Ryou's Story
By: ACE329
Summary: This story is mine to tell. No, not the one whom most refer to as Bakura, the spirit of the millennium ring, just me. He already stole my name but I cannot- will not- let him take away the one thing that I have left…my words.
Disclaimer: I do not own Yu-gi-oh! If I did, admittedly, there would probably be far less Duel Monsters, and more drama! Ryou Bakura, anyone…?
A/N: Hello again! This note may be more relevant than others! I wanted to first say THANK YOU again for the responses I have received for Ryou's Story. I have so many people who have favorited it, and it this makes me happy to no end! The reviews have been very kind and meaningful as well…so, readers, I adore you.
So for the previous chapter, did you notice that in Ryou's dream, all the "anonymous" people were actually Yuugi and his friends? (I hope so!) Just wanted to clarify so when a similar sequence may – or may not! It's whatever Ryou tells me to write ;) – occur, you will know.
And on a minor note, the Yu-gi-oh series seems to gravitate around a constant summer setting…and this doesn't make sense, considering that the events took place over the span of two years. Therefore, I reserve the right to make events occur in a setting as I best see fit :D
Chapter Nine- Normal
It was another wet and grey Monday. It was the first thing I had noticed upon rushing outside, as the biting, icy air embraced me while rain droplets occasionally flicked at me from brooding leaden clouds.
The weather's somber mood became even more apparent to me as my running had upset nearby puddles, splashing against my ankles and thoroughly soaking the bottom edge of my pants. For the moment I didn't care, as I forced my mind to remain focused on simply moving, not thinking.
I was more than happy to oblige to my own command. I knew that the moment I would stop and consider my actions, an overwhelming sense of panic would crash over me, practically paralyzing my entire body.
We all know that I can't merely stop thinking for long.
That's like asking the sun to stop rising. Unlike the sun, however, my thoughts returned to me in a sudden jolt, as opposed to a much preferred gradual revealing.
Oh my God, what had I done?
I refused to comply with the spirit's wishes. I chose to be disobedient. It would be just like the time when I tried to steal back control over my body, during that Monster World game…
I would very much like to keep my hand perfectly intact, thank you very much.
I winced as my eyes instinctively flitted over to my still recovering hand. A faint circular scar stained against my otherwise pale skin, like a brand to an animal. Or an involuntary tattoo.
My pace had slowed down considerably since this unwelcome thought, as I further scrutinized the back of my hand. Impulsively, I flipped it over, palm side up, as if expecting it to move against my will. I allowed my fingers to grasp air, then open again to the bitter cold. I watched in ironic amusement as my hand twisted and rotated at my command. Without worrying about an extra soul battling for dominance.
That was when another thought coursed its way through me—I didn't have to put the millennium ring back on.
Who was going to make me?
It certainly couldn't have been him.
A strangled sort of laugh bubbled from my throat. It felt strange, to feel an inexplicable surge of joy erupt so suddenly. I ignored the annoyed or confused stares from passersby as a smile spread across my face. I felt ridiculous, smiling to myself without a friend to share the joke with, but it could not have been helped.
I really didn't have to put the ring back on, did I?
Nameless lacked the energy to temporarily grasp control of my body—that had been robbed from him in his attempt to drag me back to my apartment, after his enigmatic brawl. I would have pondered on why the fight broke out in the first place, or what Nameless was after, but really, I did not care. Nameless could be out of my life for good.
Hundreds of visions popped in my head, like popcorn kernels exploding from a slow and constant heat. Ways to abolish the ring from my life. I could take the irksome piece of metal and drown it in a river—the water would make a lovely grave. Or I could watch it burn in a convenient little fire pit. Maybe donate it to the ground—six feet under wouldn't be enough! The possibilities were endless.
Naturally, I found myself slightly irritated when, of all times, I heard a familiar lively voice shout out my name.
"Bakura! Hey!" I cringed at the intensity of the voice at such an ungodly hour of the day as I hesitantly whirled around. I certainly knew who it belonged to.
