A/N: And today we have a mix of scenes (and some dialogue) pulled straight from the English translation of the manga and original scenes. For anyone waiting for Ryou and Yami Bakura to actually interact, we're there at last!
Historian's Note: This story takes place before, during and (eventually) after the original story through Millennium World, following the canon established in the manga. There will be spoilers, so proceed with caution.
Soundtrack: 'Haunted' on 8tracks.
Beta: SkyTurtle.
Warnings: TRIGGER WARNING. Fairly graphic descriptions of wounds, injuries and death/near death.
Disclaimer: Yu-Gi-Oh! and related characters are © to Kazuki Takahashi.
…
Haunted
Part XII
Raven Ehtar
…
When Ryou had decided to come along with Yugi and the rest to Duelist Kingdom, he hadn't been expected a lot of the things that had happened to him.
On reflection he really ought to have been expecting anything. He hadn't been present for the card duel when Maximillion Pegasus had removed Yugi's grandfather's soul, but he had seen that same elderly man caught inside a video recorder Yugi kept close. If he had been anyone else he would have disbelieved his friends when they told him, and even when they showed him. He would have just thought that they were playing a strange and elaborate prank. But Ryou knew better. He knew from experience the way souls could be tampered and played with. And when he heard that Pegasus had a Millennium item…
There was no way that Duelist Kingdom was meant to be a normal game tournament, or even a highly elaborate one as it was thought to be. With the creator of Duel Monsters himself as keeper of a Millennium item - an eye set in the place of one of his own real eyes, according to Jonouchi - then the last thing any of them should have expected was for the tournament to be normal.
And yet somehow Ryou was still surprised by their current straits. He had brought everything he thought might prove useful - food and water, his own deck of Duel Monsters cards, despite not being a contestant, and even his Millennium Ring.
None of it or anything else he brought seemed the least bit useful here - trapped underground and a pair of sentries guarding their only way out. The sentries wouldn't even tell them which of the two doors that were there was the correct one - they were meant to guess or somehow puzzle out which would lead to safety. Unless there was a hidden exit somewhere in the room where they were all trapped…
So, they were searching. He, Anzu, Jonouchi and Honda, all of them were examining the walls and the floor minutely for any sign that it was not as solid as it appeared to be. All of them except for Yugi. He was still seated at the duelist's table, staring down the sentries keeping them from freedom.
Ryou couldn't help but wonder about that. The Yugi seated there was the 'other Yugi,' the one who came from the Puzzle, and he was usually very shrewd when it came to games and riddles. If he wasn't bothering to look for another way out, did that mean he didn't think there was one? Personally, Ryou thought the same. It made no sense to have two false doors, for the riddle they had been handed to be a feint. No, one of those doors was the right way out, it was just a matter of figuring out which one.
He could only hope that Yugi was using the time they had been given to do just that.
Ryou examined the wall, expecting nothing and finding exactly that. Mazes and riddles, all while buried alive. He shivered a little, the chill air working through his layers of clothing.
He really didn't want to be stuck down here forever. Surely Pegasus wouldn't allow guests to actually die on his island…?
Perhaps if he were merely the creator of Duel Monsters he wouldn't, but with the addition of the Millennium Eye, who knew what he would be willing to do?
The Millennium Eye… it was the real reason Ryou was here at all. He had his own deck - an occult deck, he called it - but he wasn't a duelist in the same sense as everyone else on the island. As far as anyone else was concerned, he was just another friend of Yugi and Jonouchi who had invited himself along to provide moral support and get a ringside seat. And yes, that was a part of the reason he had come along on the adventure. Of course he wanted to support his friends - Yugi who was here to rescue his grandfather and Jonouchi who was determined to win the tournament prize money for his sister, but…
It was the Millennium Eye which really drew him here.
Ryou's need to know more about the Millennium items had not faded in the least. In fact it only seemed to grow with each day, and when he discovered that Maximillion Pegasus owned one as well, that need had spiked into an obsession. It had consumed his thoughts, pushing him towards the island as surely as a pair of hands at his back. Sleep had been denied him until he'd decided for certain that he would tag along with all the others, and his mind finally felt as though it could relax.
Where had Pegasus gotten his Eye, and what could it do? What did Pegasus know of the Millennium items? Deduction told Ryou that Pegasus was after Yugi's Puzzle - why else would such a powerful man target an amateur duelist, let alone go to such lengths to ensure he came to the island, within easy reach? It had to be for the Puzzle. The holder of one Millennium item would want another.
Maximillion Pegasus must know something about the items.
They had to get out of this underground trap-
I'll tell you which door it is…
Ryou jumped at the voice. He hadn't heard anyone walk up to him. He looked around; the nearest to him was Anzu, who was a dozen feet away and absorbed in her search.
"Did… you say something, Anzu…?" He asked the question, knowing what the answer must be, and speaking too quietly for her to hear him in any case.
A cold sweat suddenly prickled all over his skin. It felt as though his heart was being squeezed - beating too fast yet constrained, trying to escape but too frightened to move.
