Title: A Persistent Shadow (Chapter 17)
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.
A/N: Yup, another two chapter weekend, woo!
Ryou had enjoyed the past few weeks far more than he could have anticipated. He'd made a deal with the spirit that he would work on his sculpting abilities for at least an hour everyday, as long as the spirit didn't bother him about it the rest of the time. He'd fallen into a routine of doing whatever he needed or wanted to do during the day and then coming home in the evening to make another attempt at replicating the spirit's appearance in clay.
And then claiming his reward, of course. A simple massage after some hard work. That's all it was. And if that massage sometimes... or usually... or even always seemed to end with Ryou frantically pulling the spirit in for a kiss, well, that just couldn't be helped, and neither could anything the spirit happened to do to him after that.
The spirit, for his part, seemed to enjoy the experience more than Ryou would have expected, given that he couldn't get anything physical out of their daily... massage. Ryou didn't really know why, but it seemed like the spirit got some kind of charge out of how Ryou responded to him. So much so that Ryou often thought he was on some sort of power trip.
Like the time he'd threatened to stop at the worst possible moment if Ryou didn't cry out 'Oh, Thief King!' at the top of his lungs – or as it had actually come out, 'Ah, Th-thief King, oh god, p-please don't stop, please--'
Ryou was still embarrassed about that one, partially due to the strange looks he'd been getting from the other tenants since then. At least his landlord had gotten someone in to cut the pole off his door – he really didn't need to look any weirder than he already did.
Though, that might not be so easy to avoid, Ryou thought, seeing police cars outside his apartment building for the second time in as many months. He felt a strange sense of deja vu, though this evening he'd been coming back from eating dinner at Marik's house instead of the museum. What do you think hap-- Ryou stopped, looking around and not seeing the spirit anywhere.
Just get over here, the spirit said from somewhere in the distance. He sounded angry.
Ryou approached the building, feeling unnerved by the spirit's reaction. An area on the side of the building was taped off, though Ryou couldn't see why from his angle. There were officers milling around out front, one of them standing off to the side talking to the old lady who lived on the first floor. Ryou saw Detective Lawson near the front door and walked over to him, hoping for an explanation.
The detective focused in on him immediately. "Mr. Bakura. I've been wanting to talk to you."
That didn't sound good, even if it was to be expected. "Did someone try to break in again?"
"I'm afraid someone succeeded in breaking in this time," the detective told him. "We're going to need you to tell us what's missing. You'll also be wanting to stay with someone else tonight, possibly longer," he added, tone saying he didn't want any argument about this.
Ryou couldn't go along with that. "But if the burglar's already gone--"
The detective interrupted him. "I think you should wait until you've seen the damage before making a decision about this," he said, as though certain Ryou would agree with him afterward.
"O-okay," Ryou said, starting to feel anxious about whatever it was he was about to see.
"Follow me," the detective said, leading him over to the taped off side of the building.
Ryou walked along after him, scanning the area to figure out what had happened. His eyes focused on the fire escape, where the ladder had been pulled, no... melted down to the ground until it was barely recognizable as a ladder. Ryou looked up at the top of the ladder, but his view was blocked by the rest of the fire escape and a small black cloud of... dust? Smoke? Ryou couldn't really tell, but it didn't look good. "S-so, they did that to the ladder, climbed up, and then... broke a window?" Ryou asked, guessing about that last part.
"Sort of," the detective replied. "Let's go inside." He led Ryou up to the second floor, walking in through the open door. "We got in through the other side," he explained.
Ryou followed him inside. He'd prepared himself to see a broken window on the other side of the living room, so it took his brain several seconds to notice the gigantic gaping hole in the wall. He stared, open-mouthed at the place where the person had blasted through the wall, breath caught in his throat.
Breathe, Landlord, the spirit said, appearing next to him and putting a hand on his shoulder. It would be very inconvenient if you passed out now. He disappeared again when Ryou exhaled.
