Title: A Persistent Shadow (Chapter 7)
Pairing
: Ryou Bakura x Yami Bakura, possible others
Rating
: M
Summary: The Pharaoh uses a spell to force Yami Bakura out of Ryou's body, but unfortunately for Ryou it doesn't work quite as well as intended.


Though Ryou was freaking out on the inside, he knew he couldn't let it show. Yugi (and by extension, the Pharaoh) was right next to him and would notice if he started acting strangely. Do you have to do this now? Not that Ryou really wanted him to do it later, either.

"Oh, but I owe you such a large debt. I really do need to start repaying it immediately." The spirit stroked the back of Ryou's neck.

Ryou fought a groan, more at the physical contact than the words.

His body was tense, his heart pounding in response to his desire to flee, but unfortunately this only further sensitized his skin to the spirit's touch. Every caress sent a confusing mix of signals racing through him, leaving his body a mess of anxious excitement. Worse, the spirit was finding his most responsive areas at an alarming speed, until he barely had to move his hands to leave Ryou biting back a gasp.

Even more disturbing to Ryou was the fact that the spirit managed this without even moving beyond his back and neck.

"Yes," the spirit said, brushing Ryou's hair aside to reveal his ear, "you see, I'm trying to leave something for us to do later this afternoon." He leaned in close, tracing Ryou's ear with one finger. "And tonight." He licked the shell of Ryou's ear. "And tomorrow." A soft bite.

Ryou jerked away, a fierce blush covering his face. He folded his arms in front of him and put the side of his head down on his desk. This left his other ear completely exposed, but at least this way he could pretend he was simply falling asleep in class again and Yugi would only be able to see the back of his head. Naturally, Marik would still be able to see the part of his face not blocked by his arm, so he closed his eyes and hoped Marik wouldn't notice he was breathing erratically and blushing bright red as he 'slept'.

Of course, closing his eyes only made him more sharply aware of what the spirit was doing to him. After Ryou's reaction to his bite, the spirit zeroed in on Ryou's other ear, leaning over him and pressing their bodies together while he rubbed the outer part Ryou's ear between two fingers. Ryou shuddered in pleasure before he could stop himself.

"We'll have such fun today," the spirit spoke quietly in his ear. "Unless, of course, you have other plans," he added casually.

You mean like school? Ryou wanted to fire back at him, but he knew very well what the spirit was actually referring to. I'm not going to the game shop. I won't endanger my friends. I don't care what you do to me.

"Really? Are you certain about that?" The spirit switched to mental speech as he ran his tongue over Ryou's ear. I can't even hurt your friends at the moment, and they have no idea of the sacrifices you're making to 'protect' them.

Ryou panted weakly. He tried not to think about the fact that the spirit was licking him, but the very idea was having almost as much of an effect on him as the physical reality, destroying any control he'd had over his imagination and sending his mind racing with images of other things the spirit might do to him. It was becoming far too much for Ryou to deal with, and soon the only things left in his head were a series of incredibly perverse thoughts about the spirit and a desperate mental refrain of I didn't just think that, I didn't just think that...

He was vaguely aware that the spirit was laughing at him, but was too distracted by his own thoughts and what the spirit was actually doing to him to care too much. The spirit was always laughing at him about something, anyway.

Just think, Landlord, you can enjoy this for the rest of the day... He bit Ryou's ear and tugged slightly, making Ryou grip the desk hard. Or you can spend time with your friends. It's up to you. He kept his teeth locked lightly on Ryou's ear, moving his tongue slowly over the outer section.

A-ah! Ryou was too focused on the spirit's mouth to register what he was hearing. That doesn't feel good, it doesn't feel good, I don't want him to keep going, I...

Landlord. The spirit sounded mildly annoyed.

I mean, I'm not lusting over him, I'm not even thinking about him, especially not what he's doing with his mouth, or what it would feel like if he--

The spirit let go of Ryou's ear. Landlord! Very annoyed now.

Ryou's tortured inner monologue stopped for a moment. He barely managed a mental 'Huh?' from within his frantic, lust-filled haze.

You're far too easily stimulated, Landlord, the spirit thought contemptuously.