A laugh, too familiar for only having heard it a few times, echoed around the chamber. Except it didn't. It only echoed inside his mind. It's me, Yadonushi…
Ryou's hand acted before his mind could process, before he could decide if it was a wise decision or not. He brought out his Millennium Ring from his backpack. One of the points still stood out stiffly, in defiance of gravity and the motion of the rest of the Ring, still pointing faithfully at the wall beyond the two sentries. His hand shook, making the rest of the points swing dizzily, the light dancing off its metallic surface in a much brighter way than he remembered in some time.
It can't be, he thought to himself, sweat prickling along his hairline. Koe, the voice, it's been gone for so long, it can't be…!
The laugh came again, soft even in his mind, as though Koe was amused by the train of Ryou's thoughts. He nearly dropped the Ring right then, to break any and all contact with the awful thing.
It's been a long time, Yadonushi, Koe agreed, and like his laugh, his words were surprisingly gentle, different from how Ryou remembered it. How long are you going to waste your time in this pit? The answer is very simple. Playing these stupid card games when a Millennium item is so close…! I know you've been wanting to learn about them. I've been helping you, guiding you towards them. Do you see? Even now, I look after my Yadonushi.
Ryou trembled, his stomach clenching in a sickening way. He'd been suspicious, the first time the Millennium Ring had begun to point like a compass, wondering if the spirit within had awoken or returned. But all it ever did was point. No voice had intruded on his thoughts, no hint that the other personality had even survived the battle with Yugi. Until now.
He put a hand against the wall, needing the support. Did he tell the others what was happening? What could they do, when they already had one riddle to solve? What should he do?
Put on the Ring, Koe whispered gently. Put on the Ring and allow me to see through your eyes, Ryou. I will find the way out of this labyrinth for you. It will be easy for a thief like me.
"What's wrong, Bakura?"
Anzu's voice, a voice that was definitely outside the confines of his skull, startled Ryou out of his reverie. He half turned towards her and attempted a smile. "N-nothing's wrong. I'm fine."
He waited until the girl had turned away before he wondered why he hadn't told her. There was no danger that they wouldn't believe him - they knew as well as he did just how real the threat his Ring could pose was. But if they knew… they might try… to take it away from him.
Something more than just words seemed to emanate from the Ring, something Ryou could only interpret as a kind of … sympathy.
I see… you're afraid of me because of what happened before. I understand. I do. What happened back then… but you don't need to worry, now. I'm a different person than I was then. I only want to help you. To save your friends.
Ryou shook his head as hard as he dared, as hard as he could without attracting attention from anyone in the room.
Stop it! He thought the words as loudly as he could, not doubting at all that Koe could hear it perfectly well. I won't listen to you anymore! I'll never put the Ring back on!
Won't you? Listen to this at least, Yadonushi. If you don't put me on, you and all of your friends will be trapped down here forever!
The boy's heart lurched to the side. He cast a quick look over his shoulder, to his friends all looking for a way out of their prison. None of them looked as though they were having any luck. Would they really be left to die here, buried alive?
Ryou… The call was so faint that Ryou had to strain to hear, an equivalent of leaning closer. I know you can feel me as well as hear me, if you try. I know if you try, you can tell that I am telling you the truth. I'm not the same as I was. I truly want to help you.
Ryou bit his lip, his thumb tracing along the curve of the Ring. He could sense something of what Koe was feeling, he thought, maybe even something of what he thought. It was hard to discern, but… it felt like he was being truthful.
The ones full of trickery are those two.
He glanced over, knowing exactly who Koe meant. Their sentries, still seated, smugly grinning across the table at Yugi. They seemed so certain that they would find no way out…
They are, Koe said. There is more to this maze than meets the eye, and they do not intend to play fair.
How do I know you won't do what you did before? Ryou thought desperately. How do I know you won't try to steal their souls all over again? How can I trust you?
There was a pause. Ryou held his breath. Then,
Feel me, Ryou Bakura. A small wash of emotions, of feelings and not quite formed thoughts that were not his own came over him.
I swear upon the Ring, and my own soul, that if you allow me your body, I will do nothing to harm you or your friends.
Ryou gasped, first at the intensity of the thought, and then again as the wave was drawn away from him, leaving only his own thoughts and emotions behind.
Every word was true, though. Ryou knew it as surely as if he had thought the words himself. He just knew.
Looking round to be certain no one's attention was on him, Ryou lifted the cord of the Ring over his head and settled the Ring back into its old familiar place…
…
Ryou blinked, taking a deep breath. He blinked again and swayed, a little unbalanced, and looked around. He was standing beside the dueling table, clustered with everyone else. But hadn't he just been beside the wall…?
"What… what just happened?" He muttered, and rubbed at one of his eyes. He wasn't sure why, but it felt as though he had just woken up from sleep. He didn't think he'd fallen asleep, not while standing…
Yugi was standing up from the table, and Ryou noticed for the first time that the sentries wore identical expressions of angry frustration. As Yugi turned, Ryou saw the triumphant smile on his face. Ryou grinned.
"Did you just win, Yugi? Amazing!"
"Bakura, are you feeling okay?" Anzu was giving him a concerned look, like she thought he was sick. Even Yugi was watching him, but rather than pure concern, it was a wondering, wary look. It was the way one would watch someone who they felt like they couldn't quite trust.
Unnerved, Ryou shifted his weight. As he did, something underneath his shirt slid against his skin. He froze, remembering. The Ring. He'd put it back on. He'd put it back on and… lost time. He glanced around quickly, and was glad to see both Honda and Jonouchi were also there, both fine.
