In the center of his soulroom, a boy lies curled up next to the few objects that remain from the destruction of the whiteness of before. The ash has decreased in volume, but only the amber-eyed blue doll standing guard could see that. Beneath closed eyelids, the boy sees something far different.
"Hey, Amane, let's play again." The eleven year old voice echoes through the room. In response, the girl sitting across the RPG table smiles. It is a pained smile, barely more than a grimace.
"Let's do something else, Ryo. We have been playing for more than three hours." His sister's voice is strained, and there are tears threatening to fall.
"But, Amane, you love playing Monster World as much as I do." Green eyes avoid the girl sitting across from him. They focus on moving this game piece or putting that figurine back into place. The girl with mocha colored skin and near uncontrollable brown hair shrinks into herself each second he refuses to look at her.
"Ryo."
The boy's eyes, which are opened far too wide, still refuse to meet her eyes. Why should he have to look at his own sister? He already knows what she looks like: white hair, like Mother's and his, blue eyes and the palest of skins.
"Ryo, look at me please." Slow tears stain the girl's voice. "I can't do this. I can't be Amane. My name is Maya." He looks at her then. Sees a girl who is the opposite of his sister, who is… Where is Amane? What happened to her?
Twisted metal through someone, not Mother or Amane, so that's fine. His own life matters little anyways. But the blood from over there is not his. The smell of blood mixed with some musty smell makes him gag before he can look and… To the right the baby lies scattered all over the road. To the left Amane lies too still in a red pool that is too large. To the front-
Somebody help me please.
Maya clings to the screaming, thrashing boy whose eyes are dilated and whose mind and soul have long since cracked.
"RYO. It's okay, it's okay…" She pauses, decides, and bears the chains that are required of her.
"I am right here. Your little sister is right here. We'll keep playing the game like you wanted to…for however long. Forever if you want." Tears roll down the small girl's face.
The boy stops thrashing, stops screaming. Deep gasps can be heard as he catches his breath. Ryo relaxes in her embrace. He then pulls back and smiles at her. His expression could fall away at any minute with how shaky it appears.
"Amane, I had a really bad dream."
The girl stiffens. "What was it about?"
The boy's eyebrows furrow.
"I don't remember."
It is raining and Bakura is exactly three inches taller than Ryo was in the last memory. The demon child stalks out into the rain. It beats away at him and tries to do so hard enough to loosen his grip on the small satchel he wears.
Bone-white fingers tighten and amber eyes narrow. He is not in the mood for this.
The darkness grows around Bakura the farther he walks from the mansion. It clings to him and welcomes him while the rain plasters his clothing to him. The roaring is all he hears until…
"WAIT." A sound full of pain and desperation echoes in his ears, yet he keeps walking. The pitter-patter of bare feet is disguised by the torrent, so when thin, shaking arms wrap around him and a small force nearly pushes Bakura over, amber eyes widen in surprise.
This emotion is swallowed by annoyance.
"What?" The hiss somehow carries itself over the rain. Maya, in her nightgown, sobs.
"Don't leave me, Big Brother. I don't want to be alone again."
Bakura scowls.
"Get off me." He shoves her away. This thing is more annoying than that infant creature. The Ring glows as he prepares to deal with this distraction.
Amane?
The demon child freezes and feels his control recede. He allows it because…Ryo leans down so that his face is level to the crying girl.
"Don't worry. We can write letters to each other."
Maya, who stopped crying when she saw green eyes, stares at him with red-rimmed eyes.
"We'll see each other on holidays, too, so it won't be too bad." The boy smiles, and Maya smiles back because he looks so happy. The smile disappears and Bakura reappears. He snatches her arm and continues his trek while dragging her along.
"Ba-"
"No one but myself will know my address, so you'll have to come with if you desire to imitate my sister." The harsh, unwelcoming tone lashes at her. Bakura wants Maya as a sibling as much as he wanted that blasted infant. However, Ryo…Ryo, who has started to come out every day now, wants her as a sister so Bakura will put up with this bothersome creature. He has to pay rent in some way, so this will do for now.
Within the soulroom, Ryo opens his eyes. Hands grip onto the soft fabric he lays upon as green eyes glance towards the blue puppet monster.
