A/N: Thank you to all my lovely reviewers! Enjoy the chapter!

Chapter Three

"Desire is the kind of thing that

eats you

And

leaves you starving"

Nayyirah Waheed

His new school wasn't so bad, Ryou thought, as he made his way home with his new route from his new school. In some ways it was better, with a swimming pool, a bigger RPG gaming club, nicer facilities, and even a nicer cafeteria. It was hard, of course, to leave his old school and friends behind, but he had promised them that he would keep in touch and they would still see each other over breaks and vacation. Though, he didn't think his darkness was too keen on the idea. Nonetheless, he had adjusted well to his new school, just as his Yami said he would, and had quickly made new friends and joined new clubs with new activities and responsibilities to fill his time. The leaves under his feet crunched as he walked, moving briskly down the sidewalk despite the chill so he could get home in time to finish his homework before Transformers aired. However, before he managed to walk even five more paces, a jeering voice tore him from his reverie.

"Yo, albino!"

Despite himself, Ryou felt himself wince involuntarily. Tokugawa-kun. Though he had managed to charm and flatter his new school into adoring him with the help of his darkness, Tokugawa-kun had somehow been immune to his charm, always glaring at him whenever the class concurred with him, muttering obscenities under his breath and even shoving against him in the hallways. At first he had been panicked and anxious; he didn't understand what he had done to offend Tokugawa-kun, but his darkness came to him in soothing waves, assuring him that Tokugawa-kun was merely jealous and resentful that Ryou, so new and effeminate looking, should become the darling of the school so quickly, while he was left in the lurch. Though, this was the first time Tokugawa-kun had ever followed him home before.

"Hey asshole, wait up! Stop walking, I'm talking to you!" In no time at all it seemed Tokugawa had run the block that separated them to catch by the arm in a steely grip. So much for pretending he couldn't hear him. An angry burst of heat from the millennium ring alerted him to Yami's growing anger. When it had come to his safety Yami had always made it his top priority, but he hoped, with a sickening sense of dread, that it wouldn't have to come to that.

"What can I do for you Tokugawa-kun?" He asked politely. Hopefully, whatever Tokugawa wanted from him he would be able to give, otherwise…

"I don't want you messing around with Rina-chan anymore, you got that? Stay away from my girl and her friends."

"Rina-chan and I are just friends, Tokugawa-kun. We go to the same RPG club is all,"Ryou replied slowly. He had no idea that Rina had a boyfriend, much less someone like Tokugawa. Though it was more than likely that Rina had no idea that Tokugawa was her boyfriend either...

"I don't care fag, find a new board game to play. No matter how much of a girl you pretend to be I know you're just trying to get that small prick of yours between Rina's legs. Consider this a warning. Next time I'll be talking with my fists."

Ryou felt a surge of white-hot anger sear through him, fists tightening until the skin was bone white. How dare that brute talk about Rina that way! Rina-chan had been the first friend he had made at Izayamaki high school. She was in the same advanced classes as him, the same RPG gaming club, they even walked home together sometimes. While he hadn't thought of Rina-chan romantically per se, it wasn't like he would be opposed to it….

"We need to defend ourselves Ryou," his darkness piqued angrily. "This trash wants to take what rightfully belongs to you, simply because he cannot achieve it on his own and is rejected. We need to teach him a lesson, and a lesson to others so they won't try the same thing."

A few months ago, before Karita-sensei, before his darkness had subdued his old bullies, he might've protested. Now, he was all ears. "What do you suggest, darkness?"

"Let me handle this." It had become so routine for him at this point that he welcomed his darkness settling into his body, feeling pleasantly numb as felt his consciousness detach from his body and his soul was shuffled to the side. Just like before with Karita-sensei he felt like he watching a movie of himself. He could see, feel and hear everything but he experienced it as if he were watching it on a screen.

The changes in his body were instantaneous. While he had learned to carry himself with a certain dignity, when his darkness took control he looked almost inhuman-all deadly grace and ferocious beauty.

Yami cocked his head amusedly at Tokugawa-kun, eyes half lidded and smug as his mouth stretched into a mockery of a smile. "You're absolutely right, Tokugawa-kun," he murmured as he sauntered up to him. "You've found me out. You should feel proud. Because I am trying to get between Rina-chan's sweet legs. I am pretending to be weaker than I am and I am fooling everyone."

Tokugawa stood dumbfounded in shock, gaping at him like an idiot. No doubt he had thought that he would again flutter his lashes demurely, evade, and assure him that Rina belonged to him. Ryou felt a savage rush of pleasure at Tokugawa's shock and humiliation. It was a shame he didn't have a camera.

"You-you listen here you sick freak!" Tokugawa shouted, arms trembling as he shook his finger menacingly into his face. "I swear to God, if you try anything, if you don't stop right now-"

"You'll what?" his darkness hissed, and this time Ryou felt himself hissing alongside him. He was tired of being someone else's punching bag, tired of always surrendering to others. There was only lambs and butchers. And he was sick of being the lamb.