He gave a short, weak chuckle. "Yeah. Yeah, I'm fine. Just ready to get out of this creepy place, you know?"
"I hear dat!" Jonouchi leaned across the table, grabbing a key from one of the model doors on the board. Their sentries, the Meikyû brothers, both looked as though they very much wanted to slap the teen's hands away, but they restrained themselves. Jonouchi headed towards the door marked 'Mei,' key held high. "Let's get outta here, you guys!"
Honda and Anzu both followed him, but Yugi hesitated, still watching Ryou. Under that intense stare, Ryou froze. He did his best to smile reassuringly, wondering if he should try to say something to put Yugi at ease, to erase that look of mistrust from his face. Before he could think of anything to say, though, Yugi turned away and was joining the others. After a second's hesitation, Ryou followed.
On the other side of the door was a passageway that wasn't manmade, but altered, made smooth and lit up near the doors. There was only one direction to go, which Ryou appreciated. If the labyrinth had continued beyond the door he would have had to bring out the Ring to figure out which way to go. The others would see that he had put it back on.
Ryou listened with half an ear as the others talked ahead of him. One hand strayed to his shirt front unconsciously as he tried to remember what happened right after he put the Ring on. If he focused, he could just about remember walking from where he had been searching the wall to rejoin the others. It was a foggy memory, though, like the memory of stumbling to sleep after staying up all night. Why couldn't he remember anything else?
It's because you weren't in control just then.
Ryou tripped, caught himself on the wall. No one seemed to notice his stumble.
Don't worry, Yadonushi. I was only in control long enough to assist in our escape, just as I promised. You will recall the lost time soon enough.
How? Despite the outward silence of the conversation, Ryou worried someone would notice, and couldn't help the instinct to 'think quietly.' If you were in control, then the memory of that time is yours.
True, which is why it will take some time for you to remember them. But remember you will. We are two souls sharing a single body, yes? We will be able to remember each other's memories, almost as though they were our own. …Hadn't you already noticed something similar, Yadonushi?
Ryou was about to deny it wholeheartedly - he had no recollection of being a spirit trapped in a piece of jewelry - but then he did remember something.
Dreams. Dreams of a boy in Egypt, many, many years ago. A boy without a family who made the best living he could along the Nile, stealing where and what he could while avoiding capture or falling prey to the predators of the desert.
The dreams had begun not long after that tabletop game. At least, that's when he thought they had started at first. They had seemed familiar to him even after the first night. He'd thought they were just the result of his subconscious spinning stories from all he had ever seen or heard of Egypt from his father. Were they actually memories from the spirit? Was that who the spirit had been when he'd been alive, a child?
It's good we can communicate again. I am glad you decided to listen. It's a rare gift, this ability, and would be a shame to waste it.
Ryou's eyes strayed to Yugi, who was walking at the front of the group. He was coming to recognize when it was actually Yugi and when it was the spirit that was in control of the small body. Even from behind, there was a way the spirit held himself that almost made him seem taller than Yugi did. He wondered, with a slight rush of trepidation, if it were so easy to see when he, Ryou was in control of his body or when it was Koe.
As rare as the Millennium items, Ryou thought, wondering if any of his thoughts were actually private while wearing the Ring. Yugi and the spirit of his Puzzle…
Something like a disgusted grunt came through to Ryou.
They have a bond like ours, yes. And in some ways it is stronger than ours. Theirs has not been so… tumultuous as ours. But remember, they cannot speak with one another. They do not share each other's thoughts, and I doubt very much that they share memories. And Yugi has had the Puzzle even longer than you have had the Ring, remember.
Ryou shuddered. Koe had just listed off two bits of information which he had to have plucked from Ryou's memories. Yugi had spent some time not long after the tabletop game telling him about his Puzzle and one or two of the adventures he'd had since solving it - though Ryou could tell there was still plenty more he had left untold. And then he had revealed to them all just before they had left for Duelist Kingdom that while he could now feel what the spirit of his Puzzle could feel if he listened, there was still no direct communication between them.
Yugi had held the Millennium Puzzle for eight years, but it wasn't until he solved it that the spirit within had made itself known. So far as Ryou knew, the spirit in his Ring had been in contact with him all of the six years he'd had it. Was that where the difference lay?
The still fresh memories of the tabletop game intruded on him. The helpless feeling of knowing, of seeing what his body was doing and not being able to stop it was one he was not likely to ever forget, nor the effort it had taken to find a way back to his own skin and help his friends. He could still remember the pain of taking back control, piece by tiny piece. The pain which still gave him nightmares of the spirit fighting him, impaling his hand on a model castle spire, the Ring's points digging into his chest and refusing to let him go, like some sort of parasite…
And on the other side of the table, facing against the spirit of the Ring, the 'other Yugi.' The spirit of the Millennium Puzzle. He had fought, as well. Fought hard and cleverly against Koe, fought at the side of and for Yugi, the one who harbored his soul.
It wasn't so hard to see. That was where the difference lay between the spirits of the Puzzle and the Ring, and there was where lay the difference in the bonds they had with the ones who held the items they were trapped within.
