Lucy's POV
So, now I know his secret… Bakura is a spirit, living within the Millennium Ring, and Ryou is sort of like his partner in crime...his life source. Bakura needs a body, Ryou supplies that. It's a little weird for me, but I can believe it…maybe it's my childish side that just wants some magic in my life, but I can believe it.
Ryou was in control of his body. By the look on his face when he changed, he seemed to have known what Bakura told me. When I asked how, he told me that he could sense what Bakura was saying because Bakura had allowed him to. And that Ryou could do the same when he was in charge. "It's gonna take a bit for me to get used to this," I remember saying with a smile. I remember Ryou smiling back and joking "How do you think I felt? I could just remember panicking and screaming, There's a spirit inside me!" I remember laughing as we headed back into the museum.
We started going through the rest of the exhibit, looking at everything. Ryou went back to the jewels, the same ones Bakura was staring at. "What's so special about these jewels?" I asked him.
"My Yami has a thing for these… I just got this kind of sensation from him..." I must have looked confused because he continued, "I'm sure he'll explain later."
I shrugged it off and we continued. Ryou was enjoying this almost as much as I was…except I was going completely geeky. "Ryou! Ryou! Look at these carvings! Look at these paintings! Look at these statues!"
"You like the artsy stuff, huh?" he put his arm behind his head and gave a shy and slightly awkward laugh.
Suddenly I realized what I was saying, "Um…yeah, I do," I laughed back awkwardly. "Sorry. I know I'm being a bit—"
"Excited?" he cut me off. "It's okay, Lucy. I know it's your thing. Go have fun," and he smiled. His eyes full of light and innocence, so much different from Bakura's, yet the same.
"You're staying with me, right?" I raised my eyebrow at him.
"Who else is gonna tell me what all this stuff is?" he joked.
"You could read the descriptions of what everything is…?" Like…duh?
"Do you really think I have the patience to read that stuff? Or that I actually want to?" he smirked.
"You're sounding like Bakura. I thought you were the sweet and innocent one?" I teased.
"Oh, I am. Believe me. Spend more time with my Yami and you'll definitely see it. But I really don't wish to read. I do enough of that in school."
I chuckled, "I know the feeling…"
So we continued on, and I showed him little things, and told him facts I knew. We got along well, Ryou and I. It seems puzzling at times why I think I get along better with Bakura. It's just a feeling, really. Although Ryou is a friend, a good friend, Bakura has had my head turned since he locked me in that damned boiler room. Bakura is mean at times, arrogant, bossy, stubborn…but why do I like him?
Did you just say you like him? "No!" I said out loud.
"Lucy?" Ryou stopped and turned to face me, "Are you alright? What's wrong? Did I do something?" His bright brown eyes were complementing the concern in his voice.
I could feel a touch of blush growing in my cheeks, "No, I'm sorry, I was just thinking about…" my voice faded.
"About what?"
"You know, it's nothing, really…just my head. It's been a long day, learning new things and what-not." Why do I have to be so awkward?
"I understand."
Well, he does and he doesn't… "Are you still coming over for dinner, Ryou?"
"I hope so. I'm actually really hungry, now that you mention it," he started laughing, and I joined in, and we walked off to the cafeteria for a snack.
Ryou and I didn't talk much to Yugi and Téa; they had been talking with the black-haired woman, Ishizu, who I saw on television. They seemed to be having a serious talk, and I didn't want to disturb them.
When we finally did talk, it was a lot of fun. And Yugi – or should I say the Pharaoh – even invited me to watch one of his duels sometime and cheer for him with Téa. I said I'd love to, and I really would. He has the reputation as the King of Games; I wanna get in on the action! "The only thing is I don't really know anything about Duel Monsters."
"I can teach you, if you'd like?" the Pharaoh offered, "It's really fun once you get the hang of it. You don't have to compete; you can just play with friends." He was trying to sound like Yugi. He doesn't know I know…
"Yeah, Lucy, I can play with you!" Ryou offered, rather excitedly, I might add.
"Me too," Téa said. She probably just wants her voice to be heard.
"Aw, thanks a lot, guys! I'd love to learn." I haven't had friends like this in… Actually, I've never had friends like this. Ever.
"I'm almost able to qualify for Kaiba's Battle City Tournament," Yugi said, "Perhaps you can watch one of those battles?"
"Yeah, Lucy, you can cheer Yugi on with me! Friendship always wins!" Téa said.
"Sounds great, Téa," I replied flatly, and with slight sarcasm.
Ryou remained quiet. I don't think Yugi or Téa noticed, but I did. I waited until we had said our goodbyes, and Yugi and Téa left before I asked, "Are you alright, Ryou? You seem a little out of it."
"Me? Yeah… it's just…"
"What's wrong? You can tell me you have another being inside of you, but you can't tell me why you're upset?" I said with a smirk.
He chuckled a bit, before returning to the way he was: hair hung low, face sullen, and a twinkle of fear in what little bit of his eyes I could see. "My Yami wants to enter into the Battle City Tournament."
A little shocked and a lot confused, I asked, "What's wrong with that?"
"He has a…a good grudge against the Pharaoh and Yugi and his gang."
"Why's that?" I can't imagine why. They're all really nice…except Téa sometimes. She's too…friendship-y.
"I… I think I'll leave that to him to tell you. It's not really my business telling others about his past… I will tell you he doesn't like to talk about it, so be careful if you ask him."
