Ryou looked at the ground. He couldn't tell her no, it might hurt her feelings-but if he took her to his place then there was no telling what might happen. He was at a loss.

Take her back, Ryou, Bakura told him. Ryou suddenly felt ill. If Bakura wanted her at the apartment, then it wasn't good. Bakura sensed that Ryou was about to ignore him and put out a pulse of energy. Don't defy me, Ryou, or I'll throw you in the soul room right now.

/Alright/ Ryou mentally shouted. /I'll do it, but you have to promise not to hurt her./

I'm ashamed that you think so little of me, Ryou.

Ryou sighed and then looked up at his friend. "Sure, Sabrina. I'd like to show you where I live."

Sabrina clapped happily and then grabbed Ryou's hand in hers. "Lead the way." Ryou wasn't listening, though: he was staring at their clasped hands. Sabrina blushed. "You don't mind, do you?"

Ryou looked up at her and the smile he gave her lit up his face. "Not at all," he said, and he and Sabrina headed off.