Yugi and his spirit, they had both been put in danger by the Ring, by him. They could have been killed, and it would have been at least partially Ryou's fault. And instead of blaming him, they had saved him. They called him a friend, even after all of that. They had freed him from the Ring.
The Ring rattled softly beneath his shirt. He put a hand over it to silence it, eyes on Yugi's back.
He felt like a traitor, betraying the trust so undeservingly given to him and the work and pain which had gone into saving him. After all that had been done for him, he repaid it by once again wearing the Ring. By communicating and colluding with the spirit that had tried to kill them all!
I should take it off again, he thought. As soon as the others are a little further away, I will.
He knew that Koe heard the thought when he felt the spirit start slightly, as though stung. For a second Ryou expected to feel the piercing pain of five points stabbing into him, making it impossible for the Ring to be removed, and he flinched reflexively, his heart racing. But it never came.
You should not, Yadonushi. Koe was surprisingly quiet, nothing like the outrage Ryou had expected. You should leave the Ring just where it is. I can still be of use to you here. I can sense the other Millennium item, and its holder. He is ruthless, Yadonushi. From here on, things will only become more and more dangerous for you. If you take off the Ring and something were to happen, I would not be able to protect you. Please, leave it in place.
Ryou hesitated. He could feel the points against his skin, knew their sharpness, could remember how they had scraped over bone when they dug in… but they lay inert, now. Even as he considered tearing off the Ring and shoving it to the very bottom of his backpack, it gave no sign of life. In his mind, Koe gave no sign of returning to his old habits.
His eyes strayed back to Yugi.
But if they find out…
They would not understand, Koe agreed. Of course. We could not expect them to understand. They know me only as I was before. They do not have the link that we have, they cannot know how you know that I have changed. There is no way for them to feel the truth of it the way you do.
If I explained it to them, they might understand. Yugi might. He has a bond like ours. He would know what it is like to know.
He might… Koe said slowly. But it would be a difficult thing to believe, even now. Even you are not fully convinced, Yadonushi. I can feel it. No. Let us wait a little, until I have had a chance to prove how much I have changed.
Ryou still hesitated, uncertain, the words to call out to Yugi and tell him everything poised on his tongue but not quite decided to emerge.
You can trust me. You have my oath that I will harm none of you. Not even, he added, even more quietly than before, should you decide to remove the Ring.
The hand over his shirt trembled, the words on his tongue clamoring for freedom. Memory and instinct all pushed him in one direction… but something else, something deeper pulled him the opposite way.
Ryou dropped his hand, swallowed the words gathered in his mouth and walked along after his friends.
Thank you, Yadonushi.
…
Ryou put down his bag with a groan and rubbed at one shoulder, then at the other. He never thought he would be so glad to return to an empty apartment, but it was good to be back home. Duelist Kingdom had been exhausting, physically, mentally and spiritually. He doubted that even if one removed all of the supernatural elements which had cropped up, that any other tournament could be said to be even half so tiring.
He stretched. There was school the next morning, and it was already late in the afternoon. He ought to unpack and organize his school books for the next day… But there was one thing in particular which Pegasus' island had lacked and he had been looking forward to for days.
A few minutes later Ryou sighed again contentedly as he sank into the hot water of the bath. His dirty clothes, practically stiff with the dirt and grime gathered from hiking around the island for days, were in the hamper and a fresh set of 'at home' clothes waiting for him. There had been a shower at the castle which Ryou had taken advantage of, but it just wasn't the same as a hot soak. Ryou was lucky to have an apartment with private facilities. He didn't mind public baths, but it was nice to relax alone.
As Ryou's aching muscles slowly unlocked one by one, he thought over the time he'd spent on that island with his friends.
It had all been a bizarre experience, there was no denying that. The tournament itself, which even the media had trouble covering without using terms any stronger than 'odd,' had paled into the background with all of the other drama taking place on the island. It seemed as though every time they met someone an old rivalry was reignited and fought out. Most of them Ryou had been ignorant of until they blew up in front of him, the most notable example being whatever history existed between his friends and Seto Kaiba. Something called 'Death-T' had been brought up, and Jonouchi in particular appeared to still bear a grudge over whatever had happened. It all served to remind Ryou that in his circle of friends, he was something of an outsider. He was the newest in a group which had been established a long time before his arrival and whose history he was ignorant of unless he was told.
Tomorrow, Ryou decided, he would ask Yugi to tell him more about the things that had happened to them all before he'd come to Domino High.
Even with all of the strange things going on at the island, though, Ryou felt his own personal experience was probably a little stranger even than that of any of his friends.
Ryou glanced over to the counter and sink, where he'd put the Millennium Ring while he soaked.
Koe hadn't really spoken to him since the underground labyrinth, but he had still been aware of the spirit's presence. He could sometimes feel a second consciousness riding along in the back of his mind, and if he paid careful attention, the way Yugi said he did with his spirit, Ryou could just about make out what Koe was feeling.
More than any feeling or sense of the spirit riding along with him, though, the rest of their time on the island had acquired a strangely disassociated quality, dream-like at times. After a while Ryou had come to the conclusion that it was another symptom of Koe still being with him. The more hazy reality seemed, the more Koe was present, using Ryou's senses.