"Why do I only get glimpses of yours and my siblings deaths?"
The amber-eyed monster stares. The boy looks away and bites his lip in an attempt not to cry.
"You always break."
Ryo looks over to his mother. She cradles the broken infant mannequin. Her gaze is not upon Ryo.
"So, I don't remember remembering." His voice wavers. The walls of the soulroom waver too, and he finds himself-
-Back in bed. Tea and Miho are sleeping curled up around a few pillows on the floor. The light in the bedroom's bathroom is on, yet the door is closed enough so that the light does not shine on his face. His face is damp, and his chest aches. However, Ryo's mind is clearer than it has been in awhile.
The letters have been explained.
To the front of Ryo's mind float images of Maya who, as surface memories claim, has been his neighbor since he moved to Domino.
What my darker half is has been somewhat illuminated. So that leaves-
Ryo sits up.
-That leaves my father's role in this and what is the cause behind my family's deaths.
Ryo does not think of all of the blank spots within his memories. He assumes-hopes-that those only contain moments of normal interactions between Bakura and those who Ryo has called family.
Family. Is that what Maya is? She cares about me. Why else would she pretend to be Amane…Oh, god.
Ryo slides out of bed and treads to the bedroom door. He is gone before Tea shifts in her sleep.
That poor girl. I can't believe that I… She should have never had to play the role of my… my dead sister.
As Ryo winces at his thoughts, feet tread softly through the apartment and the front door is opened with care. The fact that his apartment's four other guests are missing does not register. The absence of the Ring is unnoticed. Only the young girl with her head buried in her knees, which are held close to her chest, matters.
"Sorry."
Maya looks up and at the boy who stands in the doorway across from her. Dark shadows surround her eyes.
"I shouldn't have ever forced you into that role. You should never have been forced to safeguard my sanity."
Brown eyes widen.
"Oh, Ryo."
Oh, Ryo, begins a letter from not too long ago.
Maya pushes herself up. "It is not your fault."
Amane's letter comforts him after the third friend falls into a coma.
"Besides, I like this role. Being your little sister is a lot less lonely than before." She steps forward.
"Before?" Curiosity alights in Ryo's eyes.
"Before we met." She reads the questions and looks away.
"It was a bad place. I would rather not talk about where." Can't. The Ring she has hidden in her blue satchel bag on the floor would kill her.
Ryo nods, pauses, reaches out both arms, and pulls her close.
"How many years?"
Maya cannot relax into his arms quite yet due to that question.
"Since you were eleven and a half about. That's how long you've been my older brother."
"Maya, you don't have to write those letters anymore." As she relaxes into his arms, Maya starts crying. Tears soak into Ryo's shirt. He does not cry.
Inside a pale blue bag, the Ring settles.
When the sun begins to peek through the windows of the apartment, the four return. To no avail, they had searched blocks for the Ring. Now, they walk into the apartment in dejected silence as they try to rub the autumn night chill from their bare fingers. Alister is the first to notice Ryo sitting on the couch. He stops and stares at the girl sleeping on the couch next to the white-haired boy. The other three see that Alister has stopped and one by one their gazes rest upon Ryo and the girl. As a girl's soft snores flow through the room, green eyes watch the four. Those eyes carry a hint of warning.
"It is not her fault." Ryo's voice rises barely loud enough for the four to hear. Looks of confusion pass by Joey and Tristan's faces. Alister has no reaction. He pieced the pieces together the moment he saw the girl. The Spirit of the Ring does not seem like the type to write letters from a little girl, so who else could there be?
Yugi's amethyst eyes widen in realization. "She's the one who wrote the letters?"
Ryo looks to Yugi, and the hint of warning nearly disappears.
"Yes."
Joey and Tristan are silent. Tristan looks at Ryo and the girl in shock while Joey's hair shadows his eyes.
Alister studies the girl and decides to reserve judgment for until Ryo has explained. He opens his mouth to ask Ryo for more details, but a shout from the bedroom and the pounding of feet interrupts him. Tea runs into the room and skids to a halt. Miho skids into her, and both girls stumble before they regain their balances. Miho's purple eyes focus on Ryo.
"Ryo! Your okay." Her gaze flickers to the girl and her eyes narrow. "Who is that?"