"I'll, I'll-" Tokugawa floundered, flailing his arms frantically, crazed and hysterical that his initial intimidation had failed, that Ryou was everything he had feared him to be. For a moment Ryou felt sorry for Tokugawa. Deep down he was a coward who had wanted to feel powerful by bullying someone else, someone who was everything he wanted to be. "I'll tell goddamit! I'll tell the whole goddamn school about you!"

"Will you now?" his darkness replied bemusedly. "But how can you, when you won't even be able to remember this?"

Tokugawa's eyes widened, confused, before his gut instincts kicked in and he turned to flee, but even with the rush of adrenaline he couldn't outrun the devastating power of the millennium ring. Just like Karita-sensei, Tokugawa went face-first into the pavement, nose crushed instantly, and blood pooling around his head. Looking down at Tokugawa's prone body, so much like a child that had decided to flop down and nap, a current of guilt flooded Ryou. What if Tokugawa was seriously hurt? He could've given himself a concussion or worse by falling on his face like that.

From afar he heard Yami laugh triumphantly, holding up one of the game pieces he had brought with him against the setting sun. "Don't worry Tokugawa-kun," Yami crooned mockingly, "I'll make sure to take good care of Rina-chan. Maybe you'll even get to see her in your new home."

Inside, Ryou wondered if it was possible for lambs to become wolves.

It had taken a while for Tokugawa-kun to get used to his new home, longer than Karita-sensei. Tokugawa had run around like an idiot at first, screaming and trying to find a way out of Amane's dollhouse. It took a week for him to stop bolting every time Ryou picked him up and wanted to play with him. It took another two weeks for his memories of the real world to start fading, as he stopped begging Ryou to change him back and started asking him to take him to the gameboard to play. It was November when Tokugawa would start calling out for his "onii-sama" when he heard Ryou's key in the door. Karita-sensei had started calling him onii-sama by the end of June.

It was startling how little it had taken for Karita-sensei to go from being a 6'2 gym teacher with a predilection for middle-schoolers to a 4 inch doll that squealed when Ryou played house with him. Ryou had been apprehensive at first; playing with a predator, even a toy-sized one, seemed like a bad idea. But Yami had assured him the Karita-sensei he knew was no more, that from now on his soul's purpose was to be his eternal companion.

"It's not like we can keep him a prisoner forever," he had told Yami.

"Why not? He's all yours now Ryou."

The confidence in Yami's voice unnerved him as much as the words made his heart flutter. He hadn't had someone that he could call his own for many years now. He had his darkness of course, but even he knew he belonged to Yami more than Yami belonged to him.

"How did Karita-sensei lose his memories? Even his personality has changed! He's...tame." Not that he was complaining, but the idea of transforming someone so completely made him shudder.

"Because you and I wish it so Ryou. The power of our wish makes it so. Karita has forgotten that he ever was anything more than your nii-chan because that's the purpose of his existence now. The magic that changed Karita into a toy also created a different reality within the dollhouse with its own laws and nature, all shaped by your desire. Loving you as his onii-san is just as real as gravity in the dollhouse, Ryou."

"But it's not real Yami. It's just an illusion."

Yami chuckled. "Of course it's real Ryou. It's just as real as your mind. Or me for that matter."

"But it's wrong." He protested weakly, "we can't keep him here forever."

"Why not? It's like anyone out there misses him. Besides, you don't think you're the only person Karita has tried to abuse do you? If we release him, he'll just victimize other people, maybe even come after us for revenge. The dollhouse is the only world where he can't hurt anyone. And besides, he's happy, your happy. This is the best possible option."

Well, he couldn't argue with that. Karita was a monster for sure, and if he had come after him once it was likely he would come after him again. This was the only option.

Capturing Tokugawa-kun had been different though; Tokugawa was a bully and a coward but he wasn't a monster. He had friends and a family. There was no doubt he would be missed.

"When are we going to let Tokugawa-kun go?" Ryou had asked one night after putting Tokugawa back in the dollhouse to sleep after playing with him.

Yami rolled his eyes. "Are you serious?"

"He may be a bully but that doesn't mean he deserves to be locked up."

Yami sighed audibly. "Do you want to live under the thumb of men like Tokugawa for the rest of your life? Tokugawa got what was coming to him and you know it. It's your right to do with him as you will. Besides, he seems a lot happier having you as his big brother than he ever did in class."

Well. Yami did have a point; Tokugawa had brought this on himself by being a bully. It's not like Yami went around trapping innocent people's souls in toys when they didn't do anything. Besides, Tokugawa was better off like this. The world was safe from his bullying and Tokugawa could live a happy life without hurting anyone. If Yami hadn't removed him from the world and placed him with them, Tokugawa would've just bullied more people and probably become some kind of criminal. And Tokugawa was happy being his little brother. And he, finally, after all these years, had someone he could call his own again. The world owed him this.

Though, it was a lot harder to remember that when he saw Tokugawa's parents crying in the principal's office.

A/N: You expect Chapter Four sometime soon!