It was Monday that Ryou had bought May's engagement ring and gone to speak with her father. He'd gotten his permission to marry his daughter, much to his own relief, but he still had no idea how he was going to propose. He'd been pondering that when his Yami had appeared in his ethereal form and glowered at the open ring-box in Ryou's hands.

"You can't possibly be serious," he'd intoned cynically.

"Yes I am," Ryou answered calmly, looking up at his Yami with a cool expression. "I love her and she loves me. Why shouldn't I marry her?"

Bakura scowled, crossing his arms and leaning against the doorframe with a skeptical air. "Because weddings don't do anybody any good. I don't see what the big fuss is about." His mocking tone was meant to be hurtful, but Ryou couldn't be hurt by Bakura's derisive words when he looked at the engagement ring and imagined Amaya wearing it. "It's bloody impractical. It makes more sense to spend that money on trading cards."

"You're kidding, right?"

A snort was the only response Ryou got from Bakura, who stood there scowling, his expression growing stormier with every passing moment. Ryou had resumed staring at the ring, trying to work up the courage in his heart to propose to May the next time he saw her.

"No."

Ryou looked up at Bakura in shock. "What do you mean, no?" he queried, tensing in anticipation of the argument that was sure to follow.

"I forbid you from marrying her."

"You can't do that!" Ryou protested. The next thing he knew, Bakura was lunging for him as only a spirit could, and suddenly, the Millennium Ring was plunging its prongs into his chest and burning his skin like never before. He cried out in pain and writhed on the floor, surprised by the vehemence of Yami Bakura's attack. During this time, Yami Bakura took their souls to the spirit realm, which enabled him to grab Ryou by the front of his shirt and shake him until his teeth rattled.

"If you marry that girl, I swear I'll beat her to a pulp and let you wake up to being fucked by Melvin." His vicious ferocity paired with those wretched threats had shaken Ryou to his very core.

The last thing he wanted was to put Amaya in danger. Or to experience… that, with Marik's evil side. Or with Marik, for that matter. He loved May, he really did. Which is why he was now having second thoughts about his plans. He wanted to keep her safe at all expense, even if it resulted in his being tortured for the rest of his life by both his Yami and his regrets.

That was when he'd blacked out.

The next thing he knew, he was waking up to Marik's face inches from his own, and he cried out in panic, shoving the Egyptian boy away from himself and hurling the Millennium Ring away as well. Marik had scrambled after the artifact, calling after Bakura while Ryou found his feet and stumbled into the kitchen. Spending the next couple of hours with Amaya had certainly helped cheer Ryou up, but things went downhill soon afterward.

Bakura had taken over a couple blocks from May's house, and the next thing he knew, he was in his bathroom back home, with a serrated knife and a bottle of rubbing alcohol on the sink beside his Yami, who sat cross-legged with a vile grin. "You're not going to have dinner with her family this weekend," Bakura growled.

"Of course I am, wha—" Ryou was cut off by his own cry of pain as his Yami took over for the moment it took to grab the knife and slash Ryou's wrist. Ryou dropped the knife in disgust and seized his arm. "You can't…"

"Oh, yes I can. I'm perfectly capable of turning your life into an actual living hell. The most painful, terrifying thing you've experienced up until now will seem like child's play in comparison. I never had to negotiate with you, but I did, because it was in my interest to do so. I have nothing to gain from your being distracted with a wife, so I've chosen to prevent that from happening."

Ryou's anger flared up, and he began to protest, only to find himself with two more slashes and the taste of blood in his mouth.

"I should have nipped this little romance in the bud long ago," he snarled. "Better late than never, I suppose." He took control for another flash, and Ryou cried out as the nearly-pure alcohol sunk into his wounds and caused intense pain.

The torture continued infrequently for the next two days, with Ryou suffering from more wounds and getting no sleep. Quite the opposite: he was perfectly aware for all of it, even when he wasn't in control. That was actually a part of the torture, for it involved watching horror films and other unforgettable terrors. His body and soul were tortured for the next 50 hours by his Yami, and he was feeling completely horrid. The worst part was that he knew he was going to miss dinner with May's family, and he couldn't even tell her that he wasn't going to be there. He simply wouldn't show up, and she'd be left thinking that he'd simply forgotten about her.

He'd truly been a fool to think that any of this could have ever worked. He never should have tried to stand up to his yami. He should have known better than to try and negotiate with a sadistic psychopath.

Saturday afternoon, Amaya went to the cafe where Ryou worked to say hi to him, but she was surprised to see that he wasn't there. She asked after him with the barista who was there, who responded that Ryou had called in sick. This surprised her. Ryou hadn't been sick on Thursday. Weak, perhaps, but not ill. And if he was ill enough to not go to work, then surely he wasn't well enough to come to dinner tonight, and if that was the case, he would've told her. Something smelled fishy here, and May felt a growing sense of intense concern.