It had been disconcerting to think about, that the voice in his head could partially possess him without Ryou having to lose consciousness. In a way it was better than the alternative, to be completely unaware as Koe took his body to do with as he pleased, and yet it somehow felt more invasive to be aware of the possession while it was happening. And there were some times where Ryou had no memory at all. Such as when he'd woken up in the grand dining room after going to sleep in his bedroom, or brief moments scattered throughout the night when he and Honda had searched the lower levels of the castle to rescue Seto's little brother Mokuba. The blanks concerned him, but the time was already beginning to fill in as Koe's memories bled into his. He had done nothing bad while in possession of Ryou's body, only gone to examine a painting which featured another Millennium item and done all he could to help Honda with Mokuba. It seemed as though Koe had been telling the truth when he said he wanted to help Ryou and his friends.
Ryou wondered if Yugi ever went through anything similar with the spirit of the Puzzle. Did Yugi experience the same kind of haze when his spirit was close at hand? Was there ever any mistrust between them, or did Yugi ever have to question the motives of his spirit? Then he remembered, he had seen with his own eyes something like what was happening between himself and Koe.
The spirit of the Puzzle had been willing to kill Seto Kaiba to win a game - more willing than he was to lose. If it hadn't been for Yugi intervening, wresting control of his body back before the spirit could declare his attack, then Seto really would be dead. It was the first real sign of disharmony between Yugi and the spirit of the Puzzle that Ryou had ever seen, and a rather impressive example of how ruthless the spirit could be in order to get what he wanted.
Yugi and his spirit seemed to come back around to some sort of understanding before too long, but the incident was insightful for Ryou. He had thought the relationship between Yugi and his spirit had been as smooth and easy as could be desired - the opposite of the relationship he had with Koe. That one, violent division was proof his assumption had been very wrong. And that the spirit seemed so willing to kill, it made Ryou think. Was there really so much difference between the spirits? The one within the Puzzle seemed to have a more than adequate violent streak, and Koe was insisting that he had changed.
Yugi could find it in himself to trust his spirit after a near murder. Could Ryou do the same with his?
He soaked a while longer before deciding that he had better leave or he would find himself waking in the middle of the night in freezing water with no one to blame but himself. The Ring lay safe beneath his shirts, cool against his skin.
Ryou felt tons better for his bath and the clean clothes, which were like silk compared to the clothes he had sweated in for days. He felt refreshed, while at the same time incredibly sluggish. The hot water had sapped whatever remaining strength he had, making him feel thick and clumsy. Would he even have the energy to eat before going to bed tonight?
He unpacked his bag slowly. Anything cloth went automatically into the hamper, his deck of cards went to his desk, and most of what was left of the food was put away in the kitchen. There wasn't really all that much, but with his slowed body it took some time.
It wasn't until the bag was nearly empty that Ryou spotted something he didn't remember putting in. A small golden ball.
Frowning, Ryou pulled it out and into the light. As he turned it around he found himself staring at a shining eyeball, its stylized iris and pupil of gold instantly recognizable as a brother to those on the Millennium Puzzle and Ring.
Ryou was startled, and it took him a moment to remember that he had asked Yugi if he could keep the replica Eye which had appeared in Yugi's soup. It was a hazy memory, so it had been Koe who had really asked for it, but Ryou didn't need confirmation for that. They were interesting, a unique memento, he supposed, but he wouldn't have asked for one of them himself.
Pegasus, and his Millennium Eye… Ryou shuddered, remembering some of the power the man had shown while they had all been on his island. It had been Ryou's main reason for going to the island, to find out more about the items. Before he had retired to his private rooms, Pegasus had told them all some of his history with the itmes, and how he had come by his Eye.
He'd said an evil power lay within the Millennium items, an 'evil intelligence.' As he'd listened Ryou had felt a guilty jolt go through him. He'd instantly thought of Koe, who was also listening to Pegasus with alert attention. He didn't seem disturbed by the implication, and on reflection Ryou had to conclude that an 'evil intelligence' could just as easily refer to Yugi's spirit. Or it might refer to no spirit at all, but just a vague idea of intelligence which guided the items. It did seem very coincidental that so many ancient artifacts were all appearing in the same area of a completely different country, all at the same time. Some kind of outside power might very well be guiding the movements of the items and those who bore them.
There were seven items all together according to Pegasus. The Ring was one, the Puzzle another, then Pegasus' Eye, and then there was a set of Scales Pegasus had seen while in Egypt, and a Key which was worn by Shadi, the one who had 'given' Pegasus the Eye. That left two more, whose shapes and locations were unknown.
Ryou rubbed his cheek. So many items, and he was still no closer to knowing what they actually were or why they had been created, or any of the other mysteries he had hoped to solve by going to Duelist Kingdom. Though what Pegasus had to say about Shadi and how he had behaved with the items was suggestive of something dark; dark, and much more complex than Ryou had ever suspected. He tried his best not to remember what Pegasus had said of the man he had seen who had been made to wear the Ring, which had still been in Egypt back then.
It was a difficult thing to forget. Apparently the man had been deemed unworthy by the Ring to be its bearer, and had been burned alive. Did that mean Ryou was worthy somehow? In what way was he worthy of the Ring?
Would he have burned all those years ago, if he hadn't measured up?