The detective seemed a little concerned. "You okay, kid?"
"Y-yeah," Ryou said, voice barely audible. "Yeah," he repeated, louder this time. "It's just... a little worse than I was expecting," he added, finally starting to process the rest of the scene. Bits of melted glass and charred brick and plaster littered the floor around the hole. The other windows along the wall sat shattered in their frames, as though hit by a shockwave.
Ryou took a moment to wonder why the glass hadn't fallen out after it shattered, but his eyes were quickly drawn to the smoldering remains of what had once been his couch. Foam and fabric were scattered all over the floor, as though whoever it was had tried ripping into it before finally burning it to a pile of ashes. The burnt remains had been kicked around a bit, as though the burglar had been determined to smash the piece of furniture to bits.
Ryou looked around, wondering what else had been destroyed, but aside from the wall and the couch, it seemed like the burglar had left the rest of the room pretty much alone. The TV was sitting on the coffee table, surprisingly unscathed. The other furniture was also intact. Ryou glanced through the doorway into the kitchen, but it didn't look like anyone had been in there. "Did... did the person do anything else?"
The detective shook his head. "Nothing like this. As far as we can tell, he never even went beyond this room. It doesn't even look like anything was taken, but you'll have to look around and tell us for certain."
Ryou felt bewildered. "So he just... broke into my apartment, destroyed my couch, and then left?"
"So it seems," the detective said, sounding almost as confused as Ryou was. "Was there anything special about that couch? Did you get it recently, or did it maybe belong to someone else before you got it?" he asked, taking out his notepad and pen.
Ryou shook his head. "It was just a normal couch. My father bought it new several years ago."
"You said last time that you don't have any enemies," the detective said, looking him over. "Are still sure about that? Is there anyone who might want to send you a message?"
Ryou wracked his brain, trying to figure out if he'd forgotten anyone. The whole thing did feel too specific to be a normal burglary – even if that maniac still thought he had the Millennium Ring, wouldn't he have destroyed the whole apartment looking for it, instead of just his couch? He shook his head again. "No, there isn't anyone. Especially not anyone who could do all this," he said, still marveling at the wall.
The detective looked at the hole again. "We think the perpetrator may have used a bomb," he said, though he didn't sound entirely convinced. "Do you know anyone who's interested in things like that? Fire, explosions..."
"No," Ryou said. "Wouldn't a bomb have done a lot more damage than this?"
"I don't know," the detective replied. "That's something I'll leave to the bomb squad. They already checked the place over, since we feared the guy might have left something behind, but they haven't found anything, including evidence of the type of explosives used."
"It's sounds like he'll be difficult to find," Ryou said, thinking that was probably a good thing. The police wouldn't be a match for someone with the ability to use shadow magic.
"Yeah," the detective said, glaring at the hole for a second before looking at Ryou again. "And we have a witness, too."
"A witness?" Ryou asked, taken completely by surprise. The spirit appeared next to him again, apparently just as interested in this as he was. "Shouldn't it be easy, then?"
"Well, it's not quite that simple," the detective replied, flipping through his notes. "The witness is Mrs. Lenz, who saw the guy through her window and called us. She's still shaken up by the whole thing. We've haven't really been able to get a coherent statement out of her."
"Did she see his face?" Ryou asked. He'd seen her outside, so he already knew she was alright.
"Yeah, that's where the problem comes in," the detective said. "According to her, your apartment was broken into by some kind of literal monster, who was, and I quote, 'wearing darkness itself'."
That sounded about right for someone involved with the Millennium Items, however skeptical the detective was about the elderly lady's report of what she saw. "Did she see anything else?"
"That's it," the detective said. "She was frightened and went to call us as soon as she saw him, so there wasn't much else for her to see." The detective closed his notepad. "If you could take a quick look around and tell me if anything looks out of place – other than the obvious – that would be very helpful."
"Of course," Ryou said, taking a quick look in the kitchen before walking around the rest of the apartment.