I... I am not, he denied reflexively, too embarrassed to come up with a better response. His awareness was starting to return to him, though his body wasn't any less... alert... than it had been.

The spirit chuckled. If that's what you want to call it.

S-shut up. If Ryou could have turned any more red at the moment, he would have. He was starting to think his blood was flowing everywhere but to his brain.

Heh. Your mind seemed fairly active to me, even if not in a remotely useful sense.

Ryou refused to dignify that comment with a response. He took comfort in the fact that at least the spirit seemed to have given up on physically tormenting him.

Hardly, the spirit replied, wrapping one arm around Ryou's waist and resting his hand on his chest.

Ryou really wished the spirit couldn't put his hands through solid objects. At least then he would have had something to hinder him. Why did you even bother stopping, then?

You became more excited than was useful, the spirit answered irritably.

Oh. Ryou decided to just feel satisfied that he'd interfered with the spirit's plan, however he'd happened to achieve it. His embarrassment was already too strong to get any worse, anyway.

Don't be so pleased with yourself, Landlord. You haven't seen anything yet. The spirit bit down on his shoulder.

Ryou nearly cried out in pain, not from the bite itself, but from the over-stimulation. W-wait.

Why should I? The spirit traced small circles on Ryou's chest with one finger.

The sensations had a sharp edge to them now; Ryou's body wasn't pleased about being worked up into such a state and then simply being kept there.

The spirit's hand started drifting lower. Does that mean you'd like me to--

No! N-not during class, Ryou thought desperately. O-or any other time, either, he added lamely. But definitely not during class.

As you wish, the spirit mocked, his hand remaining low on Ryou's stomach, taunting him.

Ryou wondered if the spirit was being more cooperative because he thought Ryou was near his breaking point. Ryou was starting to question his own decision. He didn't have any specific reason to think the spirit was necessarily going to do something harmful. As far as he knew, the spirit really was paranoid and obsessed enough to need to know everything the Pharaoh got up to even if he didn't intend to interfere. The ritual that the Pharaoh had sprung on them two days earlier could only have made this tendency stronger.

All the same, Ryou knew he could never risk letting the spirit hurt his friends. He didn't want to give in, but... Ryou bit his lip.

The spirit stilled his hand. I wasn't lying when I said I wouldn't harm your friends. I can't do anything to them at the moment.

It seemed true enough. If he had the ability to harm them, it certainly wouldn't be limited to the game shop. But there was still the ring...

If I knew exactly how to put myself back into it, I would have done it before you even had the opportunity to give it away. The spirit sounded highly frustrated. I haven't discovered anything new in the past day. Unless you believe I learned a new way to do it from the television, you're well aware of that, too.

That was also true. But it wasn't enough to convince Ryou to go.

You know, if you insist on this policy of keeping me away from the ring, you won't be able to visit your friend any other time, either.

Ryou blinked. He... hadn't thought of that, but it was entirely true. A large part of his will cracked with the realization. He wanted to protect his friends, protect himself, but... that was one expense he wasn't sure he could handle. He very much wanted to give in now, but if he did, the spirit would continue to use the same method to extort things out of him over and over.

If I can't use it for extortion, then I will use it for entertainment. And while I need you lucid to extort anything useful out of you, my personal entertainment has no such requirements.

Ryou understood clearly what the spirit was threatening – he could easily turn Ryou into a moaning, gibbering mess right here in front of his friends and classmates. Ryou wasn't so sure he actually would go that far, given that it would pretty quickly reveal his presence to the Pharaoh, but Ryou knew he probably had plenty of other ways to use this against him without that disadvantage.

So, really, he was doomed no matter what he did.

Very astute, Landlord. The spirit sounded extremely smug.

Ryou still hesitated. If I agree to go... you have to agree to stay away from the ring.

Agreed, the spirit replied, a little too easily.

I mean it, Ryou added forcefully. If I see you getting too close to it, I'll run out and say I got too scared to continue. Ryou wasn't afraid of being seen as a coward, especially if it was to prevent something terrible from happening to his friends.

I would hardly put myself close to the ring while the Pharaoh is looking for me in it. I will observe quietly from the shadows. The spirit dropped his hand from Ryou's chest. Now, tell your friend you would love to participate in his little investigation.

