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Everyone: CHAPTAH TWO! A HELLS YA!

Riv: I'm so nice ^^ Now it's review responding time :D

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Punk Rock Kitsune: NOOOO! Don't steal my catchphrase! PLEAAASSSEEEEEE! Wait, didn't we already go over this? Either that, or I'm even more insane than I thought originally xD AND ARIGATOO GOZARIMASU FOR DOING THE POLL (THAT IS WHAT SHE SAID!)

Stormygio: KOHAIIIIII! *glomps*And congrats on surviving band camp! And tripping over the podium? No shame, dear. We've all done it once or twice or-

Akane: That's what she said again.

Riv: ... Go to hell, Aka-chan... AND HURRAY FOR UPDATE DESU!

IncurablyAwesome: Welcome to the realm of random Nippon-jin words desu. You have been infected desu. Prepare for total annihilation desu. And unusual pairings are unusual! I have already started on the secret one that is secret, so that's going to be a sexy (mis)adventure! And I was almost not going to update just to get the fic where everyone is tortured oFTo my better judgement made me update desu though. DutchyPuppy: ME IS HAPPY TOOOO! HURRAY DESU! Clairissazeniarosele: I think I spelled it right this time... *checks again* either that, or I'm blinder than Shizuka-chan. And now it's bedtime. *eats breakfast* Kuraki-chan: Shadow, I give you full permission to dress in too much leather articles of clothing, run around with big guns and stalk my non-reviewers :D Just don't kill them, I want their reviews... NOW IT'S TIME FOR STORY! WOOT!

Chapter 2

The world of the Millennium Necklace seemed almost like reality, but pulled back and whimsical, almost like a dream sequence in a bad movie. 'Huh. Weird already, good start.' I thought to myself.

The concentrated zone of view focused on several things at once. It immediately showed me a strange scenery with a few trees and no buildings. The moon was high in the sky and shone onto a small lake in the background. It was utterly peaceful, until flashing red and blue lights emerge from the darkness. Storms of people came following the vehicles like fish in a fast moving stream, brandishing large guns and dark blue uniforms. On the corner of the view, the familiar forms of Ryou and I were visible.

"Ryou! Ryou, no!" I heard myself screaming. A new, unknown speaker stole my attention.

"A'right kid. Inta th' car wit' cha." A few moments passed, and the only audible sound was that of a car door slamming. The man with the off-sounding drawl spoke again. "Crazy sicko, that one." He laughed audaciously. "He'll be real lucky if he don't get th' 'lectric chair!" Several other people's chuckles joined the man's. Some were happy and outlandish, but others were slightly nervous or apprehensive.

I fought the necklace's pull to continue watching the detectives (or policemen, whatever they were) and turned to Ryou in the car. His head was down and his hands covered his face. They were shaking visibly, and I was growing close to tears again. I couldn't bear to watch any more of this. I slammed my eyes shut, and suddenly I felt a strange whoosh pass by me. I was afraid to open my eyes to be honest.

"Akane? Are you alright?" I heard Amanet call out to me. I resisted my instincts to ignore the voice and retreat into my mind, and I cracked my eyes open. And there she was; standing in front of me with her hands on my shoulders. "Didn't like what you saw, right?" she whispered. I shook my head almost violently in response. I didn't even want to think about the things I saw anymore. Amanet sighed heavily and half-lidded her eyes.

"So, we're..." she started.

"Completely fucked." I ended.

"No, we're not. Jeez, little miss pessimist." she shot back sarcastically. The only way to describe my facial expression would be "slapped-in-the-face shock."

"What do you mean? The things I saw-"

Amanet shook her head almost furiously.

"The future always changes. The predictions of the Necklace only come true if certain paths are chosen. Odds are that you won't have to deal with what you saw."

I knew that she was trying to make me feel better with her words. I didn't doubt that there wasn't truth to what she was saying, but I still felt really uncomfortable.

Things were quiet after that. Nobody brought up the situation as it stood, and the news never showed any development on the case. That relieved me more than anything else. Everybody felt like they could breathe easy for the time being.

-(-o-)-

"-Unfortunately, since the body was so decayed, no additional DNA evidence has been found on the body. However, we are still looking for information on the individual or his family. And now, sports-"

Turning off the television and walking to my bedroom, I groaned in both relief and frustration. I was happy that Ryou and Bakura were pretty much safe now, but there was always the chance that I would be taken in for questioning if I was found. And then there was what I saw in the Millennium Necklace. Although Amanet told me that the future always changes, the images portrayed were still frightening to me.

"Shit fucker shit shit shit." I grumbled angrily. "Why is it always me that has all of this fucking weird shit done to?"

A gentle knock took me out of my rage moment. I paced slowly to the door; it wasn't the front door so it shouldn't be any sort of authoritative figure, but you can never be too careful, right? More impatient raps came to the door, wanting me to hurry. When I opened the door and peered out, I was met with an unexpected visitor: Bakura.

"Can we talk for a moment?" he muttered uncharacteristically. I was almost shocked by the tone of his voice. It was a strange mix of his usual melancholy, and something else I had no hope of identifying. I nodded in confirmation and opened the door wider so he could come in. He shrugged and meandered into one of the corner chairs. Plopping ungracefully on it, he crossed his arms and stared at me for a slightly-less-than-awkward period of time.

