Wahoo! Europe's biggest roller coaster! Ryoura and I shall enjoy it immensely XD
anyway, enough yapping, enjoy the chappy! Weird name, huh? well, I had another, but until the last second I didn't realise it gave away some of the story -sweatdrop- Yesh, one word would have spoiled a lot!
Disclaimer: I don't own Yu-Gi-Oh!
"This is talking"
'These are thoughts'
"Come on sleepy head, time to get up!"
Yugi groaned in response as Ryoura continued down the hall to the elevator. He opened his eyes slowly, shutting them again when he was greeted with the harsh rays of the sun. His eyes were warm and sore, and when he touched his skin he realised tears were still settled on the right side of his face. The left side of his face, however, felt rough, though not sore.
Sniffing he rubbed the tears away and sat up, blinking a few times to let his eyes adjust to the light. As he opened his mouth to yawn the left side of his face felt stiff. Curious as to what was causing his discomfort, he threw off his thin duvet and swung his legs over the side of the bed, standing up and making his way to the bathroom, grabbing the Millennium Puzzle off the nightstand as he did every morning.
Rubbing the remaining sleep out of his eyes Yugi turned on the cold tap, cupping his hands under the cool water and splashing it lightly in his eyes to help wake himself properly. When he looked up at the mirror, however, he recalled in horror at his reflection.
A large, bloody hand-print was smeared across the side of his face, the blood having dried on his skin and created a brittle layer on his skin. Breathing heavily Yugi stepped back towards the mirror and rubbed his eyes, but the hand print did not dissappear like he'd hoped it would. He cupped his hands back under the running water and splashed his face, rubbing the dried liquid with his hands to try and get rid of it.
He grabbed a face-cloth off the railing and rubbed his face hard with it until his skin had turned a flush red colour from being rubbed so hard. Throwing the cloth into the sink he leaned his hands on the side of the sink and leaned close to the mirror, inspecting his reflection closely. He ran one hand over the side of his face to check for any more blood, but all he felt was the heat from his flushed skin. Steadying his shaky breaths he stepped back from the mirror and sat down at the edge of at bath, gripping the marble as he tried to regain his composure.
The shadow stood directly behind the spirit of the puzzle and chuckled in amusement at the boys actions.
Yugi yelped as an evil chuckle sounded behind him, jumping to his feet and spinning around to find... nothing. The chuckled died as quickly and mysteriously as it had sounded, and Yugi once again found himself alone. Pressing his hand on his chest, as if to slow he racing heart, Yugi gulped in large amounts of air, the fright giving him a feeling as though he had been running. He shut his eyes and tried to sense if there was other magic in the air, but there was no increased levels of magic in the atmosphere.
A sudden knock at the door caused him to jump.
"Hey Yugi? You awake yet?"
"Y-yeah, just a minute Ryoura," Yugi called, walking quickly out of the bathroom so he didn't feel so confined. Though it was large, the shadow's appearance had given him a fright, so he wanted to distance himself from the room as quickly as possible. Pulling on his jacket and picking up his back-pack, he ran to the door and flung it open, only to come face to face with a very confused looking Ryoura.
"You sure are in a hurry to leave," Ryoura tilted his head as Yugi shut the door of his room.
Yugi shook his head. "I'm just... worried about Yujhi. We have to find him."
Ryoura smiled and gave Yugi a thumbs up. "Don't worry, we will!" he chirped in his usual optimistic way. "Pepper's down in the lobby waiting for us. He sent me up to check on you when you didn't show up. Ain't that sweet, he's worried about you!"
"Yeah..." Yugi breathed, though he really wasn't paying attention to what Ryoura was saying at all. He placed his hand on the side of his face again, tapping it lightly with his finger-tips as if expecting something to appear there. Ryoura fell silent after that, realising Yugi wasn't in the mood to talk. When they entered the lobby, Yugi paid no attention to the conversation of his other travel companions, still rubbing his fingers over his skin. He wished he could find a cut of some sort, to explain the blood, but there was none. "What's going on...?"
"Yee-ha horsie!"