Ryo looks to her, his eyes sharpen, and he almost looks like the darker half.
"My sister."
Does he think that she's Amane or…
Alister steps forward. "What do you mean by that, Ryo?" He tries to keep his voice gentle, but some of the apprehension creeps in. Ryo looks to him. The boy's gaze softens back into just a hint of warning.
"I don't think that she is Amane, but she is the girl that has been writing me letters and she is important to me." Ryo looks at the girl during the last few words of his sentence. As he stares at Maya's face while she leans her head against the arm of the couch, green eyes gain a tenderness that was not there before.
"But she been manipulating you and working with the evil Spirit." Miho stares at the girl with strong dislike. Ryo looks back at her sharply.
"She did not have a choice. She was a little girl who had no one. Bakura would have killed or done something worse to her for clinging to him if it was not for the fact that I thought that she was Amane. She has been-" Ryo's voice catches. "Maya has been pretending to be Amane to keep me sane and to… and to not be alone."
Miho's distasteful gaze vanishes to be replaced by discomfort. No one speaks for no one knows what to say. It takes a minute before Tristan's voice travels through the air.
"He actually admitted that he would kill her?"
Ryo looks at Tristan. His green eyes are unreadable.
"Bakura did not admit that. I saw it and felt it." The boy pauses. "I am not a fool. I know that each memory could be made up, but I don't believe they are. If he was really trying to create a false past, why make himself so flawed? In my memories, I saw him on him on the verge of killing the baby and Maya. I have felt it when he was annoyed with Mother and Amane and considered giving them 'light' punishments." Ryo makes sure to meet everyone's eyes at least once during his speech.
Alister glances towards Tristan and sees guilt in his eyes.
You're finally regretting your words from earlier.
"If they were false memories, he would have put himself in a far better light. Perhaps he would have made it look like Amane and Mother's deaths made him temporarily go mad." Ryo's voice tapers off at the end, and he looks back to Maya. While his gaze travels to her, the girl sighs in her sleep and opens her eyes. As she sits up, she rubs her blurry eyes and looks at Ryo and a lazy smile unfolds on Maya's face. As everyone silently stares at the girl, Joey's eyes are still shadowed. Alister coughs.
Maya stills, and the lazy smile freezes. Very, very slowly, her gaze moves from Ryo to the rest of the group. Sleep disappears from her eyes and she sits straight with an eek. With a look of shock, she stares out at the group.
Before anyone can stop him, Joey moves forward and kneels right in front Maya. The small girl leans back as Joey looks her right in the eyes with narrow eyes.
"So, you're the girl that's been writing those letters." His stern voice causes her to blink rapidly and look away.
"Y-Yes." Her small voice barely reaches out into the room. She shuffles closer to Ryo.
Joey stares at her for another minute, and the silence stretches and stretches until-
He smiles at her.
"So, he's a big brother to you, huh?" At his kinder voice, Maya looks to him. Disbelief looks out at the blonde male, but then hope slowly blossoms.
She nods once. "We're not related, but he's my family." Maya looks down, bites her lip, and then looks back up. There are tears in her eyes.
"You don't think I am a monster."
Near the back of the group, amethyst eyes widen. Yugi glances at Joey to see if he has come to the same conclusion. With a glance at the blonde's flinch, Yugi knows that Joey has.
Maya must have heard the conversation on the staircase.
"Nah, you're too nice. And Ryo cleared it all up with us, right, Ryo?"
The white-haired boy agrees and wraps his arm around Maya's shoulder and pulls her close. The girl lets him. Tears fall slowly but she smiles this time.
The day passes by uneventfully. In a way, Yugi is grateful for that, but the lingering suspicion of more hardships to come taint the day's peace. Of course, he contributed as much as everyone did in the conversations about homework and disliked teachers and other students. However, he finds himself watching Ryo carefully. A delayed laugh here could easily turn into another episode. The wrong topic there could become disastrous. His Other Self decides to intervene when Yugi remains too withdrawn from a talk concerning Duel Monsters
"Easy, Yugi. If anything were about to happen, I would warn you of it."
Yugi slowly blinks. His Other Self has never really comforted him before. Before he can respond, Ryo has pulled out a few new cards that he has bought recently.
