It has been a long time. *avoids rotting fruit* I swear, I have perfectly legitimate reasons for not updating (desu) for so long. Reason the first: marching band. Reason the second: orchestra. Reason the third: school. Reason the most important and most relevant: absolutely no inspiration whatsoever. And I don't care. Throw rotting carrion at me. Just not mangos. I be allergic to mangos xD

Chapter 3

"Are you sure it's broken?" I asked quietly. Bakura adverted his narrow gaze from my foot to my own eyes.

"I'm sure of it. Your heel is cracked badly. You see how it's swollen here," he pointed to the middle arch of my bruised extremity, "and here." as he pointed at the back of my heel. It was turning a grotesque shade of purple from the bruising as time passed. The albino Yami sighed heavily. "Fortunately, with my vast experiences of injuries, this one is relatively easy to heal. You have to keep it elevated to reduce the swelling, wrapped up to hold the bones in place, and put ice on it for a while."

I could hear Ryou exhale relieved from his spot in the front seat. He was driving, Amanet was sitting shotgun, and Bakura and I were in the back. I had no idea where we were or where we were headed, but I knew that our goal was to get away so the destination was permanently undefined. We were surrounded by foreign places I had never seen; rolling fields as far as the eye could see and distant mountain silhouettes that traced the edges of the sky. In spite of the jaw-clenching pain in my foot, I was still fascinated by the environment.

A loud smirk from Bakura tore me from my moment of slight peace, and thrust me back into reality. We were still running away from people we couldn't see anymore, doomed from the start because of our situation, and the visions of the Millennium Necklace weighing down on me. Ryou peeked back at me and sighed.

"Why don't I pull over so we can take a break?"

Amanet looked at him with concern.

"Do you think it's safe now?"

Ryou pulled into the shoulder lane and parked the car.

"I haven't seen anyone chasing us or heard any sirens. I can only assume that we're far enough now."

Everyone nodded hesitantly in response. Ryou parked the car in silence, and that's when all hell broke loose.

Well, not really.

The second the car stopped, Amanet bolted out of the car and sprinted about 400 meters forward. We all stood there rigidly, in awe of her speed. If this was a cartoon, there would be long dust clouds and whirlwinds following behind her. About 20 seconds later she returned to the side of the van panting slightly.

"What was that all about?" Ryou murmured loudly.

Amanet smirked as Bakura rubbed his temples in exasperation.

"I just can't stand sitting around in one place for so long! It's unbearable!"

I tried hobbling out of the van to figure out what she was doing, but stumbled and fell over. Ryou flinched and dashed to catch me, holding me above the gravel-coated ground. We both laughed quietly in embarrassment, and then he brought be back to a vertical position. During the long pause of quiet serenity, I reached in to the car and brought out a map. As I traced along the roads from Ryou's apartment to where I believed we were, I noticed a few things: one of which being a small town not far from here.

"You guys, since the sun is starting to set, how about we find somewhere to stay the night? There's a town about 20 kilometers from here that likely has a motel or something." Everyone paused from their facepalm moment, courtesy of Amanet, and looked at me. Bakura was the first to speak up.

"Yeah. I have to admit, I'm starting to get sick and tired of watching the world pass by from the inside of a bloody automobile."

"Me too! There's nothing to do and it's really uncomfortable to sleep in." Amanet agreed.

We enjoyed the last few minutes on the side of the road before returning to the car. A few grunts and groans left the two ancient spirits' throats, but otherwise the minutes left in the car were suspended in nerve-wracking impatience.

==About 25 minutes later==

"Wow... This place is actually not as much of a pig sty than I thought..." Bakura gandered as he peered through the window at the town beyond.

The municipality wasn't in any way under-populated, and everywhere you looked there were more and more people. The feeling was toned up by the near dismal size of the town itself; it could not have been more than 5 square kilometers in area. The roadsides were dotted with large flower-bearing trees and smaller bushes, and everywhere was more colorful than the last place you looked. On the roads, there weren't many cars or motorcycles, but they were still used by either bikers or walkers. The buildings were mostly Victorian or Edwardian in style, showing off the subtle grace and deep colors. The entire area was like a sudden time warp into a calmer era where situations like ours were less common and much easier to rid oneself of.

Even I couldn't stop myself from gawking at the sheer grace of the town. Ryou, who had since switched positions with Bakura to sit beside me, was also gazing at the serene place in awe. His hand laid gently on mine, our fingers intertwined as well. For some reason they felt colder than usual, and his skin was slightly clammy. I adverted my attention from the architecture and design to focus on Ryou. His eyes were staring in an almost dead manner, unreadable to his outer feeling, but letting his real emotions show. It was odd; despite the lovely views, he still seemed incredibly depressed. Who could blame him though? He was dragged into a whole murder situation without any consent on his part, and was entirely blamed for it. As I stared questioningly at him he smile weakly, but I knew that there was something more going on than that in his mind.

"Can I...talk to you a bit later?" I whispered to him. He nodded shallowly before letting his chin rest on my shoulder. Tufts of long white hair fell in front of his face and brushed against my neck. I laughed inwardly before taking a few small pieces and braiding them together. When Ryou peered down to see my (unmentionably rough) handiwork, he took it between his fingers and started poking me in the cheek; smiling the whole time.

What am I to do but smile back?

A/N:

I told you I had no inspiration. I warned you.

WARNING DESU WARNING DESU SHE HAS NO INSPIRATION DESU!

Oh. Well that came a tad late...

Ryou: What about that thing that you were planning on doing with the thing and the thing in that place and the thing?

Me: I swear to Ra I have absolutely no idea what you are talking about. Oh. YOU CRAZY PERSON! I'M NOT KILLING YOU OFF!

Ryou: ...good.

Me: ...yet.

Ryou: 0.o

Me: I jest. Akane-chan! Disclaim desu!

Akane: RiverTear980 owns nothing. Her soul died a few days back too. Be prepared for sadistic bastardness in the coming chapters.

Me: Yup. And big mega kawaii desu hugs out to my reviewers!

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