"Oh…okay…" Why is he warning me? What could be so bad…?
Mom picked us up from the museum and we were just about to eat dinner – classic spaghetti and meatballs!
"This is one of Lucy's favorites for dinner!" my mother said with a big smile on her face, happy that I've made a friend (probably even happier that it's a boy).
"Mom!" I complained.
Ryou was laughing while my face blushed a shade of pink. "It's quite alright, Lucy, it's one of my favorites too," then he leaned over and whispered in my ear, "Yami's favorite is steak."
"Mine too!" I whispered back excitedly. Bakura and I have a lot in common. This is really cool, but why does it make me feel different?
"You kids can go talk in the other room if you want. Dinner will be in another few minutes. Here's an idea: Lucy, why don't you go on and show Bakura the house?"
"Sure thing, mom." I stood up, and motioned for Ryou to follow. I guided him through the house. We ended up in my room so we could talk with more privacy.
My room is pretty averaged-sized. It's still clean, which I'm really happy about because Ryou's here. I haven't spent much time in my room to make it as dirty as it usually is…which normally my mom complains that no one can walk in my room without tripping over something. That's just the way I live.
Ryou immediately found a place to sit – at the foot of my bed. He looked like he was in his own world, and placed his head in his hands. I walked forward and sat down next to him. I wanted to try to bring him back to reality, and my curiosity was getting the better of me again, "So, Ryou, when did you get the Millennium Ring?"
"My dad got it for me as a gift before we moved here. It's one of the few things he got me since…" his voice trailed off, ending with a sad note in his voice.
I had given him a moment to finish before trying to get his attention. "Ryou?"
He seemed to snap out of it, but the sadness hadn't left his eyes. "He doesn't get me gifts anymore, really. He got me this when he was in Egypt for work. He told me the man who was selling it said it relates to Duel Monsters, which he knew I liked – I still do."
"So…has Bakura…has he been inside the Ring—?"
"For as long as his soul has been locked away. I'm not going to lie to you, Lucy, Bakura does not tell me much about himself. The only reason why I know he hates Yugi is because I asked, and later fought with him about it. If he's controlling me, I at least want to know why…he respected that, oddly enough, and he told me. And I promised him I wouldn't say anything to anyone else…not like they would believe me, anyway."
"Would it be alright if I…if I talked to Bakura?"
He seemed a little taken aback by this question, but he managed a smile and he said, "Sure, I guess, but I want to be the one to eat, so don't take too long, okay?"
"Okay—" and just like that, there was a glow of light emitting from the Millennium Ring. It was blinding. I turned my head away and covered my eyes…but as quickly it had happened, it had disappeared.
When the light vanished, I turned back around to see the very features that distinguish Bakura from Ryou: the slight hair change, the deeper, darker, sharper eyes, even sitting down he was taller than Ryou, and was a bit more toned than him too…
"You wanted something?" already I detected impatience in his voice.
I lost my train of thought just looking at him. Is that possible? Does that happen? Maybe I'm just really tired…yeah, that's probably it…I hope.
"Lucy? I was sleeping!" he barked, "I'll put you in my Black Book if I find out you woke me up for no reason…!"
"You can sleep?" a new idea entering my mind.
"In my soul room, yes…."
He still sounded annoyed with me. He was fine talking with me earlier. Why can't I remember what I wanted to ask him?! Gah! I'll just keep playing along with this until I remember. "What's your soul room like?"
Ryou and Bakura have similar looks when I ask them something they don't expect, "Why do you want to know?"
"Just curious…"
"You didn't wake me up for that reason. Stop stalling and say what you want so I can go back to sleep."
"Are you avoiding the question?" I asked, raising my eyebrow a bit, "Afraid to share what's in that evil little head of yours?"
"What's in my head is meant for me. You asked me out here for a reason, and I'm sure my soul room was not it, considering you hadn't known of its existence until moments ago…"
And then it hit me, "Why do you hate Yugi so much?"
His eyes widened for a brief moment, then returned to normal, "It's the Pharaoh I loathe… I don't care for his host…he and his 'friends' just get in my way." he stood up and turned away from me, towards the window looking out into the nighttime city.
"Well, that answers who…can you tell me why?"
"I can…"
After a moment of silence, I spoke again, "So…?"
As he spoke, he continued to hold his gaze to the outside world, "I said I can, I never said I would," I could sense the smirk slide across his face.
"Really? You're really gonna pull that one on me? Isn't that a little young for someone like you?" my turn to smirk.
That is, until I realized he wasn't even going to respond. He stood there, motionless. It was so quiet, the silence almost made a sound. If someone were to put him in chains and try to drag him away, his gaze would still be out that window… What is he thinking?
The silence was broken by the sound of my mother, "Lucy! Bakura! Dinner's ready! Come on down, guys!"
Before I could stop him, there was another blinding flash of light. The real Bakura had gone, and another one took his place.
Hey, guys! I'm sorry this took a bit longer, I packed all of my summer homework into August, and then school has been...in a word: awful. In two words: time consuming. I'm trying my best to update once a month, but sometimes it might be once every two months. :( I'm sorry. I hope you guys are enjoying it! Feel free to review! I promise I won't stop writing this until I'm done with the story! (isn't it the WORST when you find a story that you really love, and it's not finished, and the last time they updated it was back in 2010 or something? I've run into so many of those...!)