The replica of the Millennium Eye was really quite good, Ryou thought. Better even than he remembered when Yugi had handed it to him. Pegasus had gotten it to shine with that same peculiar liquid shine that was so distinctive to the Ring and the Puzzle. Even the weight felt right, heavy for something which he knew was hollow.
Ryou turned the eye over in his hands, looking for the place where it would come open. It appeared seamless all the way around. Ryou couldn't even tell where the hinge was meant to be.
As he was turning the orb in his fingers, examining closely along those raised places where the front design was formed, he found an odd stain. He frowned, scraped it away with a fingernail. It crumbled away in a peculiar way.
Before Ryou could decide what the ruddy brown powder on his fingers was, a memory which was not his suddenly broke over him and he knew.
Blood.
Dried blood.
This wasn't a replica. It was the Millennium Eye, plucked out of Pegasus' head!
Ryou screamed and dropped the Eye. It hit the floor with a solid thump and rolled away.
Ryou didn't realize he was backing away until his shoulders thumped against the wall. His heart was beating too fast, his breathing was too harsh, and while he never took his eyes from the golden sphere on his floor, he didn't see it.
Before his eyes Ryou saw Pegasus, seated at a dueling table and frowning at him. He said something, but Ryou couldn't make out the words. He felt himself reply, but still could hear nothing, nor could he remember what words his own mouth had shaped. Pegasus looked alarmed, made to stand, but froze. Without quite knowing how he knew, Ryou was sure it was the power of the Ring that kept him in his seat.
He watched his own body as it moved, his hand as it reached out to the Millennium Eye. He saw as Pegasus' other eye widened in realization and horror, as he struggled against the invisible bonds of the Ring, to lean away from the hand nearing his Eye.
Ryou hadn't heard Pegasus when he spoke, but he heard him fine when he screamed.
Ryou's stomach lurched. Covering his mouth the boy ran for the bathroom and made it just in time. There wasn't much in his stomach to empty out, but he stayed there, heaving long after even the bile and acid stopped coming.
He wouldn't be eating before he went to sleep tonight. He might be lucky if he slept or ate ever again.
When he was finished vomiting, he stayed on the floor of his bathroom, trembling too much to trust his legs to support him.
That was a memory he had just relived, but not one of his own. That one was one of Koe's memories, spilling over into Ryou's awareness just like he said they would. It was a memory Ryou had no idea existed until it came crashing over him all at once. There was no haze hanging over it, no confusion as to who was looking through his eyes at the time.
Koe had to have been in complete control. He'd taken full possession of Ryou's body without him even being aware of it, gone to Pegasus and…
Ryou's stomach spasmed again. All that came up was saliva.
Pegasus was dead. There was no question of that, no room to doubt Maximillion Pegasus was dead, the Millennium Eye dug out of his skull and a replica left on the table before him.
It wasn't left with the expectation that it would fool anyone, Ryou knew that. It was left in a mocking way, as though to compensate the dead man for what he'd lost.
It took some time before Ryou could convince himself to stand, to go back to his living room where the Eye lay in a corner, staring sightlessly into the room.
He should pick it up, put it somewhere, hide it. What if Yugi or the others visited and saw it, how could he possibly explain? He supposed he could always say it was the replica, but that lie would come apart the moment anyone handled it.
He didn't want to touch the thing. He had a suspicion that if he did then he might remember even more of what Koe had done while in his body.
Instead of the Eye, his hand went to the Ring, still tucked safely beneath his shirt. It had grown warm laying against his body, giving the impression of its own life.
"Koe," he croaked, then cleared his throat. "Koe," he called again, his voice reverberating in the empty apartment. "Koe! What did you do? You lied to me back on the island! You said that you wanted to help me and my friends, that you wouldn't hurt anyone. But this," he glanced at the Eye. "This proves you were lying to me. You killed Pegasus, stole the Millennium Eye. You haven't changed at all, Koe!"
Not true, Yadonushi, Koe finally answered. I have changed, and for the better. I've already done so much to help all of you. You will see soon.
"Help us?" Ryou was beginning to feel a little hysterical, a feeling which was not helped by the very certain knowledge that he was speaking aloud to someone who wasn't there. "You call murder helping us? How does Pegasus' death 'help' any of us?"
The Eye, Koe said. I had to take the Eye from Pegasus.
Ryou looked over at the golden orb again. He tried not to think of the last time he had seen it, where only the design on one side had been visible as part of a face. It hadn't quite seemed like an artifact, then, just a part of Pegasus. Even now it was a little hard to shake the impression that he was staring at a body part lying on his living room floor.
"Why," he whispered, forcing down another wave of nausea. "Why did you have to take it from him? What do you want to use it for?"
Not me. The spirit of the Millennium Puzzle. I cannot say why just yet, but I know a time is coming when he will need all of the Millennium items together. All seven, it would seem. Now there are three all close to each other. Koe paused for a moment. Even you know this on some level, Yadonushi. The thirst for knowledge compels you, but that is not all. You have been touched by one - by more than one Millennium item. You can feel the pull of the rest, the need to seek them out.
He wanted to deny it, but he could feel the truth of what Koe said. Even now there lay a kind of itch, a restless feeling that he ought to be moving, seeking out the next Millennium item. Perhaps the Key, as he at least had a name to use as a clue to finding it: Shadi.