"Yuugi…Anzu, Jounouchi…hello." I offered a brief nod to the trio of friends in recognition, first wondering why they were heading to school as early as I was, but became distracted by a more pertinent question.
"Where's Honda?" I had thrown in my question before any of the three would have the opportunity to ask how I was, in which case I would have to honestly answer I wasn't sure. I was thrilled, yet oddly petrified at the same time. And confused… suspicious, maybe?
"Oh! He's with Miho right now," Yuugi smiled warmly, still with an unusually high energy level. Jounouchi snatched the opportunity to add his own two cents.
"He's sucking up to her, of course. Trying to take advantage of a girl in distress." He accentuated this point with a wink, as if I had any indication of what he had been referring to.
"Jounouchi—" Anzu chastised in a disbelieving tone, quickly sucking in air, "Her brother's…you know…gone, this isn't really the time to be making fun. I'm sure she's in a lot of pain right now. I think they were really close."
I give credit to Anzu for being able to strip the conversation of all its lightheartedness in under five seconds. It is quite a gift.
Immediately Jounouchi ducked his head in mild discomfiture before offering a mumbled agreement.
Yuugi sighed at this, before changing the topic to a safer one. "So how are you, Bakura?" Or so he thought. Like I said, I really didn't want to think about my contradictory state of mind at the moment.
"Oh, I hardly think this is a time to be worrying about me, right now," I replied, brushing my answer off dismissively. I really didn't feel like going into specifics. Instead, I hit the ball back into Yuugi's court. "So…will Miho be all right?" I sincerely did want to know if there was even a chance that she would overcome the situation. I definitely knew how easy it was to let a traumatizing experience consume one's life.
Yuugi hesitated, looking a little uncomfortable about answering the question, so Anzu cut in. "We don't know. She's obviously grieving. I'm surprised she's even planning on going to school right now. She apparently was the last person to see her brother before he…before he…"
I nodded my head curtly in understanding, sparing Anzu from completing her thought. Why was she so afraid to say the word, "died"? Saying it, or not saying it, wouldn't alter the circumstances, now would it?
"It is surprising that Miho's here," I alleged, allowing myself to trudge alongside the sidewalk with the small group. I spotted both Miho and Honda—who loomed closer than necessary—lingering by a crosswalk a short distance away. "Perhaps she wants to cope with it and move on with her life as quickly as possible." That would have been a relief. I didn't know the girl that well, but more than anything, I wanted her to be okay. In a major way, I guess I was the one who felt responsible for her brother's death. Since Nameless clearly had no conscience of his own, I must be the one to repent for his actions.
I resolved to speak to Miho later. To get a better idea of what Miho was really thinking…I wanted to check the damage that really had been done.
"It's going to take more than a few days for Miho to get over Botan's death," Jounouchi suddenly pointed out with a dash of unusual soberness, ignoring Anzu's noticeable wince. "Have you really looked at her? She looks awful."
My eyes hesitantly retraced its steps back to where Honda and Miho remained.
I suppose there was truth in what Jounouchi said. Miho's usually vibrant lavender eyes just appeared…grey to me. And wasn't there typically a subtle smile cornering her lips? It looked like a soiled eraser had been smudged over her face. A dark shadow seemed to be blanketing her entirely.
And there was Honda, who spoke with her in a hushed tone. I couldn't hear his words exactly—they were too far away—but I could tell they were kind. Comforting. His eyes even swarmed with an empathetic emotion I couldn't identify, especially on Honda's face.
But perhaps there was more to this person than I thought. Even though I was pretty sure he loathed me. But that was understandable, right? Did "I" not try to destroy his friends' lives? I suppose I'd be that livid as well, if only I had relationships that were meaningful enough to me…
"Bakura," Yuugi called back, pulling me out of yet another pensive moment. He reached out to lightly touch my arm, causing me to instinctively flinch. I watched as a passing look of confusion dashed across his face, before he offered me an assuring smile. "You're lagging behind," he commented, gesturing towards the increasing gap between us.
It appeared I had been so caught up with gawking at Miho and Honda that I forgot I was walking with people. It wasn't something I had been used to in the past.