Let me calm down first. Ryou's face was still hot and he was certain Yugi would be able to see something was off just by looking at him.

The spirit seemed to agree with him. Don't take too long. He pulled back.

Ryou sighed softly in relief. He breathed in and out slowly, forcing his body to relax. It didn't completely work, but at least nothing would be immediately obvious just from looking at his face.

He sat back up, stretching his arms a little, but not so much that the teacher would see. He took a sheet out of his notebook and scribbled a note to Yugi. If you still want to do it, I'll come. He folded it over and passed it to Yugi while the teacher's back was turned.

Yugi read the note and looked over at Ryou before scribbling something back and returning it.

Are you sure?

Ryou looked at Yugi, who seemed concerned. He nodded firmly, trying not to let his dread show. He turned his attention back to the teacher, trying to follow along even though he'd already missed half the lecture. The spirit left Ryou alone for the rest of the school day, only reappearing when his last class ended.

Yugi spoke to him immediately after the bell rang. "You don't have to do this, you know."

"I know." Ryou tried to look enthusiastic. "I want to."

Yugi didn't seem to be buying it. "What changed your mind?"

"If I keep avoiding the ring I ever won't be able to come to the game shop again," Ryou said, echoing the only convincing argument the spirit had made. "Or at least, not until the spirit is gone, which might be a very long time from now."

"Oh," Yugi replied, looking like he hadn't thought of that either. "Well, we could find some way..." he trailed off, clearly not having any specific ideas yet on how to solve the problem. Ryou doubted the Pharaoh would allow the ring to go outside what he considered a secure location. "I mean, we wouldn't just leave you unable to ever come to my house," he said adamantly.

Yugi's reassurances made Ryou feel both better and worse at the same time – better because he knew his friend cared about him, worse because he felt terrible deceiving him. "It's okay. If I help the Pharaoh, he'll be able to get rid of the spirit faster. It's better to do it as soon as possible." Ryou ignored the spirit's laughter at what he was saying.

Yugi nodded. "I guess you're right. Let me go tell Joey we can't play Duel Monsters today..." Yugi walked off.

Ryou turned back to pack up his stuff and saw Marik standing on the other side of the desk.

"It's perfectly safe, you know," Marik told him. "I know the Pharaoh says there's something still in the ring, but I'm certain it can't be the spirit." Marik smiled. "So you don't have to worry about the spirit coming out of the ring to get you."

"What makes you so sure he's not in the ring?" Ryou asked.

"Yugi called me over yesterday afternoon. I was there when the Pharaoh did his first test on the ring."

"And you don't agree with what it said?"

"I don't agree with what the Pharaoh thinks it said," Marik corrected. "I know he inspected it some more after I left and possibly even more this morning, but I don't think it makes any difference. There's something else in that ring... I'm glad we're going to find out what it really is."

Heh. He says that now, anyway.

The spirit's words unnerved him. What do you mean?

I mean that these fools won't like finding out anything even close to the truth about these items.

Ryou couldn't believe that. It might not be nice, but I'm sure they'd always rather know the truth. Whatever it is. It wasn't like he himself knew what 'the truth' meant in this case.

Yes. Of course. That's why you yourself are always so honest with them.

T-that's different, Ryou thought back, though he knew it wasn't, really.

The three walked over to the game shop, the spirit trailing after them. They greeted Yugi's grandfather and headed straight through to the back. The spirit stayed outside the door as they entered Yugi's room.

"Sit down here," Yugi said. "I'll be back in a minute." He picked up a large intricately carved bowl off of his desk and carried it out of the room.

Ryou looked at the other object on Yugi's desk – a box that he was sure contained the Millennium Ring. He eyed it warily.

Marik saw him. "You know, there's still time to back out if--"

"I'm fine," Ryou interrupted, sitting down on the floor. He smiled at Marik, feeling a little bad at cutting him off so rudely. "Sorry. I mean, I just want to get this over with."

Marik gave Ryou's shoulder a small pat and sat down next to him.

Yugi came back into the room with the bowl full of water and set it on the floor. He took the box off his desk and joined the others on the floor so they sat in a circle around the bowl.

