Chapter 7

AUTHOR'S NOTE: Gah, so sorry! Switched computers recently, forgot to bring this story with me! Just trying to recover all the files, so more should be posted within a month or so.

"Yugi-kun!"

Ryou just had time to heave an exasperated sigh before he was shoved roughly aside and out of his body. /Pharaoh,/ he said pointedly. /A little consideration for your host?/

The Pharaoh brushed of Ryou's irritation with a half-hearted apology, then erected his shields, blocking Ryou from yet another conversation. Well. Ryou scowled. This sucks.

He rolled his eyes as the he felt the Pharaoh's excitement and concern leaking through the walls that separated his mind from the outside world. Really, the so-called King of Egypt was acting like a school-girl with a crush, constantly doting on little Yugi like he was the last man on Earth. It was beginning to drive Ryou a little crazy, and that was saying a lot.

Then again, Ryou hadn't exactly been much in the mood to talk lately, either. Not because there was, you know, anything wrong or anything, because that would just make things even more awkward between him and the Pharaoh. But still. It might be nice to get a little "morning, Ryou!" once in awhile.

'Kay, so maybe he was nervous. A little. Alright, he'd much rather be at home hugging one of his stuffies at the moment than face what he would have to later today.

From what the Pharaoh had said, the tomb-robber was a little scary.

And today he would meet him for the first time.

"Bakura-kun?" Ryou groaned as he suddenly found himself in control of his arms and legs again, shaking a little at the unusual stiffness. When the Pharaoh was in his body, he generally had to stretch later because of the regal slouch he found himself in had sloped his shoulders inward. But he'd found that when the Pharaoh spoke with Yugi, he held his body absolutely rigid, as if afraid he might break. Which was normally fine, yeah, but it made for some awkward situations sometimes.

Like right now. He was pretty sure the cocked eyebrow aimed at him from Hiroto Honda was not an attempt to inform him of his obvious attractiveness.

"Er, uh, hi Honda-kun," he stammered brightly, eyes arching up in a nervous smile. "D-do you need anything? Joey took most of my lunch money, but I think I have a few notes somewhere..."

Please don't pound my face in please don't pound my face in please don't pound my face in…

Honda seemed to consider this. "Not right now, I don't. Listen," he said suddenly, and leaned in a little closer like he was afraid someone was listening. "I, uh, actually… need your help."

Ryou's eyes widened. Well, that was a twist. "My help, Honda-kun?"

Honda glowered at him, eyes narrowed in a threatening glare. "You say anything about this to anyone, pipsqueak, and that'll be it between me n' you, understand?" He cracked his knuckles to get his point across. Then, to Ryou's shock (and slight terror), the bigger boy almost seemed to melt, his murky eyes going hazy with a look Ryou had seen far too often as of late.

Great, now I have two of them, Ryou thought weakly. Why can't lovesick people just leave me alone?

Back when he was 6, Amane had come home swooning over some boy she'd met at school. She'd been 12 at the time, and wouldn't stop talking about him, even when Dad threatened to cut her allowance if she even thought of dating at her age. Ryou had been mad at her, he recalled dimly, but he couldn't remember why. Thinking back now, he was probably jealous. Amane having a crush meant less time playing with him, which really, really wasn't fun. He'd actually gone so far as to mutilate one of her dolls, though he'd felt terrible afterwards.

So he was pretty sure that was why he had an oversized version of one of his teddy bears staring up at him with heart-shaped eyes. Except this teddy bear could probably hang him up as a Christmas ornament if he wanted to.

Karma really hated him, didn't it?

Ryou let out a long sigh and folded his arms across his chest. "Um, Honda-kun…" he began.

"Listen," Honda interrupted, coming back to himself in an instant. "Normally I'd get Yugi to do this for me, but after the whole Anzu-thing, I'd rather stay as far away from that kid as possible, you know?" His face turned to his trademark "beautification" glare. "So I'm counting on you here. You need to get Miho-chan to like me in the next week, or I'm not going to be a happy camper. Understood?"

Ryou swallowed. "U-understood."

"Good." Honda grinned, and Ryou felt his heart sink a little. "See you in a week, limey boy!"

In the back of his mind, the Pharaoh quietly began to snicker. Ryou rolled his eyes and began to walk towards the game field. /Oh, be quiet./

He was pleasantly surprised when the Pharaoh actually obeyed, chuckles immediately dying in his thoughts. Then, a familiar rage began to seep through from the Pharaoh's soul room, clouding his mind. Ryou blinked. Followed the Pharaoh's gaze. And felt his stomach abruptly twist into a large ball.