She hurried to his apartment and knocked on the door firmly. She waited and knocked a second time. Finally, Marik opened the door.

"Oh, it's you," he said rather apathetically, then turned and called out, "Bakura, Amaya's at the door. Should I let her in?"

May heard Yami Bakura's voice from inside, but couldn't make out what it said.

"Bakura says I'm not supposed to let you in. You have to leave now." He made to close the door, but May put her foot between it and the door-jam.

"Can I please talk to Ryou, then?" she pleaded. She felt her chest tighten with anxiety, feeling powerless to help the man she loved.

"Uh, no, Bakura's punishing him right now."

"Punishing him? For what?" Amaya said in surprised concern.

"For wanting to marry you, I believe. Bakura got pretty mad about that. Anyways, you should probably leave now." Marik tried to force her to back out, but May was done being passive. She shoved him back and forced her way through the door, only to find herself rooted to the spot in shock and fear with what she saw. Yami Bakura sat cross-legged on the couch, shirtless, the prongs of the Millennium Ring buried deep in his chest, a knife in his hand as he polished its gleaming blade. His fore-arms were slashed horribly, and the murderous glint in his eye sent chills down her spine. He chuckled, the sound cold and heartless. She'd never seen him like this before.

"Fancy seeing you here," he rumbled with contempt, almost as if he'd been expecting her. May was still too shocked to speak, so he continued. "I suppose you want me to stop disciplining your little boy-toy, is that it?" May blushed, flustered, and he grinned smugly. "Give me one good reason why I should."

"Because I love him." The words flew from the top of her mind to the tip of her tongue faster than lightning.

"You'll have to do better than that if you ever want to see him again," he retorted, unmoved.

"Don't you have a heart?!" she protested, exasperated and unable to grasp his utter lack of feeling.

He laughed hysterically, clearly mocking her. "That's cute," he growled. "You think I still have a shred of humanity left in me. I have no heart."

"Then let's make a deal," she suggested, finally starting to get a handle on the situation. She remembered that Yami Bakura was one for making deals, something like the sidhe of Celtic/Anglo-Saxon mythology.

"You have nothing of value that you can offer me," he retorted disdainfully.

"Then how about a duel," she offered instead. She had played Duel Monsters with her older brothers when she was younger, and she'd played with Ryou plenty of times. He'd even helped improve her deck, and she felt like she had a decent chance of beating him.

Bakura grinned in a way that disturbed May even more. "Then let's make it a game worth playing, and take it to the Shadow Realm: If I win, your soul shall be banished to the Shadow Realm forever!"

"The Shadow Realm?" she repeated. Yugi and Bakura had both mentioned it to her before, but she was still unclear as to what it actually was.

"I believe you would know it better as Hell," he explained with a sinister smile.

"And if I win, then I'm allowed to marry Ryou, and you can't do anything to delay, prevent, or interfere with that!"

"Then it's a deal." With that, the world around them faded into a purplish-grey swirl of darkness. As their surroundings faded out of sight, Ryou's soul faded in. He was staring at May with an unfathomable expression, one of pain and shock and hope and fear.

"Ryou!" she cried, surprised and relieved to see him. They ran to each other and embraced, the gravity of their situation settling upon them both and making their hearts heavy.

"Come on, let's get this duel started," Yami Bakura said, all too eager for his first Shadow Game in a few years. He was shuffling his deck, still seated on the couch, but now Marik had joined him, having nothing better to do than watch a Shadow Game play out between the evil spirit that possessed Ryou and Ryou's girlfriend.

"I hope you know what you're doing," Ryou murmured, worried, as he had every right to be. He went and sat with May on the couch opposite Bakura and Marik. May was hoping the same thing. Even though Ryou was here, it would be difficult for him to give her any help at all, direct or otherwise. She was scared, but she didn't feel it yet. She was focused, her mind clear. She knew what she needed to do, and she knew how to do it. She had some knowledge of what Yami Bakura kept in his deck, so she had an idea of what to prepare for and what he might try to do. Even so, she'd have to be careful not to act too much on her expectations.

All this ran through her mind as she shuffled her deck, preparing to duel.

Using the Change of Heart, May narrowly managed to defeat Yami Bakura, who was quite enraged by the outcome of events. Marik left as soon as the duel was over, and as the shadows engulfing them blurred away into haze, the familiar living room taking shape around them, Yami Bakura released his hold on Ryou, who found himself yet again in incredible pain, inflicted by his Yami, while in May's presence.

They immediately embraced again, this time with the knowledge of their victory to comfort them. Ryou held May as tightly as he could in his shaking arms, crying into her hair. The tears were caused partly by physical pain and partly by the shock of relief.

"It's okay, everything's okay now," she whispered, her heart breaking for him all over again.