"I liked watching you two duel at school," Ryo says to Joey and Yugi. "So, I bought some cards to try out the game myself." Ryo looks at Yugi. His green eyes are hopeful, and Yugi knows that the white-haired boy sensed Yugi's distracted air. Guilt at his transparency courses through the small adolescent until he forces it down in order to concentrate on Ryo.
"Can I see some of them?" Yugi's voice carries an air of enthusiasm. Ryo quickly shows the hand of new cards to Yugi.
"This one," Ryo's pale finger points to the spell card in the middle. "Is my favorite."
Portrayed on the card's surface is the picture of a brown-haired girl with wings. Yugi notes the contrast the demon and the angel wings create in the girl.
"It reminds him of himself."
At his Other Self's words, Yugi finds himself thinking of Bakura the Ring Spirit and Ryo's differences. Amethyst eyes look into green eyes, and Yugi knows that Ryo can read his thoughts.
"It fits," Is all Yugi says. Ryo nods in response.
When night arrives, Ryo becomes restless, and Alister attempts to distract him with tales. As it turns out, Alister is actually a military man on leave. A few tales with hints of the super natural captivates everyone; although, they draw too quickly to an end. Ryo becomes too tired to stay awake, yet he fights hard to do so. He knows what is coming. That one memory that sent him over a bridge creeps along the edges of his mind, but he cannot fight sleep. Instead, the boy comforts himself before he descends into his soulroom by studying and remembering the faces of his friends who surround him.
They watch over him while he slips into sleep.
"Madam, please slow down." The head guard misses running into Bakura only because the boy stepped out of the way. An amber-eyed gaze follows the guard as he rushes by.
Ryo would have been bowled over.
Bakura pauses at his own odd thought (he never thinks of Ryo's reactions to anything) before continuing to follow Mother to the baby's room. The guard, who wears a black suit with a sky blue tie, has already caught up to her and is trying to stop her from running from one end of the house to another. A crackling beneath Bakura's foot causes him to look down. The words of Father's letter looks up at him. The demon child jumps away from it and glares.
I see that Ryo is growing stronger.
The message brings panic because Father knows where they are and he knows how Ryo and Bakura are and he tried to tear Ryo from him once, so he must be angry that Ryo has grown stronger and-
Bakura forces those thoughts away and glares at the letter. Perhaps if he stared at it long enough, the paper will burst into flames and cease to exist and he and Mother can get back to playing their game.
Mother almost never plays. You took away one of my few chances.
"Bakura,"
He looks up. Musings forgotten.
"Get Amane and go to the garage." Mother's eyes are bright with fear but her voice remains strong and steady.
Bakura does not nod but simply turns on the balls of his feet and disappears around the carpeted corner. The guard's voice waffles through the air.
"But Ms. Crawford-"
Within the soulroom, Ryo twitches in his sleep. The last name appears embroidered onto a small corner of the fabric he rests upon.
"Do not refer to me by my brother's name."
"Sorry, Madam, but-"
"Go start the fastest care we have and call my brother. Tell him to expect guests on the Island."
"But Master-" and with that Bakura moves out of earshot. It takes only a minute to find Amane. She carries a pale lavender bag and wears a blue overcoat over her thin white night gown. The purple slippers she wears are inadequate for walking long distances, so Bakura hopes that she has time to grab her shoes from by the outside door.
"I'm ready." She smiles at him in a sad sort of way. Life was comfortable here, stable. The fact that Father's possible presence is making his family run away to some island infuriates Bakura.
"He will suffer before I grant him the mercy of death." Bakura snarls.
Amane runs to her brother, hugs him with a bag in one hand, and whispers to him. "But that's a long, long time from now. When you and I are a lot stronger."
Bakura huffs, grabs her hand, and leads her to the garage. Mother is already there buckling in the baby. Bakura's hand tightens when he sees the "creature" and feels Ryo start to awaken.
You cannot take control now. It's too dangerous and it's not fair. You were out for hours yesterday.
As always, Bakura's words fall on deaf ears. Bakura's scowl evaporates to be replaced by Ryo's confused frown. Mother notices and smiles. A tense small smile that makes Ryo uncomfortable.