"Oh, so I am," I distractedly said, making an extra effort to keep up my pace. "Sorry."
"You're an apologetic person, you know that?" Jounouchi prompted as he wagged a finger accusingly at me, "Stop excusing yourself all the time." I noticed both Yuugi and Anzu had nodded their heads in silent agreement at this.
"You're right," I acquiesced. I quickly stole another glance at the duo that was now making a motion to depart for the school building that towered a short distance away, egged on by the increasing ferocity of the rain. I particularly focused my stare at Miho's vacant, frighteningly hollow eyes.
"I'm sorry."
It was horrendous, embarrassing really. I couldn't remember the last time I felt my cheeks flush with such shame.
I was in the midst of my second class of the day—Composition—and already I was suffering the consequences of not having breakfast. Or dinner from the previous day.
Grumble grumble groaaaaaaan….
I placed my forehead against the coolness of my desk while tightly wrapping my arms around my stomach. Why must I be the victim to such humiliating circumstances? I was convinced the entire class was hearing the vocal complaints of my protesting stomach.
I could have sworn I even saw Seto Kaiba shooting a glare in my direction.
Well, I suppose the appropriate question would be, who wasn't?
"To really improve with your essays, and future essays, you must practice consistently…" I vaguely heard the teacher, Ms. Soto, inform the class. I was impressed with how easily she was able to ignore my disruptions. It sounded like bombs were going off. I mean, my goodness, I could hardly decipher what she was saying.
Well, at least Nameless wasn't there to further increase the degree of my humiliation. He would have probably been laughing at me. Or at least toss in a snide remark. That thought made me smile in spite of myself. He wasn't capable of doing either of these things because he wasn't there…
"And there's nothing he can do about it," I whispered absentmindedly, briefly forgetting of my surroundings. I was ripped out of my rejoicing when again, I thought I saw Kaiba snatch another glare at me with his icy cobalt eyes. There was enough bitterness in them to freeze over the entire classroom, I was sure.
I tried to ignore him, and my rude stomach, of course, as I reluctantly drew my attention back to the front of the classroom.
"So for our final project, I want you to put a collection of works together as a portfolio," Ms. Soto announced, writing the due date on the dry erase board. A unified groan rippled throughout the room.
"Be thankful I'm not making you write an impromptu for your final grade," the teacher frowned, deliberately focusing her gaze on Jounouchi, who had groaned the loudest. "In which case, some of you would probably fail." Various snickers resounded from the room, the class collectively knowing who the weaker students were.
"In the meantime, I would encourage all of you to fit in as much practice as possible in your writing. It doesn't have to be academic. It could be maybe a blog, or a letter to a friend…"
"Who writes letters anymore?" Honda whispered to Jounouchi from behind me with an edge of amusement.
"I dunno, man, I'm pretty sure you would count if you had written your own damn love letter to Miho instead of making Yuugi do it," Jounouchi half-heartedly retorted in a strained whisper. He had much difficulty keeping his voice level down.
"Hey! Shut it! Why don't you let the whole class in on it?" Honda hissed, ready to smack his friend. He was halted in his actions when the teacher lashed out her usual reprimand. I ignored this, unfazed, nestling back in my train of thoughts.
Huh. So Honda really liked Miho that much. I wasn't there for whatever incident Jounouchi was alluding to, although I'd bet it wasn't Honda's proudest moment. It was strange to me, how interested Honda seemed in this one girl. I mean, from what I could tell, they were polar opposites. What gravitated him to Miho?
For the hundredth time that day I'm sure, my eyes roamed over to the lilac-haired girl. Her head was bowed. From a distance it looked like she was deeply concentrating on her notebook.
However, I knew better than to judge from initial impressions.
A look closer proved that Miho's knuckles were blanched from clenching so tightly onto her pencil…I was afraid it would snap. Every few seconds her hands trembled ever so slightly.
Across the plane of her forehead, there was a strong crease stretching across it. Actually, her entire face seemed to be strained. There was a line dividing between her eyebrows. And she was biting her lip, as if she desired to draw blood.
