A/N Just have to put this here to get the format to work.


Evil is just a point of view ~ Anne Rice


"Ready yet, Landlord?" the spirit asks, leaning on his soul's doorway.

Ryou doesn't look up quite yet. He isn't ready. There was still too much in this room, too much dust, too many pictures, too many memories. Amane's letters are still under his bed. (His shoulders slump a bit, knowing what she will think of him after this.)

But that's okay, in an odd way. It makes sense. She (even Amane) could never understand. No one could ever understand.

(The screams mean nothing unless you've heard them yourself.)

Ryou reaches up to the picture frame closest to his bed, and traces the face with his fingers.

Yuugi.

He wonders. Would Yuugi understand?

(Does it matter?)

Wide violet eyes stare back at him. Innocent. Ryou could still be innocent if he wanted. No blood was on his hands yet. (If he wanted…)

But he doesn't want innocence. He wants fire and darkness and he wants all of the world to hear the screams he's had to hear.

Is that wrong? Is that evil?

The spirit would answer him, if asked. But Ryou keeps his mouth shut. His other's presence is enough. The spirit only needs to be there for Ryou to feel…

(…intoxicated, spell bound, hurt, honest...)

Sinful.

(Once, after a nightmare made of fire, Ryou had asked his mother to make a list of all things that he would go to that burning place for. His mother, groggy from lack of sleep, told him that he already knows, that you can't hurt or harm others, and to avoid temptation. But it wasn't enough, Ryou needed to know it all. So his mother wrapped her arms around him, and said as long as he tried to be a good person, he wouldn't have to worry about fire.)

And here he was. Trying to be a good person.

The spirit is his temptation.

…And it's inviting, his sin.

(Their sin.)

Ryou smiles softly.

The picture (with wide innocent eyes) in the frame turns to ashes. To sand.

"Ready."


A/N Because I'm overdue for an evil!Ryou story.

Also, can I just say you guys, the readers, are amazing? Over 500 hundred reviews - that's half of one thousand! I never in a million years imagined that I'd have a hundred reviews on this story, much less five times that. So thank you, everyone who has reviewed (or alerted, or faved), thank you so much.

I'm so grateful.