How cheerfully he seems to grin!/How neatly he spreads his claws,/ and welcomes fishes in/with gently smiling jaws - Lewis Carrol
Often times, it was difficult for Ryou to separate his will from that of the Spirit of the Milennium Ring. The two of them had been together for so long that their wills at times twisted together, unable to be separated. Did he want to make a figurine for his friend, or did the Spirit? Was he the one who felt like avoiding his friends, or was that the Spirit's influence, isolating him from people who could help? Did he really like the Millennium Ring that much, or was the Spirit securing his corporeal body in this reality? He really didn't know at this point. And, perhaps worse, he didn't seem to care.
Maybe if the Spirit had first appeared to him in its first, monstrous form, then maybe Ryou would have prepared for a fight. But the Spirit was clever and wily. It appeared to Ryou in a human body, his own. It cooed words of friendship and kindness. It played the victim, an innocent peasant killed by a greedy king.
So Ryou didn't see who the Spirit really was until it was trying to kill his friends. And by that time, it was too late. It had Ryou between its teeth, and it was already chomping down.
A/N: If you are wondering why this chapter is called "Boiling Water" when there is literally no boiling water in it, it's because if you put frogs in a pot of water and slowly turn it up to a boil, the frog will never leave and will die because it can't understand the change in temperature.