It were as if all Miho's emotions were concentrated into one giant ball, violently bouncing around inside her frail body like a pinball machine.
I'm sure I've looked this way many times before. The instances when Nameless would stab another insult at me or knock my morale another notch lower….
Suddenly a burning desire to save this girl washed over me. I wanted to help her, since I too knew how it felt to be drowning in grief. So strongly I wanted to be the person to pull her out of the water.
Miho noticed my intense stare. And just like that, her bubble of reflection was popped, and she returned my stare with a confusing mix of emotion. It looked to me like mostly annoyance.
I felt a smile form in spite of myself. She reacted just as I would have.
Miho seemed caught off guard from my unusual behavior and finally, briskly glanced away. I wished I could have told her, right then, "I need to speak with you." But, this would have been impossible, since class still strolled on as leisurely as ever.
Finally, I allowed my attention to fall back on the teacher, reasoning that I should pay attention at least half of the time. She was writing a bunch of portfolio requirements on the board. The smell of dry erase ink wafted through the air, which made me feel especially nauseous.
Which of course, reminded my stomach: Gurglegurglegrooooooowl….
I sighed, once more placing my head on my desk.
"Yes! They're having hamburgers today! Forget my packed lunch- I'm getting like five burgers!" Yuugi burst out elatedly as he eyed a random person's tray upon entering the cafeteria. He was literally bouncing with excitement as Anzu laughed at his enthusiasm.
It was finally- and I do mean finally- lunch. No surprise, I was starving. My stomach wasn't behaving any better during the rest of my classes; the worst part being, of course, that in Japan, one sticks with the same group of people throughout the day. I was sure that everyone thought I was starving myself on purpose. My rail-like frame didn't help my case.
"Anyone else getting in line?" Yuugi asked. He didn't really give anyone much of a chance to respond though, as he already turned on his heel to dash across the cafeteria.
"What a sprite!" Jounouchi grinned as he followed his friend's lead. He too, was excited for American food. He gave Honda a quick jab in the shoulder in recognition upon passing. Honda, in turn, lunged at the offender to retaliate, shouting, "You had this coming, you bastard, especially from second period!" It seemed rather dramatic, I think, yet I knew the two were completely joking around. To the uninformed, it looked like the notorious duo was really trying to kill each other.
Anzu exchanged a look with me before letting out a long sigh. "I'll go grab the seats, I guess." I briefly nodded at this before heading over to the lunch line as well.
The idea of having a group of people to sit with both thrilled and terrified me. I still wasn't used to it. I just couldn't wrap my mind around the fact that these people, the very ones that Nameless tried to kill, continued to invite me to their lunch table every day. I was waiting for the moment one of them would say, "You really didn't think we were serious, did you?" But I must admit, having this group to "semi-associate" myself with was nice.
And maybe, with Nameless out of the picture, I could further my relationships with them. It could have been a possibility.
I let this thought cheer me as I waited in line for my long-awaited lunch. Honestly, I was tempted to buy one of everything…and I never thought I would be thinking that with school lunches.
After a short—yet excruciatingly long—span of time, I made my way over to the table Anzu had grabbed. Yuugi, Jounouchi and Honda were already delving into their food, clearly in high spirits. I noticed that Miho was sitting with the group today— undoubtedly due to Honda. I carefully set my tray down, seating myself next to Yuugi.
"Dude," was all Jounouchi sputtered out. He had actually stopped narrating his version of last night's episode of Tenchijin. I noticed the rest of the group had fallen silent as well.
I looked up in alarm. "What is it?"
"You gonna eat all that?" Honda queried as he pointed to my tray.
I reached for my bowl of rice defensively. "Yes, of course. Why wouldn't I?"
Honda cocked his head slightly. "You normally skip lunch."
I pondered this thought momentarily as I broke open a pair of chopsticks. Yes, he was right. I normally was too nauseated because of Nameless and his caustic words to work up much of an appetite.
So a returned his statement with a smile. "Ha, you're right!" And then I ate away.
After a few seconds of watching me incredulously, the group resumed its natural pace of conversation. Miho, of course, didn't say much if at all, but everyone else more than made up for it.