Yugi, who had been called to help with sports equipment, was making his way back towards them, ignoring the teacher's shouts for him to come back. His walk was confident, yet slack, and his face had morphed into a menacing sneer.

"Tomb-robber," the Pharaoh spat with Ryou's voice. Ryou flinched as he was once again tossed aside to hover beside the angry spirit, but this time he wasn't quite as irritated. In fact, he hoped the Pharaoh would stay in control. Forever. Well, 'kay maybe not forever, but until the tomb-robber left at least, because he really didn't want to talk to a guy who was about as evil as they come, and today was the day he was supposed to and oh crap he was scared and…

Had he ever mentioned he had a tendency to babble when he was terrified?

He didn't even notice when the Pharaoh gently nudged him back into control, not until he felt his hands begin to shake so bad he actually thought they might fall off. Yugi… er, the tomb-robber was just kinda smiling at him. It was more than a little creepy.

"Hello, Bakura-kun," the spirit said, mockingly-polite. "Or should I call you Ryou? We wouldn't want anyone to get confused here."

Ryou blinked. He had just missed like, 25% of that sentence, his heart was pounding so loud. Why would the tomb-robber be confused?

"Um, sure," he agreed uncertainly. Feeling a little braver, he asked, "W-why would…?"

The tomb-robber smirked, making Ryou wince slightly in fear. "Well, after all, we do share the same name. So unless you want to call me 'Supreme Master' I'd say we stick with Ryou. Or possibly yadonushi, though I guess that doesn't really work right here. Okay with you?"
But Ryou had frozen, lips parted slightly. I was right, he thought dimly. Pharaoh did call him Bakura. But how… why… Why would the Pharaoh try to hide that from me? I… I…

Since they had first met Yugi, the Pharaoh had been constantly blocking Ryou's mind from the outside world. It had been annoying, granted, but it had perplexed him more than anything. Though Ryou wasn't a genius by any standards, he wasn't stupid. He knew that the Pharaoh was hiding something from him. It wasn't surprising, but it almost… hurt, just a little. After all, they had been sharing a body for months, and now…

"We share the same name?" Ryou repeated, the majority of his fear washed away in his new curiosity. "But you're Ancient Egyptian, aren't you? Why do we have the same name?"

The tomb-robber – Bakura's lip curled, then relaxed, and Ryou felt that he had actually managed to surprise the spirit. But when he spoke, his words were mocking. "So, Mr. King hasn't told you. Not that I'm surprised, really." He leaned closer, a sadistic grin lighting Yugi's face. "Mind if we take a quick walk?"

Ryou opened his mouth to protest (they were still in morning classes, after all), then thought better of it. This strange man was both terrifying and weirdly fascinating, and Ryou, though he would never admit it to the Pharaoh, could feel his own wonder tugging at his thoughts.

"'Kay," he said simply, and followed the tomb-robber, unmindful that he was still clad in nothing but a t-shirt and the school's unnecessarily short gym shorts.

They walked in silence for awhile, the tomb- Bakura wearing a sneer as Ryou paused to pet a stray cat jumping along a low fence line. But after a time, Ryou's legs began to get tired, and Bakura suggested they rest at a nearby park bench.

This isn't so bad, Ryou decided as he settled down beside the other man. I mean, he doesn't really seem all that scary at all. He's just kinda… quiet.

I wonder why the Pharaoh hates him so much.

Eventually, the silence got a little too stale for Ryou, and he began to attempt some small talk, though the thief didn't really respond besides at one point interrupting him to shove off a bird in irritation. Ryou giggled a little, then continued in soft tones his story about a particularly crazy Christmas dinner with his family.

It was actually a little surprising when he idly looked down at his watch and caught sight of the time. "Only 7 minutes left?" he blurted incredulously. "Wow!"

Bakura nodded, inhaling deeply. "Time flies when you're having fun," he smirked.

Ryou's face fell. "That's right," he mumbled. "I- I wanted to ask you some things, but I guess there isn't very much time now." He drooped his head in disappointment. "Oh well."

"No, go ahead," Bakura insisted, grinning. "Ask me anything."

Ryou hesitated, because really, the guy was evil and he probably should leave these kind of questions for the Pharaoh. But then again, when has the Pharaoh ever been terribly reliable? His face hardened. "All right. Who are you, exactly?"

"The Thief King Bakura," Bakura replied in an almost bored tone. "Really, yadonushi, we've been over this."

"And that!" Ryou exclaimed, jabbing a finger at the imaginary offensive word. "Why do you keep calling me that?"

Bakura shrugged and stood, stretching Yugi's limbs. His eyes wandered skyward before falling back to Ryou in a disinterested glance. "Would you rather me follow in the Pharaoh's footsteps and call you mou hitori no ore-sama?"

