I'M BACK
Ryou fell. Where, he did not know, but it was cold and dark. Actually, it wasn't cold at all. He couldn't really feel anything anymore. It was almost as if he wasn't in his own body anymore.
And that was precisely it.
Ryou hesitantly opened up his eyes from their shut position, turning around to find an area of the dark place lit up. It was dim, but certainly it was better than the pitch black darkness. He walked over towards the light, and then everything illuminated before him. It looked like his room. Almost exactly, except everything was the opposite. Instead of against the wall on the left, his bed was on the right. There was one thing that he noticed was missing, though; A door.
"Ah, ah. Your door will come when you earn it. Relax. I will take care of your body." A pause. "Our body."
Ryou gasped, looking up at the ceiling and around the room to find the source of the voice. It seemed to echo from all parts of the room. It was eerie, but somehow the voice offered comfort, a feeling of familiarity. Perhaps that voice will offer an explanation later and Ryou will learn what this whole 'body' situation meant. Laying himself down on the bed, Ryou let out a sigh. The spirit would protect him.
As Ryou fell into sleep, he didn't know that it had been three days.
"Stop! No!"
Ryou sat straight up in his bed, his eyes wide and only widening as he tried to see through the dark in his room.
This wasn't the first time he had this dream. Each time it lasted longer and felt so much more real than the last. Ryou would sweat and gasp and whimper, but the Spirit would always come to his aid. This time was no different.
"What troubles you, my Host? You were sleeping so peacefully."
Ryou looked around, swallowing nervously. The Spirit rarely showed himself now. Only a few times would Ryou see his face, but the powerful, overcoming voice was more than enough to keep Ryou under control. He didn't like to use that term, but that is certainly what it felt like.
"It was that dream," he murmured, pushing his bangs back and wiping the sweat from his brow. "Do you see it, too? Do you dream what I dream?" Ryou heard a deep chuckle almost immediately after he had asked, the answer he received confusing him.
"I don't just dream it, Ryou. I live it."
And then the Spirit's presence faded, leaving Ryou to shake and stare in his bed. The next morning, Ryou didn't feel much like going to school, but his grades were definitely his motivation. The days he had stayed home were affecting his schoolwork and the boy struggled to keep up.
School was the most difficult task, though, because that meant Ryou would have to see Yuugi.
With a heavy heart and a tired pair of eyes, Ryou robotically got himself ready for school. He walked, and when he arrived, the schoolyard was empty.
"Dear host, what are you doing? I thought school was not held on Saturdays, hm?"
Saturday? Saturday? "But it-It isn't Saturday. It's Wednesday. I mean-No, it's Thursday! I swear that it is!" Ryou, confused and a little upset, lunged forward and shook the locked gates, tears threatening to fall from his eyes. "I have school! It-I need to go in! I-"
"Ryou?"
Ryou froze, swallowing hard. He slowly turned to see Yuugi, who was staring at him in shock.
"I-Ryou? Are you okay? What are you doing?"
When Yuugi saw Ryou, he almost didn't recognize him. Even though it had only been a few days, he looked completely different. He just never had a chance to get a look at Ryou from afar for a long time, and the little albino teenager looked worse than he had when they first met. He was so thin, his eyes were sunken into his head and his hair looked so brittle. The white, fluff that it once was had disintegrated into a gray-ish, dirty color. Worst of all, Ryou looked scared. He looked like a deer in headlights and it occurred to Yuugi that he always looked like that lately.
"Yuugi, just-Leave me alone," Ryou mumbled, turning away and starting to walk off, but Yuugi ran over to him, running past Ryou to stop him from the front.
"Ryou, please don't go. I miss you. I didn't-I'm so sorry about what I said. I want to help you, really I do I just-"
"You just what?" Ryou interrupted, stepping away from Yuugi, almost in disgust. "You didn't believe me? You think I'm telling ghost stories? Yeah. I was. And I was right. You didn't understand. What else do you want from me?"
Ryou stared down at Yuugi, their eyes bearing the same amount of anger, anxiety, and pain. Yuugi took a deep breath before he replied.