Bakura sighed in frustration as Ryoura galloped past him on a grey horse, kicking a large amount of sand into the tomb-robbers face. "Why are you being so awkward? All the horses are the same!"
"Nu-uh, this ones faster!" Ryoura beamed, pulling on the reins to slow the horse down and turn him around, trotting back to Bakura. Stopping in front of Bakura he lay down and wrapped his arms around the horses neck. "I think I'll call him Spot!"
"He's not yours, but call him what you want," Bakura muttered, turning look at Yugi, who was petting a dun-coloured stallion nearby. "I hope you won't be half as awkward...?" he asked, and Yugi shook his head. Bakura walked over to the owner of the horses and handed him a credit card, which Steve Kaiba had given him before they left. "The horses they have for a week."
"And yourself sir?" the owner asked. Bakura couldn't help but feel the man was just looking for more money, and he had to try very hard not to punch him in the face and make a run for it without paying. Restraining himself, though, he looked around and grabbed the reins of the closest horse to him; a dapple-grey stallion. "Very well." the man said pleasantly, walking away with the card. Bakura cringed and jumped up on the horse with little effort, pulling on the reins.
"Aww... Peppy loves his pony!" Ryoura laughed, still hugging 'Spot' around the neck. "Let's call him... Blotch!"
Bakura blinked and frowned. "Spot and Blotch? Well arn't you creative..." he muttered, looking back towards the man who was approaching with his card.
"Now each of the horses each have a small chip embedded in them, so I'll be able to find them wherever you are if you don't return them in time, and I'll have full right to call the police." the man warned, holding the cards up to Bakura, who snatched it angrily.
"Modern day humans are so charming..."
"Aren't we though?" Ryoura smiled over at Bakura, having heard Bakura's thoughts, causing the owner of the horses to give him an odd look.
"Ryoura... stay out of my head..."
"Make me!"
Yugi ignored the two as yet another bicker started up between them, pulling himself up onto the duel-coloured stallion and gripping the reins.
"Slifer-" "-the power of the Shadows-" "Obelisk-!" "I summon you-"
Yugi winced and held his head as a sharp pain shot through it, along with a number of words cut from separate sentences. This had been happening a lot lately, and he had yet to tell his companions of his newest issue, which he was afraid may have linked with the blood on his face that morning. Each time he would only get snips of different sentences, but they were always spoken by the same person.
"Yami... what's happening to me? Why do I keep hearing your voice?... Maybe my memories are returning..." he glanced up when he heard his name being called, and quickly forced a smile to try and make the others think he was alright. Their sceptical glances told him he hadn't succeeded. "They're getting suspicious... let's hope I figure this out before they start asking questions..." He gripped the reins of his horse and dug his heals into it's sides, causing the creature to bound forward instantly, galloping past Bakura and Ryoura without a word.
"What is wrong with him?" Ryoura asked Bakura as both of their horses took off after Yugi's. He pulled on the second strap of the backpack that was slung over his shoulder, similar to the ones his comrades had, which were full with supplies to last them the week they would be away from civilization. "He's been acting really weird lately... and he's ten times worse today!"
"I don't know..." Bakura admitted. "But I sense a new presence around him... something dark..."
Ryoura's heart dropped and he glanced over at Bakura worriedly, "A lost soul?"
"Maybe..." Bakura dug his heal into his horse to speed up it's pace to keep up with Yugi, who's stallion seemed to be gaining speed. "Tell me if you see that shadow again. We're going to have to keep a close eye on Yugi for now."
"I will." Ryoura nodded, but his worry increased from the tone Bakura used. "Is... he in danger?"
"Possibly..." Bakura narrowed his eyes. "And if that's the case... We may be too."
"Us? How?" but Bakura would say no more on the matter, he had shut his mind off from Ryoura completely. This made the teen feel nervous more than it angered him, because he knew when Bakura shut himself off like that he was thinking of something bad. Ignored by both spirits and unaware of the direction they were heading, he allowed his horse to fall slightly behind Bakura's.
He reached his hand up and turned his blue baseball cap backwards to avoid it being blown away, though nothing shielded his eyes from the sun now. Holding his hand up to shade his eyes he looked up at Bakura and then past him at Yugi, frowning at their silence. He pet the side of the horses neck and sighed. "Looks like this is going to be a long journey Spot..."