The spirit trailed after him. Nothing of yours is gone, he said.
Nothing of mine is gone? Ryou asked suspiciously, continuing to survey the apartment. Even if the spirit was right, he didn't want the detective to think he wasn't looking hard enough. Does that mean something of yours is gone?
The spirit disappeared, refusing to answer him.
Ryou finished looking through the apartment and returned to the living room. "Everything else seems normal," he said.
The detective didn't seem that surprised. "If you think of anything else, let me know. Right now, though, you should be calling someone about a place to stay."
"Right," Ryou agreed reluctantly. His reasons for not wanting to stay at someone else's place paled in comparison to the giant hole in his wall at the moment. He couldn't very well sleep there now. "I'll just go do that."
He called Marik from the kitchen, not wanting to do it in front of the detective. He gave a brief explanation of the situation, saying his apartment had been broken into, and Marik said he would be right over to get him, not even bothering to ask if he was staying over. Ryou had tried to talk him out of it, saying that he could get there just fine on his own, but Marik had insisted, as though he thought Ryou might be attacked en route to his apartment. Ryou had finally given in, since it sounded like Marik was coming to get him no matter what he said.
Ryou wandered back out to the living room afterward.
"Did you find somewhere to stay?" the detective asked.
"Yeah," Ryou said. "Um. I have to go pack."
He went to his room, gathered up all his school things, and put them in his book bag, slinging it over one shoulder. He started picking some clothes to take with him, then stopped, unsure how long he was going to be staying with Marik. On the one hand, Marik hadn't specified any particular length of time. What if he only meant for Ryou to stay one night?
On the other hand, Marik had sounded like he never intended to let Ryou out of his sight ever again, which implied a longer stay. The hole in his wall certainly wouldn't be repaired by the next day, and it might well take a lot longer than that. He fretted over this decision for a while before choosing to pack at least enough for at least a full week. Even if he could only stay at Marik's for the night, he'd still have to go somewhere else after that. He gathered his clothes, his toothbrush, and other miscellaneous things he thought he might need, and shoved them in another bag, slinging it over his other shoulder. He hoped he hadn't forgotten anything.
Don't forget about the clay, the spirit said.
The clay was currently out in the living room, but Ryou had no intention of taking it with him. I can't practice at Marik's place, he thought. He'll think I've lost my mind if he sees me making a sculpture of you. His models of the spirit's face still had a ways to go, but at this point what he was aiming for would be more than recognizable.
He carried his bags out to the living room, where he found Marik talking with the detective.
"...no, I can't think of anyone who would want to hurt him," Marik was saying. He noticed Ryou. "Hi," he said, glancing from Ryou to the hole in the wall.
Ryou looked away. He'd told Marik about the break-in, but he'd been a little vague about the extent of the damage. "Hi. Um. Thanks for coming. That was really fast."
"Ishizu drove me," Marik said.
"She didn't have to go to all that trouble," Ryou said, feeling uncomfortable.
"You do realize there's a massive hole in the wall, right?" Marik asked, as though not entirely sure Ryou did realize it.
"That's why I called you," Ryou replied.
Marik stared at him. "But you didn't think it was worth even a little mention when we were talking on the phone?"
"I was going to tell you about that part later," Ryou insisted. "There's no reason to worry about it right now."
Marik shook his head, taking Ryou's bag of clothes from him. "You know, you're my friend and all, but there are times when you have absolutely no sense." He gave Ryou's shoulder a light shove, then looked around. "Is there anything else you want to bring? You'll be staying for a while." His tone brooked no argument.
The clay, Landlord, the spirit said, standing over the bag of sculpting supplies and waving his arms to draw Ryou's attention.
Marik noticed where he was looking and picked up the bag of clay, seeming surprised at the weight. "Good thing we brought the car, then."
"I don't need to bring that," Ryou said. "It'll make a mess."
"Don't worry about that," Marik said. He turned to the detective, who was talking to someone on the fire escape. "I'm taking him away now," he said.