"But… Did you have to kill him? Couldn't you have asked him for it? Or… or forced him to give it to you somehow if he wouldn't give it up?"
Ryou felt a small jolt of surprise at his suggestion of force, but ignored it. If it meant Pegasus would still be alive, then he would agree to less friendly means of acquisition.
I did not intend to kill him, Yadonushi. I only intended to take the Eye. Even when he struggled, I did not mean for him to die. But he had bonded too closely with his item. You know he had the Eye for seven years? Seven years of being in constant contact, of using its powers nearly every day. I didn't take that bond into consideration. It was the forced separation that killed him.
Ryou stilled. It was the separation from the Eye which had killed him? Koe had mentioned a bond between himself and Ryou, and Ryou had come to think something very similar existed between Yugi and the spirit of the Puzzle. Had Pegasus had something like that with the Eye? Did another spirit reside in the Eye? Yugi said he had the Puzzle for eight years, even longer than Pegasus. If he were ever forced apart from his Puzzle, would he also die, or was it the constant use over years that did it? Yugi had held the Puzzle for nearly a decade, but had only solved it recently.
And what about him? He'd had the Ring for six years, and he had worn it daily in that time.
Would he die if the Ring were taken from him, or if Koe were stripped away? Was he trapped with the spirit no matter what?
"Ryou."
It took a second for him to realize he heard the word with his ears, not just on the inside of his head. He spun round so fast he almost lost his balance and found himself staring at-
Himself.
Ryou blinked, his mind a blank. It was like looking in a mirror. From the long hair all the way to the tee shirt and sweatpants, Ryou was staring at himself. And yet it most certainly wasn't him. It was like seeing the difference between Yugi and his spirit, it lay mostly in how he held himself, the way he stood, the expression on his face. There was a look in this double's eye which Ryou didn't recognize in himself at all.
It wasn't quite like looking in a mirror. It was like looking into another world, where another Ryou Bakura had lived another life and become very different from the one he knew from the inside.
His hand went to the Ring, as much to assure himself of where his own body was as to be sure of the item.
"Koe?"
His doppelganger smiled. It wasn't like the smiles Ryou had seen himself give in photos. More of the illusion that he was speaking to himself crumbled away.
He shivered, his nails digging into his palm as he made a fist, hanging on to his courage. "Who are you, spirit? Who were you before you were trapped?"
Koe shrugged. Even that looked strange to Ryou, not quite right. "You already know that. A thief, a survivor, a prisoner. You have seen for yourself who I was in life, you've lived my memories as though they were your own." A brief smile flickered across his face. "Were you not paying attention?"
Even the voice was subtly wrong. Ryou had heard himself on recording before and knew what he sounded like. Koe was using the voice of Ryou Bakura, but it came out as someone else, someone older, stronger and… someone more ruthless.
Ryou shook his head, wrapping his arms around himself. He bowed his head, hiding the double from view with a curtain of hair, as though that could block out reality. But this wasn't reality, was it? It couldn't be. He was dreaming, for years he had been dreaming all of this up and would surely one day wake. Or he'd long ago gone insane, and was either raving at shadows or raving in a ward somewhere. Being insane would be so much easier to accept than that all of this was real. His reality.
"Ryou."
He jerked his head back up. Koe was much closer than he had been before. Too close for comfort, yet somehow Ryou didn't dare to try backing away. He stood his ground, trembling.
Koe was looking at him intently in the eye - with Ryou's eyes. The impression that he was looking into himself, his fractured soul seeking out pieces of itself settled into his mind. He wished he hadn't thought of it. It made him dizzy on top of everything else.
"You feel as though it's all bad," Koe said thoughtfully. "But… Hasn't your life gotten a little better, a little easier, since I've become a part of it?"
Ryou gasped and nearly fell backwards. The mirror image of himself had snuck a hand under his shirt, all without breaking eye contact. Ryou hadn't noticed until fingertips were resting lightly on his belly.
They were cold fingertips, and so was the palm that Koe pressed into him. The chill slid up his abdomen, feeling strangely unreal for something that also felt solid. Ryou began to shake everywhere, his cheeks heating up as he kept his eyes locked on Koe's, as Koe's hand continued its path upwards…
There was a gentle tug on Ryou's neck; the cord for the Millennium Ring. Koe had hooked a finger through the Ring beneath his shirt and given it a little jerk. Koe smiled at him. "Since the Ring found its way to you, its true owner?"
Ryou took a breath, unable to help the thought that in this case 'ownership' seemed to go both ways. He wondered if it was a thought Koe heard.
"Better," he managed after a minute. "You made me into a liar. A thief. A killer. How is that better?"
Koe looked surprised. For a moment Ryou thought he might be angry and braced himself for whatever might come of that, but no. Instead of anger, Koe gave a brief nod and bowed his own head. His hand dropped away from Ryou, as cold as ever, and yet Ryou felt colder still with its absence.
"I see why you would view it so. Yadonushi, Pegasus was very far from a good man. You know some of what he was capable of, but believe me when I tell you that he was capable of much more besides. He was no stranger to murder himself, nor to other crimes, some even worse. Kidnapping, blackmail, manipulation, the taking and using of others' souls to his own selfish ends… I did not intend his death, but do not doubt that he was undeserving of life."