"Well, anything's better than 'landlord'," Ryou muttered automatically. Then, "Wait."

What?

Ryou felt his stomach drop like a stone.

"M-mou hitori no… ore-sama?" he heard himself repeat distantly. No. No way. It couldn't… he wasn't…!

The other me.

Bakura was giving him a knowing look. "The mighty Pharaoh never told you that, I'm sure. See, I didn't just steal the Pharaoh's host when I set up this game. I gave him mine. Hello, yadonushi!" Ryou found himself at the end of a little wave. "Miss me?"

Ryou just stared. It was like someone had just completely turned his world upside-down, chewed it up, and given it back to him as some sort of sick birthday present. He and that… that thief could not be the same person, they just couldn't!

He finally seemed to find his voice. "I- I… No, I'm not - !"

"You are!" Bakura countered, apparently enjoying the exchange. "Come, we wouldn't want them to realize you're missing." By 'them', he probably meant the school and not the Pharaoh and Yugi, but the way he said it almost made Ryou feel guilty.

He was the Thief King Bakura's other half. He was that bastard tomb-robber's other half.

This wasn't real.

"Time to go, yadonushi," Bakura said suddenly, and reached out to tap Ryou's watch. "See you next week!"

And with that, Ryou suddenly found himself face-to-face with a very confused looking Yugi Mutou.

"Ah, Ryou-kun?" Yugi wondered. "No, wait, the spirit of the Millennium Ring?" He scratched his head and laughed nervously. "I'm afraid I can't really tell the difference."

Well, that's probably because he's the only one who ever talks to you, Ryou thought sorely. Then again. Other half of possibly the most evil man in the world. He should probably go back to freaking out right now.

…He really was terrible with distractions, wasn't he?

"I, uh, I guess I'll switch with the… the uh, omote now?" He winced inwardly. Well if that didn't make him sound mentally disabled…

"No, wait," Yugi said suddenly, and Ryou turned to the other boy with a raised eyebrow. So far, the Pharaoh hadn't worked up the nerve to tell Yugi that he was the spirit, and Ryou was, in fact, the omote, but he was pretty sure Yugi wouldn't want to talk to him much either way. He hadn't saved the duelist from a madman.

"I'd uh, I'd just like to say… Ryou-kun seems to really like you, and I wouldn't want to get in the way of, um… what you two have. I mean, you seem really close."

Ryou barely managed to suppress his surprised cough. Him and the Pharaoh, close? That was probably the farthest stretch of the truth he had ever heard. Why was the Pharaoh telling Yugi this?

Yugi's violet eyes dropped to his sneakers. "Or, well, I think so. He talks about you often… I mean, it usually sounds like he's annoyed, but- but I can tell he likes you, inside. So, I guess… if you ever feel like I'm getting in the way, just say something and I'll leave, okay?"

Ryou could only stare. Because Yugi Mutou was clearly insane, and he knew from experience that at that level of crazy there was no use reasoning anymore. So he just nodded, and said, "I'm switching now."

The Pharaoh instantly took over, and Ryou breathed a quiet sigh of relief. He'd had enough time in control to last him a week, this time.

Ryou sighed and rubbed his eyes wearily, then widened them and tried to focus on his homework. He was actually pretty good at school academically- not particularly smart, but because he put effort into his projects and got them done on time, he generally got good grades. But tonight just wasn't his night.

He sighed again and swiveled in his chair to face his closet. The Pharaoh had been silent most of the evening, probably snoring away in his soul room while Ryou had to stay up at ungodly hours just to finish some pointless math assignment. That wasn't so bad- Ryou liked having some time to himself once in awhile. Still…

"Ryou? Oi, Ryou, are you still awake?"

Ryou jolted up from his little doze at the sound of his father's voice. "Dad?" he called back uncertainly. There was a pause, and then the door to his bedroom creaked open to reveal his harried-looking father.

"Ryou," Father said, "Come quickly."

Ryou didn't question, just hopped out of his bed to follow. His father was obviously distressed, and that was never a good sign. He could remember his mother once complaining that the man might have the sensitivity of a brick wall, for all he showed it. Something was really wrong here.

His father led him to the front door, Ryou wrapping his pajama shirt tightly around him as the chill air hit his skin like a punch to the gut. He hadn't bothered to put on a nightgown.

"What is it, Dad?" he wondered finally as his father grabbed a stick and began to weed through the bushes that lined their driveway. "What-?"

His father ignored him, then inhaled sharply and abruptly froze. Curious, Ryou peeked around his shoulder, letting go of his shirt to fold his arms across his chest.

