Authors Note:   {thoughts heard}

Ryou

I spent the better part of two days in and out of consciousness. I was missing school now, and that was a concern (my dark half had mutilated me late Sat/early Sun. I first discovered it Sun. afternoon). Yami Bakura was not happy with me. He was eager to try out the powers of the eye. I tried to explain to him that I was too weak for him to be able to do much. He responded with harsh words and abuse. He was particularly fond of hitting me in the face. I supposed that he enjoyed watching me cower. Didn’t he know that if he kept hitting me there that the eye would never heal? Maybe he did. Maybe that was his plan all along. Keep me suffering.

He eventually let up when he tried to possess me and discovered that my body was every bit as uncooperative as I was. He didn’t like it though. He seemed to think that it was MY fault I was hurt. He was restless and decided use his false form for a bit of mobility. He used his energy to create the body, and when it ran out, he returned to me for rest until he was strong enough to do it again. I had no problem with this. It gave me some time away from him.

On one such occasion when he was wandering around, I found I had strength enough to get out of bed and move about. I quietly walked to my bedroom door and closed it. My yami was out there and I didn’t want him to know I was awake. I went to the bathroom adjacent to my room (not the same one I was in earlier) and examined myself in the mirror. Seeing that eye gazing back at me from my reflection didn’t get any easier. Yami Bakura had really done a number on me. My face was quite bruised and very sensitive. There was a little blood around the millennium eye which I gently washed away. Believe it or not, blood used to make me sick. That was before I met my yami. It’s amazing how much I had grown used to it now.

I walked over to my bedroom window and looked out. It was a beautiful day. From my vantage point, I could see over my neighbors’ fence. They seemed to be having some kind of party or reunion. There were a lot of people. I was slightly curious about the goings on over there. I wondered if they were having fun. It had been so long since I had had fun.

My face suddenly felt warm. I didn’t think much of it at first. It was probably just the sunlight. Then it hit me.

{Why did I come; I don’t recognize him; did she announce her pregnancy; this fish is awful; that guy is really cute; I wonder if anyone will notice my haircut; it’s so hot!}

The voices came slow at first, but they quickly built up. I desperately looked around for their source. My head felt like it was going to explode. Where were these voices coming from? Why wouldn’t they stop?

{I wish Mom hadn’t made me come; what time is it; there are too many people here…}

I screamed and covered my ears. It didn’t help any. I couldn’t block them out. I fell to my knees and screamed again. Yami Bakura came running. He said something, but I couldn’t distinguish his voice from the dozens of other voices. There seemed to be more voices now.

{What’s his problem; has he lost his mind; weakling; can he even hear me;}

Voices. So many voices. I couldn’t make any of them out anymore. They all mixed together into one screaming force. “Make them stop!” I yelled. “Make them stop!”
 
 
 

Yami Bakura

I heard Ryou scream from his room. Good. If he was strong enough to scream then…

Ryou cut off my thoughts with another scream. Something was wrong. My millennium items could have been in danger. I ran to his bedroom only to find him on his knees with his head in his hands, screaming at the top of his lungs. I looked around but couldn’t find the source of his distress.

“What the hell is wrong with you?!” I yelled at him. What was his problem? Had he lost his mind? Weakling…could he even hear me?

“Make them stop!” he screamed. “Make them stop!”

“Make who stop?” Ryou continued to cringe. I lost my tolerance and grabbed him by the front of his shirt and pulled him to his feet. “What’s your problem?!”

He acted as if he didn’t hear me, but instead of fighting me, he held on to me. He put his hands on my shoulders to balance himself. I was so shocked by his sudden bravery (he never dared to touch me before), that I didn’t even think about punishing him for it. I let go of him. For the first time, Ryou looked up.

He truly was a pathetic site. Black and blue and wet with tears. The expression on his face was desperate. He seemed to be pleading with me. What could have troubled him so that he looked to ME for help? Then I saw it. The millennium eye! It was glowing! Could Ryou have activated it? Was it possible?

“Please…” he cried. “Make…them…stop…” He went limp and fell against me. As an involuntary reaction, I caught him. Ryou’s head rolled around like a rag doll’s. Frankly, I didn’t know what to do with him. I was still in shock. What exactly had just happened? I realized that I was still holding him and I jumped back as if he were a snake. Without me to support him, he fell to the floor. The eye was no longer glowing.

I regained myself. Well, it seemed that my other had accidentally tapped into the powers of the millennium eye. Apparently, he couldn’t control it. They eye was a force that shouldn’t be taken lightly. It had overwhelmed him. But now…

I grabbed his shoulder and shook him, but to no avail. “Oh, he’s out of it again!”

Damn Ryou. Now I knew the eye worked and I still couldn’t use it. If only he would stop passing out. Damnit!

My anger renewed, I turned and left him there on the floor. He got himself there, he could get himself up. It occurred to me, though, that I would have to find someway to help him control those powers. I couldn’t have Ryou screaming his head off every time we went after a millennium item. Especially when Yugi was my next target…
 
 

Authors Note: Wow, I’m having fun with this… Angst, I love it. They early chapters were really about defining the plot and so on. Now we can get into some action. Heh, heh…