Koe believed what he was saying. Ryou could feel the force of his conviction clearly, as well as see it in his face and hear it in his voice. He truly believed Pegasus deserved to die and felt no remorse for his lose. Because of the link between them, Ryou felt it all as though the emotions were his own. He had to concentrate to keep them separate, to remember his own convictions and not allow them to be drowned by Koe's.
"He may not have been a good person," Ryou said slowly, "but he was still human. He couldn't have been completely bad. He loved his wife so much. He loved her and mourned her loss terribly. It was really what started him along the path he wound up on, why he did all he did - to get her back. Surely that proves he deserved a second chance?"
"You think so?" Koe's voice was low, a dangerous edge to the words. Ryou noticed that his stance had changed slightly, gone rigid. Ryou's heart beat faster.
"Do you really think that, Yadonushi?" The words were barely more than a snarl. "You believe that intentions count more than actions, that a noble end can justify or even legitimize an abhorrent means?"
Koe looked up, and Ryou did finally take a step back when he saw the look in his eye. "Pegasus took the souls of living humans in the hope of bringing back one dead one. Had they been willing sacrifices, then it might be defensible, but they weren't." Koe took a step towards Ryou, closing the gap the boy had put between them. "The stealing of souls is worse than murder, Yadonushi," he said lowly. "By their theft and eventual destruction, he would have been denying them their immortality."
Ryou swallowed, trying to think of some way to respond, but no words would come. Koe sneered. "Who was he to decide how a soul was to be used, or that it should be used at all?"
A flicker of memory, an old one that smelled of heat and sand, tugged at Ryou. He couldn't quite bring it close or see why it had chosen to wake just then, but it left him with the very definite impression that Koe was not speaking only of Pegasus.
When Koe looked him in the eye again he was calmer, but there was still an angry tilt to his brows, in his shoulders.
"You are tired, Yadonushi. It has been an exhausting tournament."
He reached out and touched his cheek with an icy finger. "Sleep, Ryou Bakura."
…
When Ryou woke he had no way to confidently sift through his memories. How much of what he remembered was real, and how much had been dream? Had Koe possessed him as he slept? Had he dreamed the whole experience?
Was what he was experiencing now real, or a dream?
When he went to check for the Millennium Eye, it was gone, and Ryou couldn't find it when he went searching. He thought about asking Koe where it had gone, but decided against it. He'd spoken with the spirit enough for a while, whether asleep or awake.
Still feeling exhausted, Ryou went back to bed. He could only hope he would be the same person when he woke.
…
A/N2: If you haven't read the manga, then there are a few things that are probably a bit different from what you remember at this point.
Pegasus: In the original manga, Pegasus died. He never came back later to hang out with our main characters as a reformed good guy. Ah, well. I liked that guy.
Yadonushi: Pretty sure we covered this already, but - 'Yadonushi' is the name Yami Bakura uses to refer to Ryou, and it means 'landlord.' However, this particular word can also mean 'host,' both in the sense of a host of a home and one harboring parasites. Charming.
Koe: From what I understand, this is the word Ryou uses to refer to Yami Bakura in the original Japanese, and it translates as 'voice.' (coughKherucoughparallelscough)
Meikyû brothers: In the anime they were called Para and Dox (haha) making the Paradox brothers. They were fairly pathetic villains in the anime and more or less useless in the manga as well, but they did have one interesting role. That being offering up an impossible riddle for the mains to solve, after which they would… I dunno, be left to die underground. (Probably get dragged back up to the surface, but you never know in this series just how deadly the games are likely to get.) The riddle was mostly the same in the manga, but Yami Bakura helped slightly in solving it.
Mokuba: It was an addition of the anime that Yami Bakura wanted to use Mokuba as a new vessel because he had no soul, as Ryou's body did. I thought about bending my 'manga continuity' rule to include this, but decided against it.
Yamis: As I'm fond of pointing out, in the original manga, Yami Yugi was a scary dude. I went through and counted up the deaths that could be attributed to him in the original run (before the turn of the plot to focus on Duel Monsters) as well as people driven to insanity by his penalty games. It was pretty high for a supposed hero. The original focus of Yu-Gi-Oh! was meant to be horror rather than long running card game advert, and it shows in the early issues. Because of this, Yami Yugi and Yami Bakura are not nearly so far apart in character as later issues and traditional narrative would have you believe. Me being me, I take perverse delight in bringing this to the fore and twisting it to my own nefarious purposes. Because I can.
Eye: The Millennium Eye was definitely taken by Yami Bakura. The scene in which Ryou discovers this was heavily inspired by a scene in the doujinshi Please BE DEAD but by LECHE. I have a weakness.
Tendershipping: The ship of Yami Bakura x Ryou Bakura. Tendershippers may rejoice in the tiny bit of fanservice that made it into this chapter. I personally ship just about every combination of Bakura and Yugi (and goddammit, YGO for making it so that there's more than one combo, what with multiple spirits and reincarnations…) and I'll be indulging in a few of them to various degrees throughout the story. This was the first real glimpse of that.
The next chapter is going to have some additional warnings due to some graphic material, so be prepared and take care of yourselves, guys.
Thanks for reading and have a safe New Year, everyone!