"Dad, I - oh. Oh!"

Ryou swallowed, feeling sick. Hidden beneath the cover of leaves lay a teenage girl, fair skin scratched and bruised from what Ryou could only assume was the sharp twigs in the bush. Her eyes were closed, but Ryou couldn't tell if that had happened naturally or if someone had done it for her.

Because the girl was most certainly dead.

"Help me move her," Ryou's father ordered, but Ryou hesitated, unsure.

"Shouldn't we leave the body?" he asked. "You know, for like evidence or something?"

Ryou's father gave him a glance that said something along the lines of 'move it boy or say goodbye to your RPGs.' Ryou gulped and complied.

Once she was in the dim light of the street lamps and no longer shaded by the bush, Ryou could see that she was actually very pretty, or had been at one time. Her hair was a soft brown, her skin slightly tanned, but still paler than Yugi's. Dried blood had crusted around her lips and streaked up and down her arms. To Ryou's sick fascination, the colour almost reminded him of melted chocolate.

"Well," Ryou said finally, head starting to spin a little. Holy cow, that was a lot of blood coating the sidewalk. Dimly, he understood that someone had probably dragged her here and just dumped the body, but still. So much blood. He… he actually really wasn't feeling good now. Oh boy, he was dizzy. Maybe he should just sit down for a minute…

There was a slight clunk! as Ryou's body hit the pavement in a dead faint.

/You fainted?/

"Shut up."

/You fainted?/

"Shut up!"

The Pharaoh just gave him an amused look and continued his relentless teasing. /You fainted at the sight of blood./

Ryou scowled and crossed his arms. "I didn't see you stepping in any, Mr. High-and-Mighty Pharaoh."

There was a brief silence in which Ryou took quiet victory.

/…I was sleeping./

"Excuses, excuses," Ryou muttered, skipping along the sidewalk in an attempt to avoid the cracks. It was a game he and his sister had played often when they were younger. Don't step on a crack or you'll break your mother's back! she used to sing, and later, after Mum had gotten sick it had become, Don't step on a crack or you'll break Ryou's back! to the younger Ryou's dismay.

He was pretty sure the Pharaoh had absolutely had no idea what he was doing, and he felt deigned to keep it that way. So there really was no one else to blame when he found himself pitching forward as his foot caught on a stray rock. His hands automatically shot out to break his fall, not fast enough.

"Wah!"

Ryou glowered at the Pharaoh's resulting laughter and wiped at his scraped skin. "Shut up," he said again. "I didn't see it there."

/More like you're clumsy./

"More like I didn't get any sleep last night," Ryou moaned, picking himself off the pavement with a whining huff. The Pharaoh snorted.

/I guess your little 'nap' didn't count?/

"Shut up!"

The Pharaoh complied without complaint, slipping back into the puzzle as they both caught sight of Ryou`s father in the driveway, speaking with several policeman. Ryou grimaced at the "crime scene, do not cross," tape that stretched around his yard. It made the place look like his 8th birthday party gone wrong all over again. Heaving a sigh, he shifted his school bag onto his back and made his way towards the men.

"- assure you, no - Ryou!" His father blinked and excused himself from his conversation with the officers. Ryou trotted towards him. "You're home early."

Ryou shrugged and let his bag slide down his arm. "Had an assembly. They let us leave before the bell." He looked around the yard in wonderment. "What's going on here?"

His father sighed deeply, raising his hands to rub his temples. "Well, I suppose you can tell I called the police shortly after you… erm, passed out…" Ryou gave a consenting wince, understanding what his father was hinting at. "…And now they're basically interrogating anyone who comes within five feet of this place." Another slow exhale. "You'll probably be next."

Great, Ryou thought with a sort of dread. /Um, Pharaoh? Wanna take over?/

The Pharaoh let out the equivalent of a bored yawn. /I'd rather not./

/I'll go to the Game Shop after supper./

Ryou abruptly found himself hovering beside the Pharaoh in spirit form. /Thanks,/ he smiled.

But the Pharaoh didn't respond, just kind of stared. Ryou followed his gaze in confusion. /Pharaoh, what…?/

He saw the girl's body still half-hidden beneath the bushes, her shoulder-length brown hair tangled with leaves and twigs. Some men and women were kneeling and taking pictures. Ryou found himself absently surprised that they hadn't taken the body away yet. He turned to the Pharaoh, whose eyes had glazed over, with amused concern.

/See? You're getting light-headed. Looks like I'm not the only one who - /

The Pharaoh cut him off with a quick, harsh breath. Then, so quietly Ryou had to strain to hear him, he whispered a single word.

"Anzu!"

TBC