Ryou glanced over at the doorway and saw that the spirit was still watching them from just outside the room. He was relieved that the spirit actually seemed to be doing what he promised, keeping his distance from the ring while they were here. He looked back at Yugi, who had set the box down. "What do I have to do?"

Yugi shook his head. "I'll let the Pharaoh explain that." The Millennium Puzzle glowed brightly, transforming Yugi into the Pharaoh.

Ryou forced himself not to look over at the spirit again, however much he wanted to see his reaction. The Pharaoh was far more likely to be suspicious of him than Yugi had been. He couldn't take any chances.

The Pharaoh only nodded at them in greeting, opening the box and pulling out the ring. He held it out to Ryou. "Hold it over the water with your right hand." It didn't sound like a request.

Ryou saw that the cord had been removed from it, so he would have to hold the ring itself. This made him even more uncomfortable than he was already, but he still took the ring from the Pharaoh, wordlessly obeying the Pharaoh's instructions. The Pharaoh hadn't been specific on how he should hold it, so he gripped it from the top, letting the spikes hang down over the water. Nobody corrected him.

The Pharaoh looked in Marik's direction. "You have the words?"

Marik nodded and pulled a folded piece of paper from his pocket. "I copied it down phonetically, like you said."

Ryou wondered just how much stuff the two had been getting up to without him noticing. Probably a lot, he realized, even just for the ritual a few days earlier. He would feel glad to be included right now if he hadn't had to worry about the spirit.

The Pharaoh gestured at Ryou. "Give it to him."

Ryou took the paper with his left hand. His right arm was already starting to get tired from being held out in one position for too long, but he didn't know if moving it around would cause a problem or not. He tried to read the words on the paper, but he couldn't make sense of any of it. He assumed it was probably in Ancient Egyptian. He wondered what it said.

It's words to draw out an image of the presence in the ring so it can be seen in the water, the spirit told him. It will make the form of the entity visible without allowing it to influence anything around it. It seems the Pharaoh was actually being honest about his intentions.

Even you always thought he was in this case, Ryou thought back. He looked up at the Pharaoh. "Um. Should I try to read this, or..."

It was Marik who answered him. "Read it out loud as best as you can. If you get it wrong, it'll just do nothing. We can try it again as many times as we need to."

Ryou felt somewhat reassured hearing that this wasn't dependent on his ability to recite an Ancient Egyptian spell perfectly on the first try. "Okay. Here I go..." He read the words off the paper as best as he could.

Nothing happened at first. Ryou was starting to think he'd gotten it wrong and would have to do it again, when the water began to shift and grow dark. It changed colors several times before settling on a dark purple that covered the entire surface. Ryou was beginning to wonder what a large purple blob was supposed to tell them when the purple started to spread beyond the water to the floor beneath the bowl.

Ryou nearly dropped the ring in shock, but he managed to keep hold of it as he instinctively retreated away from the disturbing purple mass. "W-was that supposed to happen?" But Ryou already knew the answer from the looks on the others' faces.

Marik backed away from the still-growing purple entity.

The Pharaoh stood up. He gestured for Ryou to move even farther away. "Keep away from it. It should have disappeared when you moved the Millennium Ring. It's a very bad sign that it hasn't."

Ryou obeyed immediately, not wanting to be any closer to the... whatever it was... than he had to be. He stood up, grabbing Marik's arm to pull him up with him, then moved several feet away toward the door. The color was spreading more quickly now, and in one spot had formed a terrifying patch of red that almost looked like an eye. It seemed to be looking directly at him.

He heard a terrible roar so loud that it felt like it came from the room itself. He covered his ears, but it didn't block the sound even a little.

He stumbled back a step when the visions started. Gruesome images flashed right before his eyes – an old man being slaughtered, a woman and her child skewered on swords, a family being burned to death in their own home, countless bodies being piled into something large and horrifying--

Ryou felt someone frantically shaking and yelling at him.

--the bowl, you idiot, go knock over the bowl!

Ryou was too frightened to doubt the spirit at the moment. He ran over to the bowl and kicked it hard, sending water everywhere and the bowl itself shattering against the wall. The monstrous image on the floor folded back in on itself and disappeared.

Afterward he just stood there, staring at the space where the bowl had been, wondering what the hell they'd almost unleashed on the world.