The conversation reverted back to limited when Jounouchi accidentally brought up a sore topic.
"You know you guys, I am so pumped to kick some ass in Pegasus's tournament! I can't believe we'll be leaving in a few days, you know?" Jounouchi beamed as he took a swig of his soda. It was when he heard Yuugi suck in a tense breath that he'd realized his error. Plus, Anzu was looking murderously at the golden-haired teen.
Jounouchi face-faulted as he noticed that Yuugi had stopped eating, looking down at his hands instead.
"Oh, crap. Yuugi, I'm sorry—I didn't mean to remind you—"
"It's all right," Yuugi said hastily, forcing a smile, "You don't have to censor your words on my behalf. I'd be excited too, if…if…" His voice died down to a whisper, as he began to chew his lip absentmindedly.
I was at a total loss here. But then again, I was normally out of the loop with these things anyway. After all, I had a major issue to constantly battle with, at all hours of the day…
"Listen, Yuug—I promise you we'll get Gramps back. There is no way we're letting that creep get away with it," Jounouchi asserted, clapping his hand on Yuugi's shoulder. Anzu reached across the table to give her best friend a reassuring squeeze. Yuugi seemed unresponsive to the sympathetic gestures.
So Yuugi's grandfather was taken away? Was it this Pegasus character? And how did it even happen? Perhaps an even more relevant question would be, why was he taken?
I couldn't help myself. "Yuugi," I said, "Your grandfather was kidnapped?"
Yuugi did his best to filter the pain out of his voice. He could barely nod. "Yes. A man named Pegasus J. Crawford literally captured my grandpa as collateral in order to get me to participate in his dueling tournament."
I was appalled. "Is that even legal?"
"Who's going to report it?" Yuugi asked hopelessly, "If I did, that would probably put my grandpa in even more danger. And I don't want to risk it. It's best if I just comply with Pegasus's demands until I can think of something better."
"Why does he want you to participate in this tournament anyway? And what do you mean by 'dueling tournament'?" I realized I was being a little tactless about shooting so many questions at Yuugi, but I really had to know. A question lingered quietly in the back of my mind.
Could this somehow tie into why Nameless was scrounging the streets in search for something?
Yuugi, despite his distress, was patient. "There's this new game that came out, called 'Duel Monsters.' It's really an incredible game that has gotten lots of attention within the past few months. When Pegasus announced his upcoming dueling tournament, it just spiked everyone's curiosity even further. I mean, I guess that makes sense, considering that the prize for winning is a ton of money. But I'm not going for that," Yuugi sighed. "I just want my grandpa back."
I nodded my head, soaking all this information in, as Yuugi continued.
"And Pegasus…he wants me to enter for this." Yuugi carefully held up his millennium puzzle for me to see.
Now I was completely intrigued.
"He knows about the millennium items?" I asked uneasily. "What could this Pegasus possibly want with—"
"He has one of his own," Yuugi interrupted. "He apparently is into collecting things." There was a hint of resentment in Yuugi's voice, as I knew he was alluding to the capturing of his grandfather.
"Yuugi, I'm so sor—"
"Please don't apologize," Yuugi interjected yet again, "Nothing's happened yet. I'll get my grandpa back. And he'll never get my puzzle."
Confusion swirled around in my head as I heard the venom in Yuugi's words. I had never heard him talk with such anger. Not only for his grandfather, but for his puzzle.
I was going to ask him, "But isn't your puzzle like a curse too? I mean, even though the spirit inside seems full of good intentions, don't you still want to get rid of it?" but I stopped myself when I saw the way Yuugi held the puzzle in his hands. His fingers gently grazed along the edges of the pyramid-shaped pendent, as if it were his most cherished treasure…
Finally, it was Honda who spoke. "We're going to be gone for about a week, so fill us in on what we missed."
We? "Wait…all of you are going?"
"Well," Honda shrugged, "except Miho. We can't let Yuugi fight this one alone, even if it means just standing on the sidelines showing our support."
A warm smile lighted Yuugi's face. "Thanks, you guys. This means a lot to me."