"ILIA!"
Joe yelped and feel of the sofa he'd been lying on. Sitting up and rubbing his head he turned to look in the direction of the yell. "Oh boy, who'd you kill?" he asked, turning to look at the girl who'd quickly taken his place by throwing herself across the couch.
"Who, me?" Ilia asked innocently, pointing to herself and blinking in fake confusion. She was wearing a red tank-top and black pants reaching her knees. Joe was wearing a white, sleeveless shirt with a dark green shirt over that and denim jeans.
"Steven Kaiba don't yell for no reason," Joe pointed out, looking back at the stairs as Steve came thundering down, stamping his foot on the floor when he reached the bottom.
"Where'd you put my clothes?" he asked in a quiet voice, as if trying to mask his rage. Pitifully.
"Your clothes?" Ilia said, in the same mocking tone, looking him up and down then pointing at the outfit he was wearing. "Aren't... those your clothes?"
"The clothes in my suitcase, Ilia!" Steve growled, pointing up the stairs. He was really on edge, and Ilia didn't seem to care.
"Oh them," she waved her hand dismissively, then smiled, "I burned them."
"You what!"
"Yesh Steve, you need to stay out of your dad's office for a while," Joe commented, covering his ears. "You sound like a flippin' fog horn!"
"I do not!" Steve protected, slamming his fist off the barrister in anger. Had he been a little less frustrated, he would have been red from the embarrassment of his childish actions, instead of anger.
Ilia sighed and pushed her self up off the couch. "Honestly Steve, you've got no sense of humour when you're tired." She walked over to him and ignored the scowl he sent at her. "I was kidding. You know? Funny ha ha? You're suitcase is in the car," she jabbed a thumb over her shoulder at Joe, "I got Mr. Macho over there to bring it out."
"Ya..." Joe grumbled as he pulled himself up off the ground, "with half her house too!"
"That's a little over-exaggerated." Ilia stated, linking arms with a still fuming Steve and dragging him towards the front door of his house. "Time's a-wasting boys. We'll miss our plane if Joe doesn't hurry up!"
"Me?" Joe called after her, picking up a small back-pack of things he wanted to keep with him on the plane, "I'm not the one who insisted on having a shower before he left!"
"Hey, just because my little Stevey's more hygienic then you doesn't give you the right to put the blame on him!" Ilia laughed as Steve blushed and looked at her, confused. She just smiled at him and opened the door of the car, jumping in.
Joe jogged up next to Steve and laughed. "Stevey?"
"Welcome to the world of Ilia's boyfriend," Steve grumbled, too agitated to enjoy Ilia's playful teasing or reply with one of his smart remarks. He slid into the back of the car beside her, but quickly kept his gaze away from hers to avoid conversation. When Joe jumped in beside Steve and slammed the door, the brunette groaned and held his head.
"To the airport..." he muttered to the driver, sinking down into the seat in hopes of finding a way to drift off to sleep and away from Ilia and Joe's constant chatting. "Just think of your happy place, Steve..." he thought to himself, pulling the hood of his jacket over his head and down over his eyes, "Happy place, happy place, happy place..."
"Pepper!" Ryoura whined loudly, lying forwards on his horse's neck and letting his arms hang down. "I'm hot. And not in the attractive way!"
"We're in the middle of the desert, Ryoura." Bakura grumbled, tossing a bottle of water over his shoulder to his hikari, who caught it without sitting up. The group had slowed to a walk to avoid tiring their horses too quickly. "You knew it was going to be like this, why do you insist on complaining every day?"
"Because I'm the only one who makes a slight effort to start a conversation," Ryoura grumbled, taking a drink from the bottle before tossing it back at Bakura, who, like Ryoura, caught it with little effort. "I mean, did you guys take some sort of 'oath of silence' before coming here or what?"
"No..."
Ryoura groaned and leaned his head on the back of the horses neck, knowing that was as much of a reaction as he was going to get out of them at the time. "You guys are no fun..."