"I thought I'd never see you again," he sobbed, hugging her tighter as if afraid that she would disappear.

"I'm here now, Ryou," she murmured, trying to comfort him. Her mind still swirled with questions, like, how could his Yami be so willing to physically torture him like that, and how long had this been going on, and why was Yami Bakura so against their getting married? "I'm here now, Ryou, and I'm never going to leave you," she promised. She could still feel him shaking in her arms, and she stroked his back soothingly until his tears at least had ceased. Not that she hadn't cried too as they embraced, but she felt the need to hide her tears, to be strong for his sake. He wiped his eyes with the back of his hands, and she pulled back just enough so that she could kiss his cheek. "Come on, let me take care of you." It pained her to even look at his wounds, so actually saying aloud what he suffered was unthinkable to her.

As she'd done before, she led him away to the bathroom where she cleaned and bandaged his wounds. She had the distinct impression, as she'd had before, that she was the only one who'd ever seen the injuries inflicted by his Yami, that he'd been the one to wash away the blood and slap on a band-aid in the past. Well, she would make every effort to care for him better than he was capable of caring for himself.

She first removed the Millennium Ring from his chest, then gently washed his wounds as he sat there in silence, his unfathomable mind turning in endless circles. One of the most recent cuts on his wrist concerned her especially.

"I-I don't know about this one," she said hesitantly. "I think we should take you in to get stitches."

Ryou shook his head immediately, the first time he'd resisted any part of her ministrations. "I can't do that," he said.

"But-"

"How could I explain these?" He gestured to his arms. "They'll think I'm a liar, that I'm suicidal, or that I'm psychotic. If I tried telling them the truth, they'd think I have split personality disorder and that I should be locked up in a mental hospital." There was such intense fear in his eyes, any protests May would have made died on her lips. "You know I'm not crazy, but we can't make them believe that."

"Okay, you're right," she conceded, worried for him. "I'll do what I can, then, and you'll have to be careful to keep the bandages on tightly for the next few days, at least." He nodded and relaxed a bit, and she continued tending to his wounds.

The more she thought about it, the more she understood the validity of his concerns. His yami had done an excellent job of inflicting pain on Ryou and making the wounds something that people would recognize and categorize as evidence of cutting; if Ryou tried to claim that he had been attacked, they'd say he was lying, because nobody attacked a person by slashing their wrists. They wouldn't check his chest, of course, nobody would think to. But if they did, they'd have no explanation for the punctures they'd find.

When she'd finished wrapping both fore-arms in gauze, antibac, and compression wrap, she did the same to his chest; unfortunately, the wounds there were deep enough that she couldn't just tape gauze over it as before, but she actually needed to use the compression wrap around his chest as well. She made a mental note to replenish the first-aid kit soon.

She secured the wrap, then sat there for a moment, her palm pressed to his heart. He placed his hand over hers and brought it up to his lips, kissing each fingertip in turn, a gesture so tender and sweet, it not only made her smile, but it made her giggle as well. She kissed his cheek, and said, "While you go put a shirt on, I'll get some soup on the stove. Sound good?" He smiled and nodded, and she stood to do as she'd said she would.

Ryou came back wearing a shirt with sleeves long enough to hide his bandages completely, his hair pulled back into a low ponytail. You would never be able to tell how much physical pain he was in by looking at him. While May stirred the soup, Ryou wrapped his arms around her waist, hugging her from behind and resting his chin on her shoulder.

"I'm proud of you for what you did back there," he murmured.

"Which part?"

"All of it. You're amazing, and I love you with all of my heart." His words were so sweet and tender, and as he took her left hand in his, he sneakily slipped something onto her ring finger. May glanced downwards as she felt the weight of it, and gasped.

"Oh, Ryou, I…" Her breath caught, and she spun around, throwing her arms around his neck and hugging him as tightly as she was capable of doing. "I love you so much! I, yes, I will! I mean…" She stuttered and rambled, then burst into tears of joy, the adrenaline running out as her nerves finally kicked in after staying calm for so long. Ryou laughed softly, and May moved her arms to his waist, pressing her face to his chest as she let herself cry the necessary tears. He rubbed her back, understanding that the tears needed to come out.

"I can't wait to spend the rest of my life with you," he murmured, head bent over hers, his chocolate eyes gleaming. May wiped her eyes and lifted her head, not even hesitating before kissing him and twining her fingers into the hair pressed closest to his scalp.

When they'd broken the kiss, Ryou smiled at her sheepishly, and said, "I'd planned on proposing to you properly, but Marik already let the cat out of the bag, so…" May silenced him with another, briefer kiss.

"It doesn't matter how you proposed, only that you did," she assured him with a smile. She looked down at the ring again: it was lovely, simple, and elegant in its simplicity. She loved it, but not nearly as much as she loved him.