Miho, who had sat trance-like until her name was mentioned, looked at Yuugi directly. She cleared her throat. "I hope your grandpa will be all right. To feel the loss of someone who means the world to you…it's excruciating." Miho let out a pained laugh, so different from the laughs she used to express. It rang entirely hollow. "Truthfully, I can't imagine feeling happy ever again…"
An awkward silence fell over the table. Anzu, however, looked slightly annoyed at Miho's words. I didn't need to be a mind reader to guess her thoughts: "That was so inappropriate! Yuugi doesn't need to hear this."
Of course, no one would dare say such things, considering Miho's situation. They must have felt that her grief was making her act so…different, for a lack of better words.
The conversation was limited after that, so it was a relief when the bell signaled off, indicating the end of the lunch period. I noticed out of Yuugi's five hamburgers, only one was entirely consumed.
Nothing like anxiety to smother the appetite—I should know.
The group was more than ready to move on to the next class. By the time I had gathered my things, I realized they had already left. I tried to ignore the small pang of disappointment. This feeling had quickly passed though, when I observed that Miho was lagging behind as well.
Honda wasn't lurking behind Miho for once? A rare circumstance, one that I planned to take full advantage of.
I casually slid next to the lavender-haired teen, before giving myself a chance to second-guess my actions. "Um, hello," I said somewhat awkwardly. I wasn't sure of what else to say.
Miho slightly jumped, startled by my unexpected appearance. "Oh, Bakura. What's up?"
My instinctive response would have been, "Not much," although I made an extra effort to seem more engaged in the conversation. "Does there have to be something in order for me to talk to you?" I asked. I even threw in a good-natured smile. Was I the only person out there who had to remind himself to smile?
Miho analyzed my words for a brief second before giving in. "Well no, I guess not. It's just that you're normally not the type to go out of your way to talk to people—I could tell that from the first time I met you."
A brief flashback came to me then…she was really (to quote Yuugi from a previous conversation) "hitting" on me. How different she was then! She was more energetic, obviously happier…and although I hadn't talked to her much since, I could guarantee that the death of her brother completely transformed her.
I desperately hoped it wasn't permanent.
I kept my smile on my face. "You're right Miho, I don't usually try to talk to people. But that can always change. I wanted to speak with you."
Miho finally made eye contact with me. "You're speaking with me now."
I held her gaze intently, trying very hard to seem convincing. "Well…I was sort of hoping it could be somewhere more discreet."
Miho's eyebrows arched incredulously. "You mean like a date?"
That threw me off-guard. I didn't think of it like that. But something told me I should be saying yes; to say otherwise might not get Miho's attention.
I cleared my throat. "I suppose we could call it that, yes. I would like that very much."
Suspicion crept into Miho's lilac-grey eyes. "Why?"
"Why I would like that, or why—"
"Why are you asking me on a date?"
Oh, dear. I hadn't thought of a reasonable answer. I couldn't say, "Because I wanted to see how much damage a psychotic spirit that lives inside me has done to you!"
So what to say…?
"I just want to get to know you better." How cliché of me! Would it work?
"…Is there a time and a place?"
A warm rush of surprise flushed my cheeks. Could it really have been this easy? "I was just thinking of the diner across the arcade right after school…just really casual…"
Miho let me trail off, watching me carefully. I suppressed the urge to gulp, feeling more than nervous.
"Perfect," she finally affirmed. "The last thing I need is serious, anyway."
I felt incredibly relieved. "Excellent. Now shall we walk to class?"
Miho jumped, realization suddenly striking her. "Oh, right. Class. I completely forgot."
I casually adjusted the bag strap over my shoulder, glancing at the clock hanging overhead. "For a minute there, I did too."
And also for that very short span of time, I had forgotten about my disturbing reason for wanting to spend alone time with Miho.
I felt…normal.
A/N: Just wanted to say that I have the next chapter already mapped out, so no need to worry over when the next update will be! (I know, there tends to be obnoxiously long periods of time without a new chapter, so I really appreciate your patience!)
A review would make my entire holiday, so come on, don't be shy!! :)