Second Hand Spirit.

Chapter one

A while before that…

Bakura paced.

Quite honestly, there was nothing better to do here. He didn't know how long it had been since he had become trapped again - he'd given up on counting days, weeks and months last time. This time, all he could do was think.

At least now he had some nicer things to think about. Ryou for one thing. He'd certainly enriched Bakura's un-life with…something. And vice versa.

Sometimes, Bakura wondered if anyone missed him.

The spirit slid down the wall, and stared up at what could have been the sky, what could have been the ceiling. "Ra," he said. His voice sounded hollow and echoed around the walls. It had been a few years since he'd actually spoken out loud. "Ra, you bastard. Let someone find me." He glared up, and raised his hands a little. "What are you trying to do to me? Drive me insane? It's not like I can DO anything any more! The Pharaoh's gone! Walked away, into the afterlife!" he shut his eyes and rested his head on his knees. "I hate you."

An hour later: "Give me another chance."

A week later: "I'll love you forever." he looked up pleadingly, then rolled his eyes and hit his head against the wall. "Actually, I won't. I didn't go crazy last time you put me in here, but since Ryou -" his voice halted a moment "- since Ryou Bakura picked up the ring, I've made BONDS with people. I like some people now! Ok, so I tried to kill Yuugi a few times! I had a reason!"

He carried on smashing his head against the wall. "So what. My punishment is to be locked in here, under a pile of rubble devoted to the PHARAOH? Thanks Ra. Thanks so much."

Almost a month after he had fallen silent again, Bakura felt a jolt in the back of his head and stomach simultaneously. He knew that feeling. Someone had picked up the ring. He frowned, and looked about him, trying to think. He tried to summon energy to make even a ghost of a form, but found nothing. He screamed in frustration. "COME ON!" He howled at the ceiling. "I haven't done anything to waste energy ON!"

There was another jolt, and Bakura felt himself go, checking to see if he'd be compatible with them as a host. The Hell he would - they'd just be useful for taking the ring out of -

"Oh."

Bakura stood perfectly still. He'd just gotten a shiver, like someone had walked over his grave again. But this was The Shiver.

The one he'd felt the first time Ryou had put the ring around his neck.

Immediately, he began drawing energy from the person who'd just picked it up. "Gotta get out," he growled to himself. "Got to get OUT of this damned thing…"

There was a burst of light, and Bakura escaped.

-

Kamilah had the best eyesight in her village. So when she declared that something was shining at the bottom of the pit surrounded by rubble near where she lived, no one questioned her. Plus, if it was shining, it had to be worth something.

She was quite happy to climb down into the pit to look, too. Since she was little, she'd happily been playing in the deserts around her village, and loved the stories surrounding that ruin. Some people said there had been monsters there, and forgotten pharaohs seen around fifty years ago. It had been her dream to find some kind of evidence for any of that really happening.

So here she was, nineteen years old, at the bottom of a pit. She growled a little as she saw a broken piece of glass, which must have been what was reflected. But why would glass be down here anyway? No one ever came out this far usually. She picked it up and brushed it off. It looked ornate…she turned and pawed at the wall a little. Her eyes lit up as she saw what looked like a tunnel.

Not bothering to let the people on the surface know what was going on, she crawled into it. They had to be something down here…she paused as she passed what looked like an ancient Egyptian eye. She shuddered for some reason and carried on into a small cavern, just big enough to stand in.

Suddenly, in her cat's eye vision, she spotted something embedded in the floor. Something glinting, a dirty yellow colour, but still…

Gold.

She fell forward and reached out to it. A golden ring, a little bigger than her palm, with a pyramid in the centre…and the same eye she'd seen on the wall. Along the bottom hung five sharp looking pointers. She paused a moment, not touching it, and looked back. Something had obviously gone on here…a smile spread across her face. She took hold of it - here was her evidence.

There was a loop of leather at the top, presumably so it could be worn. Kamilah slung it around her neck and prepared to move out of the tunnel when a chill spread through her body. She looked down at the ring and watched it glow.

In the back of her head, she could feel someone smiling in triumph. As she turned back to the cavern, her heart stopped for a moment. Someone else was there with her, stooping a little at the low ceiling. He had long, white-blonde hair and a devilish grin. He also seemed to be wearing a replica of the ring around her neck.

"Hi. I'm Yami no Bakura." He frowned. "Or not. I used to be called that," he said, obviously trying to explain. He gave up. "Who are you?"

"I'm Kamilah…" she said, unsure. The blonde was strange - for one thing, he looked foreign, and he seemed to be glowing with the same light as the ring had.

He obviously saw her confusion and grinned again. "Oh, don't worry. The Sennen ring makes me glow a bit. It'll disappear after a while." He looked her up and down for a moment, and caught sight of the scar on her face. He grinned. "Aah." He reached out, then remembered Ryou. Ryou had always told him to ask before invading someone's personal space. "Do you mind?" The words felt alien to him.

She shook her head, and he traced the scar. "So, you're me, hmm?" He didn't seem to want an answer. "Why'd my hair change colour?" he mused. Then he blinked. "Hang on…I'm a girl!"

Kamilah backed away. "Uh…could you explain somehow?"

Yami no Bakura shook his head. "Not right now. You know your way out?" Kamilah nodded. "Ok." Without warning, he disappeared, and Kamilah felt an unfamiliar sensation of being forced out of control.

She found herself in a small room. Bakura's voice echoed a little. "This is your soul room," he said. "Learn to love it."

---

Slightly less confused?

Anyone?