"I want you to let me in, Ryou. Look at yourself. You're shouting at the school on a Saturday. Where were you? Why do you look so sick? Ryou.. I really miss you. I miss going out to lunch with you and coming over to play video games. I miss when you would knock on my door and grin at me with your telescope. Where is your telescope, Ryou? Why won't you stargaze with me anymore?"
The memories sparked something in Ryou's chest. It was a warm feeling, but there was a pain in his head that overpowered it. He held his head in his hands, stepping back and curling in on himself. "Stop! Stop it! Please let go! Please!" Ryou collapsed onto his knees, holding his head, the tears coming from his eyes dripping onto the pavement.
"Ryou!" Yuugi stepped closer to the shaking, whimpering body that looked more like an injured animal than it did human. "Ryou what's-What's going on? What happened? Is it your head? Look at me. Come here." Before Yuugi could inch any closer than he already had, Ryou pulled at his hair and screamed, the sound echoing throughout the empty, Saturday morning streets and lingering in Yuugi's ears even after it had stopped.
Yuugi wasn't sure when he had closed his eyes, but he did, only deciding to open them when he heard a soft chuckle. It grew louder, and it grew more harsh, turning into maniacal cackling. Yuugi could only stare at Ryou as he stood up, something about him having changed.
It was his eyes, definitely. They weren't so dead, but in fact the opposite. It looked as if there were flames burning in his skull that brightened up the brown that would have normally been there. He stood up taller, his body almost looking as if it just wasn't enough to contain the amount of confidence that radiated off him. This.. Surely this wasn't Ryou.
"Ah. So you're the one that has been bothering my new host, hm?" The new voice purred, stepping closer to Yuugi whom only stepped back. "The 'friend' that left Ryou to his own thoughts. The very same person that allowed him to be taken over. You, boy, ought to be ashamed." Looking at the shocked expression on the boy's face was more than amusing to the Spirit, and he couldn't help it when his lips twitched up into a smirk. "Now look what you've done. You've locked him away. Forced him into his own mind."
The Spirit advanced again, hissing his next few words. "How does it feel, Yuugi? To hurt someone you care about?"
Yuugi, too afraid to get any words out of his throat, only stared. What was going on? What happened to Ryou? "Wh-Who are you?" He managed, his eyes darting about the form in front of him, trying to make sense of what was going on. "What happened to Ryou?"
There was a pause, and then a roar of laughter.
"Were you not listening? He is gone for now. You did this to him. I've watched my host, this Ryou Bakura, stress over you day in and day out. Why do you do it, Yuugi Mutou? Why do you hurt your best friend in this way?"
The Spirit grinned, watching as Yuugi's expression faltered into a troubled, guilty one. "That's it. Are you thinking about it? Thinking about the pain and the hurt you've put him through? Just admit it. He was a pity friend, wasn't he. Someone you felt bad for. Someone you felt obligated to change."
Before Yuugi could defend himself, the Spirit reached out and grabbed the boy by the collar, pulling him close enough so that their noses were just centimeters apart. "People like you sicken me. You shove your way into someone's life, and then you get bored of them. Well guess what, Yuugi? Ryou hopes you die alone."
The Spirit easily tossed Yuugi aside and walked away in Ryou's body, leaving Yuugi to stare at the ground. He didn't understand.. There were so many questions he wanted to ask, but most of all, Yuugi wanted to know if it was true. Was that all Ryou was? Someone he felt like he had to help?
For Ryou, it felt like more than that.
He screamed and shouted, every word echoing throughout the dimmed room he'd once again found himself in. Ryou pounded on the walls, yelling and crying out to be released, but his calls went unanswered.
Ryou then began to cry, for more than anything in the entire world, he wanted his friend back.
Hello I am so sorry it has been so long please do not give up on me (if any of you are still? Here? And remember this?) Uh,,, there should be about two more chapters after this and then it'll all come to an end :') bless y'all for staying with me and if you love me pls review or leave some constructive criticism thank you! Also i feel like I make this stuff too spaced out but idk i don't really care either lmao :')