Yugi narrowed his eyes and spun around, glaring back at Ryoura. "Do you think this is some sort of game?" he whispered threateningly, eyes narrowed.
"What?" Ryoura sat up quickly frowned, shaking his head. "No, that's not what I'm saying. I just mean-"
"Well that's what it sounds like to me!" Yugi yelled, pulling on his horses reins and spinning the creature around to face Ryoura. "If you can't handle this then go back to the hotel with your yami and I'll find Yujhi by myself!"
"Calm down..." Bakura growled, but Yugi ignored him.
"Your nothing but trouble anyway! All you do is complain!" he yelled, pointing at Ryoura, who dropped his gaze quickly to the floor. "You're ignorant to the powers at work here and you don't seem to understand how dangerous this mission could be! I'd be better off without you and since you can't survive a day without Bakura you should both leave right now!"
"That's enough!" Bakura yelled, startling both Ryoura and Yugi with the anger in his tone, though Ryoura kept his gaze on the sand. Turning his horse he directed it to stand between Yugi and Ryoura's horses, glaring daggers at the puzzle spirit. When he spoke his voice was low, but commanding. "Get back on track, Yugi. You're wasting time with stupid arguments."
Yugi glared back at Bakura, but pulled the reins of his steed and turned away wordlessly. Bakura began to follow, glancing Bakura at Ryoura to make sure he was following. He was, but he had yet to look up to meet his yami's eye.
After a few minutes of silence, Bakura glanced back at Ryoura. "Are you all right?"
Ryoura glanced upwards and bit his lip. "I... I didn't mean..."
"I know you didn't." You're just as worried about Yujhi as Yugi is. Bakura nodded, keeping an eye on the spirit in front of him while talking to Ryoura. "Your just being yourself; trying to make people feel better in a bad situation. Don't be angry at yourself for that."
"But Yugi-"
"Is upset." Bakura assured, looking back at Ryoura. "Don't listen to what he said, he didn't mean any of it. You may be a little naive, but your magic is much more advanced then most mortals and you are well capable of using it."
"Thanks..."
Bakura nodded before quickly returning his attention to Yugi. "But even if he is upset, this is quite out of the ordinary for Yugi..."
"He did flying a little to high off the handle, didn't he? That's not like him." Ryoura agreed, looking past Bakura to Yugi, who had once again lapsed into a silence. "What do you think is going on?"
Bakura sighed. "I don't know, but we better find out soon. We don't know if this is the start of something far more dangerous..."
Yugi raised his hand and ran it through his hair, sighing heavily. "What's going on with me...?"
"There's nothing wrong. You're just upset..."
"And maybe a little hysterical. Seeing as I'm talking to myself."
"No one else understands... no one knows what your going through..."
"No... they don't..."
"And now they're speaking though mind. I can sense the magic between them."
"They're avoiding me? They're hiding from me?"
"Of coarse... It seems they don't trust you."
"No... no, they're just giving me time to myself after I yelled at Ryoura..."
"He deserved it."
"He did?"
"Yes... it's just as you said, he doesn't care. You need to watch out for yourself now, Yugi. Forget them, they're just holding you back."
"...Holding me back..."
"Yes... They may even be trying to lead to astray from your task."
"Lead me astray? Why would they do that? Yujhi is Ryoura's friend."
"Bakura was once your vicious enemy... who's to say he's really changed? And Ryoura is a light. He is alone in the world; no family except for that tomb-robber. He is easily manipulated."
"They're both against me?"
"It is highly possible."
"I see... Well, I'll just be wary of them. There's no reason to jump to conclusions just yet, but I'll be careful."
"A wise decision Yugi..." the shadow whispered in Yugi's ear, grinning sinisterly. "For now at least..."
To Be Continued
poor Ryoura... -huggles- You want a pizza?
Ryoura: Ya! -grabs pizza from Bayleef- They don't have much pizza where we are! -puts on Gollum from LOTR and pets pizza box- The preciousssss...
Right... anyway! Hope you guys'll review and hope you enjoyed! Slán slán for now! (must learn for science and religion exams tomorrow... eck!)
Bay Bay!
Bayleef