"Wh-what are you staring at me like that for?" I asked, just a little bit freaked out.

"I was just thinking to myself whether or not it was a good idea to kill your father. I got you and Ryou completely screwed over by my actions."

"If you didn't, my situation wouldn't exist. I would be dead. As for Ryou, you and him would be still sharing a body and everyone would be more depressed than they are now. In my opinion, the shitty result is the best in the pool."

Bakura nodded deeply before standing back up. As he was about to leave, I grasped for his hand. It was cold, like Ryou's, but it was larger and more muscular (if a hand could be as such.)

"That brings me to my next point. You haven't been your usual grade of asshole-ism. What's up with that?"

The Yami smirked at me before turning back towards the open door.

"I've been a total douche for the last three thousand years. I figure that since I'm not going to live to double that number, I may as well try something new once. I don't think I really like being nice though. Don't expect it much."

As the door closed, I fell onto the soft mattress on my bed and exhaled loudly.

"Crazy shit. I ask again, fully rhetorical: why me?"

There wasn't any more information on the news. That relieved me more than chocolate and tea. And believe me, I like my chocolate and tea. Everyone had finally relaxed a bit after that day. The much needed calm was finally upon us.

"It seemed that it's going into the cold-case state." I said, smiling softly.

"Yes... There's only one thing that makes be happier than knowing that." Ryou breathed. I dropped my head horizontally, in a questioning manner. Sensing my slight confusion, he carried in to say "And I was implying you in that comment."

I sighed slightly and looked up at him with my eyes teasingly narrowed.

"That was soooo cheesy." Ryou's face went red and he turned away from me for a moment. It didn't take long for me to reach for his face to pull him towards me. "I never said it wasn't cute or appreciated, Ryou." I hugged him tightly and breathed in his subtle scent. It was a mixture of vanilla and peppermint from soaps and toothpaste, and whenever I smelled them, I would be brought back to the tender moments we shared together and all troubles in my mind would vanish.

A sudden loud knocking on the door interrupted us, and made us both jump in surprise. Ryou slowly and silently approached the door and eyed through the peek-hole in the door. His eyes widened in fear.

"It's the police!" he whispered in terror. My heart was beating too fast to be counted and horror bubbled in my stomach. My knees were getting wobbly, and my entire body felt like it was going to disintegrate. Ryou slunk away from the door slowly and beaconed me towards the fire escape ladder. I nodded silently and made my way towards the window. As I put my first foot out onto the corroded metal of the ladder, I heard the knocking intensify. I got scared, and started to pick up the pace. However, in my haste, I lost my footing on the ladder, and fell.

"A-Akane!" I heard him cry. I squeezed my eyes shut and tried to re-grasp the rails on the ladder. My attempts were nearly in vain, but they did manage to slow me down enough to lighten the drop. When my feet hit the ground, I felt fire shoot up my left foot. I resisted all of my urges to scream in pain. I grunted shrilly and bit my lip. Without warning, a familiar yami emerged from the shadows the buildings cast and scooped me up. I squeaked slightly at the action, but appreciating the chance to get off my foot, which was likely broken. Ryou was now down the ladder, and grabbed my hand.

"Are you alright? I'm so sorry, this is all my fault!" He looked close to tears the way he was now. Bakura looked at us in confusion before muttering

"Anyone care to explain what the fuck is going on? Starting with why Akane just fell 4 stories, preferably."

"The cops found us, so we tried to climb down the emergency escape. I panicked and lost my footing, that's all. On the subject, we really have to get going, and quickly." I spoke quickly to try and add a sense of urgency. Bakura smirked for a second before walking out towards the parking lot to the apartment building.

"Well then, I suppose it's a really good thing that I got this today." He motioned towards a black van parked on the concrete. Amanet was sitting in the passenger seat picking at her nails distantly. When she noticed us coming, she opened the back doors. Bakura, being the ass that he is, tossed me rather unceremoniously onto the seat. Ryou scowled at his yami for a moment before taking the seat beside me. As the yami took his own place in the driver's seat, he muttered

"Alright, let's go."

With that, we sped away into the unknown.

A/N:

Riv: I'm such a mean person...

Akane: Yeah, you broke my fucking foot, mean bitch!

Riv: Watch your motherfucking language, you hoe!

Everyone: *Sweatdrop*

Riv: ...*ahem* So, here marks the adventures outside the apartment! Sorry about the slight filler in there, but I couldn't just leave the chapter alone, plus Baku-chan needed the screen time. My jokes have run dry as well; I haven't slept in nearly a week. Stupid insomnia, fucking me up too much for comfort... MALIK! DISCLAIM!

Malik: Why me?... RiverTear980 owns nothing other than Akane and Amanet, the storyline, and the author's notes. She doesn't have a soul of her own, but I suppose now she owns all of yours... Wait, WHAT?

Just reminding y'all, review, or else a leather-clad Shadow-chan with big weapons will find you and eat your souls! NYAN DESU~! And vote on poll! I like hearing from you! It's on my profile, and you know you want to press the shiny button ^^ I can see it in your soul.