Ryou would have expected the detective to be a little more put off by the way Marik had phrased that, but he only nodded at Marik and waved them away. "Keep him out of trouble."
H-hey. I don't need to kept out of trouble, Ryou thought indignantly, following Marik down the stairs and out of his apartment.
Actually, I seem to remember having to get you out of trouble all the time, the spirit said, already waiting at the car.
That was often trouble you got me into in the first place. Ryou gave his school bag to Marik, who put everything in the trunk, then both of them got in the back seat.
Yes, but only often. You attracted plenty of trouble just by walking around on your own.
Ryou remembered the many, many bullies that had seemed to plague him before (and partly after) he'd come to Domino High and had to concede the point. He looked at Ishizu sitting in the driver's seat. "Hi. Thank you for coming to get me."
"It's no trouble," Ishizu said. "And you're always welcome in our home." She started the car and drove it down the street.
"Thanks," Ryou repeated, feeling genuinely grateful that he was welcome somewhere. He looked out the window of the car and noticed they were taking a strange route. "Aren't we going to your apartment?"
"Yeah," Marik replied. "But I want to stop by the game shop first."
"Isn't it a little late?" Ryou asked.
"Yugi and the Pharaoh should know about this," Marik said.
They parked in front of the game shop, already closed for the night. Marik got out of the car first, Ryou following after him. Ishizu seemed content to wait in the car, picking up a book to read.
Marik knocked on the door, which was promptly opened by Yugi's grandpa, holding a broom in his hand. "Ah, Yugi's friends. Come in. Maybe you can convince him to finally come out of his room today." He led them back behind the shop and then to Yugi's room. He knocked on the closed door. "Yugi! Your friends are here!" He smiled at Marik and Ryou and then went back out into the shop.
Strange noises came from inside Yugi's room, followed up by footsteps. Ryou heard the click of the lock, and the door opened. "Hi, guys. What's going on?"
Marik walked into the room and Ryou came in after him. "Well, it's like this..." Marik elaborated on what had happened, including details that told Ryou he'd been talking to the detective for longer than Ryou had realized.
"So there was just a hole, right there in the wall?" Yugi asked, wide-eyed. "And he burnt up your couch, but didn't take anything?"
"Yeah," Ryou said. "You should be careful. He might be coming after you next."
"You really think so?"
"You have most of the items," Marik pointed out.
"True... But I also have the Pharaoh to protect me and the items," Yugi said. "I think I'll be pretty safe here."
"Can we talk to the Pharaoh for a moment?" Marik asked.
"Um. Sure..." Yugi's face sharpened, transforming into the Pharaoh's.
"You don't need to worry about Yugi or the items. I will keep them safe," the Pharaoh declared, sounding utterly unconcerned.
Marik was looking at the Pharaoh strangely, though Ryou didn't know why. As far as he could tell, the Pharaoh was always that confident.
"What did you want to talk to me about?" the Pharaoh asked.
Marik opened his mouth to say something, then closed it again, seeming to decide against it. After a few moments, he said: "I just want to make sure Yugi and his grandpa are safe. Maybe you should reconsider keeping the items here."
"Bakura no longer has the Millennium Ring, and that did not stop whoever is committing these crimes from targeting him," the Pharaoh said. "Keeping the items somewhere else would only divide my attention between two places."
"I guess you're right," Marik said. He turned to Ryou. "Let's go. We need to get you set up," he added, dragging Ryou out of the room without even saying goodbye.
"Um, I'll see you later--" Ryou called out as he was pulled from the room, surprised the abrupt end of the conversation. He followed Marik out of the shop. "W-what was that?" he asked, still confused about how things had gone.
Marik looked Ryou over, then shook his head. "It was nothing. It can wait for another day."
They got back in the car and rode to Marik's apartment.
Marik showed Ryou to the room he'd be sleeping in. It was relatively bare, but it did have a bed, a nightstand with a lamp, and a dresser with a mirror on it. "It was supposed to be Odion's eventually, but he keeps getting delayed. Feel free to put your stuff in the drawers," he said. "You can stay as long as you want."