"Ryo, are you ready for the trip."
Ryo nods slowly. His eyes are still clouded with confusion, but both Mother and Amane see the damaged child's eyes clear as he fabricates his own story. Sadness lurks in both of the females' eyes. As he loads up the car, the guard pretends not to notice the exchange.
"Come on, Ryo, let's get you buckled in."
"I can do that myself." The ten year old quickly states. He lets go of Amane's hand and runs to the other side of the car. However, when he attempts to open the door with his right hand, a figurine drops out of his open hand. The White Wizard hits the concrete floor with a small tap.
Ryo stares.
Why was I holding that?
The boy blinks and, when he opens his eyes, is in the car and buckled up with the White Wizard in his closed hand. A sense of disorientation overcomes him as he stuffs his favored game piece into his pocket. His fingers brush against a pair of dice-
-That cracked and broke apart and how dare Landlord destroy the few things Bakura has left-
-while he extracts his hand from his pocket. The boy looks out the window, and his eyes widen when he sees the forest that surrounds the manor for miles speed by.
Weren't we just in the garage?
The baby's gurgles draw Ryo's attention to the front where his Mother is cradling the baby. He knows he saw Mother buckle Eric in a few minutes ago, so how is he now sitting on her lap?
Confusion plagues Ryo's mind and he breathes rapid breaths. The world does not make sense. There are times where nothing is following any rules and his head hurts so much.
"Ryo?" His sister's voice anchors him.
Cling to it and find your way back.
"Ryo, it's okay." Ryo looks towards her and her bright blue eyes stare kindly back at him. The boy feels the world reorient itself and feels everything fall back into place. Amane always follows her own rules, ones that never change. With her and the baby, everything makes sense. Something flickers by the corner of Amane's pure white hair, something that lingers beyond the window, and Ryo finds his gaze drawn to it.
Ryo sees something dark and large and wrong about to hit Amane's side of the car.
Time stops for a moment and then the Ring burns against his skin and everything spins and…darkness.
In a soulroom, a boy jerks in his sleep.
When the darkness lifts, something warm and wet slides down Ryo's face and lingers on his chest. Ryo's ears ring. His fingers and toes are numb, yet his left side burns. The boy gasps, lifts up his head, and tries to move.
It is only a centimeter, but that is a centimeter of metal sliding inside of his skin. A piercing shriek cuts through the air, but there is nothing the Ring, with a severed rope, that lays a few feet away on the pavement can do.
The boy's cheek once again lies in something wet, thick, and warm. He knows that it is not the tears he sheds, but Ryo cannot comprehend what it could be. The boy does not see the small pool of red slowly growing by his side. The boy lays there until the ringing in his ears stops.
"Ryo." A voice, small and weak, reaches the boy. Ryo twitches in response.
"Ryo, look at me." The voice grows more forceful, and Ryo shifts his head just enough so that he can see what is in front of him.
His mother, who is on her stomach, has pushed her head and part of her chest off of the ground stares at him. Tears flow from her eyes and a deep look of despair reflects from her eyes. However, she forces her voice to be strong.
"Ryo, I need you to let Bakura out. You two need to run."
"Bak…Bakura?" Ryo does not understand.
There are the voices of two men in the distance, and Ryo swears he hears someone say, "Run, Madam Crawford," before gunshots pierce the air.
His mother flinches. "Ryo, you need to run. Let Bakura take control. Let- don't look over there."
The boy is moving his head again to look to his left. That's where the sound of the gunshots came from, so he has to see why. Once his gaze has shifted that way just enough. Green eyes grow wide and pupils shrink to pinpricks. The trees hide the source of the gunshots, but a different sight- pink matter scattering the pavement and his baby brother lying there- greets him. The boy does not scream but merely disappears.
"Mother." A different voice, stronger and harsher, echoes through the air. Amber eyes narrow at the sight before him and the child looks away from it. Some emotion lingers in his eyes, perhaps regret, perhaps not.
"Mother, are you alright?" Bakura looks towards her and sees that she tries hard not to sob. The child starts to push himself up.
"It's okay-" Pain laces through his side and Bakura gasps. He remains frozen half-standing, half leaning forward until a small hand finds the metal piece sticking out of his side and pulls.
