Ryou

Well, at least if Yugi had detention with me, I wouldn’t be alone. Not that it would make cleaning the gum off the bottom of the desks any more pleasant, just more tolerable.

I was debating with myself about whether I should tell Yugi about the eye and Yami Bakura, or not. Detention would be a perfect time, and I really wanted to talk to someone. Maybe Yami Yugi could help. Now that I could block out Yami Bakura, I could talk to Yugi with less of a risk.

But there was still a risk. There was always a risk. I might let something slip, and if I did, if Yami Bakura found out, there would be no help for me. There were other things, too. Telling Yugi would make me feel better, but I would just be pushing my problems onto him. I’d make him worry and stress. And I wasn’t sure how Yugi would take the knowledge that I was a murderer. He was really the only friend I had. He might understand, but then, he might not…

That settled it. I would deal with this without involving Yugi. No sense in making my problems his problems.
 
 

Yugi

Bakura and I were stuck staying after class. The teacher found the most disgusting jobs for us, but at least she didn’t stay hovering over us. We were left alone. I could tell that Bakura had something on his mind. I thought about asking him about it, but Yami Yugi advised against it.

<It is best not to pressure him.> he said. <If he thought it best to tell us, I think he would have already.>

I guess he was right. No doubt Yami Bakura had intimidated Bakura into silence. If I showed any signs of suspicion, it would be Bakura to suffer. So I said nothing.

Bakura was quiet, too. It was an odd, awkward quiet. The silence was deafening. I had to say something.

“So, you get any good cards lately, Bakura? I haven’t seen you at Grampa’s shop in a while.”

He looked thoughtful. “I haven’t really had time for Duel Monsters lately,” he replied.

“Oh…, that’s too bad,” I sympathized.

“It’s the least of my problems,” he said. I thought he was going to add something to this, but he said no more and seemed to regret what he had said. I gave up trying to make conversation and we spent the rest of our sentence in silence.
 

Yami Bakura

Something was going on with Ryou. Even for a dolt like him, his mind was amazingly blank. I heard a few mindless thoughts every once in a while, but that was it. Every time I questioned him about it, he just said that he had dozed off or spaced out. I could find nothing in his mind to prove otherwise. All the old memories were there as they had always been and I could access them freely. But there was almost nothing new. Could Ryou be keeping something from me? Was he capable of that? I had always been able to overpower his will before. I didn’t see how he could be keeping me in the dark now. I supposed I must have just been paranoid. I could feel an impending confrontation with Yami Yugi coming and I was concerned. Not worried, just concerned. Even though I had several advantages (I don’t know if I would count the eye, seeing as I couldn’t use it very well), Yami Yugi was not to be underestimated. That was one way I had messed up last time, and it almost cost me an eternity in the Shadow Realm. Almost.

With this impending threat, it was more important now than ever that I master the eye, but I had to make a decision. If I used the nights to experiment and seceded, my magic abilities would outweigh that of Yami Yugi, but it would leave Ryou’s body weak. He would take longer to finish healing and his weakened state would leave me at a physical disadvantage. But what were physical abilities in a shadow game anyway? I stood too much to gain. I would train with the eye for as long as I could. When I would feel confident enough, I would seek out Yugi. Better to surprise him than to have him surprise me.

Ryou protested my intentions, saying that he could not handle that much of a drain on his energy, not that I had asked his permission. I had grown tired of his boldness. Now that I had decided to forfeit keeping his body strong anyway, I no longer worried about hurting him. I formed my false form for a few moments just to put him in his place. I was stronger now anyway, so it wasn’t so much of a drain on my energy. I added a few bruises to his already impressive collection and I very nearly broke his arm. He didn’t protest anymore.
 
 

Ryou

Yami Bakura had me pinned face down on the floor of my home. His knee was pressed in between my shoulder blades and he had all his weight upon me. He held my left arm at a very painful angle behind my back. He kept applying pressure to it and making me scream. He had already beaten me up quite a bit. My nose and lip were bleeding and I was sure I had a black eye. He had gone so long without hitting me that I guessed he felt he had to make up for lost time.

“I DO NOT REQUIRE YOUR PERMISSION TO DO ANYTHING!!” he bellowed. “ I HAVE POWER OVER YOUR LIFE AND YOU WILL RESPECT THAT. YOU ARE A LOWLY DOG AND I AM THE MASTER. DO YOU UNDERSTAND?!”

“Y-yes,” I stammered, spitting out blood.

He applied pressure to my arm again and I screamed. I thought it was about to pop out of its socket.

“YES WHAT!”

“Yes, m-master,” I cried through the tears and blood. “Yes, master!”

He roughly released me. I lay there on the floor, cowering and cradling my injured arm.

“When will you learn that I am not to be questioned?” he asked. I wasn’t sure if I should answer. A swift kick to the ribs told me that he expected a response.

“I’ve learned, master, I’ve learned. I did not mean to question your judgment.” He seemed satisfied. He gave me one last scowl before returning to his soul room, but he wasn’t going to be there for long. I could already feel him creeping up on my conscience. It was best not to fight it. I couldn’t fight it. My yami was right. I didn’t have the strength. I was weak. I was nothing…

This was the beginning of absolute hell for me. Yami Bakura no longer hesitated to put me in my place should I step out of line. I had been foolish to think that being able to hide a few thoughts from him was a ray of hope. It did me no good. Having that one hope prove worthless made it all the worse. But I still did not let him know of the millennium eye activating in school or my considering asking Yugi for help. No point in giving him more reason to cause me pain. But there was no hope anymore. No hope at all…
 
 

Author's Note: What a depressing way to end the chapter. Poor Ryou’s spirit has been broken.