Ryou put his bags on top of the dresser. "Thank you."
Marik made to leave the room, then stopped, turning back toward Ryou as though he'd remembered something. "Oh, right. Um. There's no lock on the door, but I won't ever come in without knocking. And neither will Ishizu. So you'll, uh, have your privacy. Whenever you need it."
Ryou tried not to blush, realizing what Marik was trying to tell him. It didn't help that the spirit was snickering from on the bed. "Th-thanks. I'll, um, keep that in mind," he forced himself to say, hoping to prevent Marik from going into some kind of speech about how he was free to relax in his room as much as he wanted to.
It seemed to work, and Marik left the room after they said good night, closing the door behind him.
Ryou started unpacking his clothes, putting them away in the drawers. The events of the evening were still spinning around in his head. Who had broken into his apartment, and why? What did that person have against his couch? Why hadn't he taken anything?
He set his uniform out on the dresser. The spirit had implied that the burglar had taken something of his. What did the burglar take? Ryou asked him, turning toward the bed and starting to change into his pajamas.
The spirit crossed his arms. What makes you so sure he took anything? Perhaps he was simply offended by your father's poor taste in furniture.
How would he even know about... Ryou stopped there, realizing the spirit was only trying to distract him. He slid off his t-shirt and put on his pajama top, trying to think about what the burglar had actually done. Why would he... Ryou looked at the spirit. What was hidden inside the couch?
The spirit glared at him. Why should I tell you?
Ryou took off the rest of his clothes and slid into his pajama bottoms. Do you have an actual reason not to tell me? Ryou tried, feeling he had legitimate cause to wonder. Sometimes the spirit seemed to keep secrets purely for the sake of keeping secrets.
The spirit turned up his chin, saying nothing for several moments before answering. It was the Millennium Eye.
Ryou blinked in surprise, as much at having gotten real answer as what that answer turned out to be. He climbed onto the bed. The Millennium... I thought Pegasus had the Millennium Eye.
I took it from him, the spirit said.
Ryou tried not to think about what that would have entailed, feeling slightly sickened by the gory vision it brought to mind.
There wasn't that much blood, Landlord. It's much less difficult to remove a false eye than you're imagining.
Ryou wasn't reassured. So, who knew we had the Millennium Eye? he asked, feeling a little annoyed that he himself hadn't known the thing was hidden in his apartment.
Pegasus, obviously.
Ryou tried to envision Pegasus putting a pole through a door or blasting his wall down and just couldn't. Anyone else?
That fool with the Millennium Key may have known, the spirit said.
Ryou didn't know enough about Shadi to say whether he could or would do such a thing, but... He warned me that someone had made an attempt to steal it, Ryou realized, remembering their only conversation. Why would he do that if he's the thief?
Perhaps he was trying to throw suspicion off himself.
Maybe, Ryou agreed, but he wasn't really convinced. Any other people who knew about it?
Not that I'm aware of, but Pegasus may have told someone else.
There was a thought. Ryou wondered if the burglar had gone after Pegasus first, learned what had happened to the eye, and then tracked him back to Domino. He sighed. That made the pool of possible suspects impossibly large. He turned off the lamp, deciding not to think about it anymore that night.
The spirit was already lying down on the bed. Ryou bit his lip. He wanted to sleep the way they normally did, but what if Marik or Ishizu came in and saw him floating over the bed?
The tomb keeper already told you they wouldn't. Given what he thinks you might be doing in here, I believe he probably meant it, the spirit said, clearly amused.
Ryou felt his face heat up, but he had to agree that it was probably true. He crawled on top of the spirit, pulling the covers over himself.
He felt strange trying to sleep in the unfamiliar bed, but the spirit's presence calmed him, making it easier to get comfortable. Soon all thoughts of the day left his mind, allowing him to drift off soon after.