Mother cries out at the same time the child screeches. The metal piece is tossed to the side. Bakura presses a hand to his side and sways with dull eyes. They clear within seconds of determined concentration and he starts to move towards her.
"Mother, I will get Amane and you out of here. Just stay there."
She shakes her head. Thick tears fall, but she still speaks. "No, run."
"I'm not leaving you and Amane." Bakura snarls "I know you're sad that Eric died but the four of us can still…" He stops walking.
"Where is Amane?" The snarl falls away. "Mother?"
The woman shakes her head again. Her face shining in the fire of the ruined car and twisted in deep pain. She tries to push herself up, but falls back to her original position. "Please."
His mother tries not to glance in that direction, but Bakura sees the flicker of her gaze. He turns to the right.
This is a nightmare.
He turns to the right and sees…
This is a nightmare. It is not real. It is not real.
Sees Amane lying in a larger pool than he had been in before. Bakura just sees her back and the back of her head, but with his sharp eyesight, he sees that she is far too still. With his hearing that can hear whispers across rooms, he hears nothing.
"Amane?" Everything silences. The cackling fires of the car are silent. The way Bakura's voice sounds like Ryo's is never noticed. His mother's pleas for him to run are muffled. The dying screams of the head guard never reach his ears.
"Amane?" Bakura stumbles forward a few steps. From within the forest, a figure emerges. However, Bakura does not see that he sees-
She carries a pale lavender bag and wears a blue overcoat over her thin white night gown. She smiles at him in a sad sort of way.
Bakura does not hear as the figure walks with a click of its shoes onto the pavement. He hears-
"When you and I are a lot stronger, we'll take on Father together, Kitty."
Her favorite nickname causes him to look at her with narrow eyes. Amane giggles at his annoyance. Her blue eyes dancing and bright.
"Ama-" Shadows curl around the child's waist, pick him up, and throw him to the ground. When he hits the pavement, Bakura can feel his arm crack, but he does not screech like last time. Instead, the shadows that are wrapped around him are wrestled away from the figure on the edge of the road and bent to Bakura's will.
Sharpened darkness strikes out at the figure. The man merely waves his hand and the darkness dissipates into mist. Another wave and golden light holds down Bakura. The Ring beneath the child is pressed hard against him.
Amber eyes search for Him, and when they find Him, they morph into something worse than hate. The face of a child falls away to be replaced by a face made from the darkness. Slitted pupils and bestial amber irises that could only belong to a creature that seeks to destroy glare out at the man, who now stands by his mother (she stares up at him with terror shining from her eyes), and a demon bares sharp canines that glint from the flames.
"GET AWAY FROM HER."
The man chuckles at the deep-throated tone that carries traces of hellfire and promises of suffering in its depths. "Now, Bakura, is that any way to treat your father?"
Shadows wrap around the gold light and tear at it. Gouges appear in the asphalt every time one of the shadows slip off of the golden light. The man frowns when the shadows start to peel away the light.
"That won't do. Well, I wanted to speak to Ryo anyway." He flicks his hand. The gold light wraps tightly around the demon child's head and reaches into it.
Both the child and his mother scream.
When Ryo wakes up from a nightmare, the first noise he hears is the sound of something wet and thick slapping together and an occasional cracking sound. He groans weakly, and the boy hears a chuckle. Ryo looks forward.
That was Father and Father will help the nightmare go away even though he has not come home in a while.
It is not the man, whose glasses gleam in the light and who wears a blue buttoned-up shirt with khaki pants, that attracts Ryo's attention. His gaze is focused on Mother, who sits up quite strangely. She leans against something; however, it moves and she moves with it. Her head must be leaning back because he cannot see it. Her head is…
I don't understand.
Red runs down her neck and chest and all onto the pavement-
Where…
-and out from between the black skinned creature's elongated and jagged teeth.
Mommy?
It must be leaning back.
Where is you head?
No, it is not.
Mommy?
His father's laughs are drowned out by screams that never end until the boy has ran down the stone hall, past the iron door, and to the cedar door. Once inside, he dives into the whiteness and hides forever or at least until he wakes up from this horrible dream. Until then, Ryo will scream.