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The heavy headphones clicked with a sound he could only describe as glossy, like a well oiled mechanism.
He expanded the headband, then let it recoil within his hands, like reopening a muscle or clam moments after you killed it by forcing it open the first time.
It was a nervous stim, a way to waste time that he did not have to put words to. Words, spoken even in his own mind, could still betray his metaphorical hiding spot to the devil. And so words needed to be buried by repetitive brain dead movements, like a lab rat that has given up on the maze and yet found themselves too hypnotized to cease walking.
He tried to ignore the feelings of hope and futility mixing into a coagulated smoothie that solidified into a slimy viscous curd of anxiety in his gut. If he thought too closely on it, the words would hammer divots into his brain spelling out how such an obvious solution was ripe to be clocked, that he was a fowl in an open field.
The other’s emotions were unpredictable, but in a weirdly rigid way. His volatility had ebbs and flows, a pattern that was clearly there but too complex for Ryo to pick up on them.
Even so, simple meditation tracks meant to lull him into a peaceful sleep felt like something that would surely rouse the spirit’s attention. He might be amused, or he may think it was time that Ryo learned another lesson for his transgressions. It was all a flip of a rusted coin.
The spirit’s anger was amorphous. If it wasn’t Ryo may have been able to do some damage control, maybe even have some agency over his life.

No. Not even in his hauntings was there any luck to be had, and so futility took the form in weak attempts at defense. The cover of the cd player clicked up, like the door to the electric chair’s room.

Ryo felt the scraping nails of a migraine line up perfectly with the grooves they left last time, right behind his brow bones. Ryo slipped the headphones over his ears, and laid back against his bed. Sat down in the eclectic chair, without much fight.

The cd clicked in, muffled by the foam rings. The cover slid into place, and he pressed play with no fan fair.
Analogue sounds of the disk starting to spin were easily drowned out by the hammering of blood spurting forcefully in his temples. Ryo closed his eyes, and focused on the patterns that ebbed in the darkness of his sealed flesh. The blocks of light weaved in seeming sync with the music that sounded off only seconds later.
Chimes, then wind instruments to create what was surely meant to be a balmy breezy atmosphere. All wildly effective to anyone with normal things keeping them up at night.

Exams, maybe even taxes. School, work, finding a good excuse to use on your doctor when they see you’ve only increased your energy drink intake. Maybe even the stress of overcoming an illness… all normal crises he would opt for in a heartbeat. Anything over having to fathom just how many shades of red blood could take on in different lighting.

Ryo’s heart rate spiked, and he was unable to conclude the thought neatly. He felt as though his pulse was lifting him up from the sheets.

The other had demanded his gratitude the moment he returned control over the body to Ryo. The boy hadn’t enough time to register the exact reason his classmate was screaming before he gave into the demand out of fear.
The shift back into consciousness happened so fast, leaving Ryo unaware of where he was, his vision still hazy. All he registered was how wet everything looked. A dark wetness, one that sometimes looked brown, sometimes burgundy. The boy in front of him appeared as though his clothes were soaked in a black ink, the dim lighting of the room failing to give Ryo the full picture. He reached out to Ryo, a lunge to seize him. Instinct made the cloudette stumble back away from him.
The next thing the spirit told him was to run.
Run through the door he left open for him, and keep the gloves on or else they might find our fingerprints.

Our fingerprints.

Ryo hated that he obeyed.

The musty coppery stench was forcibly pushed from his nostrils with the thickness of the cold winter air assaulting him as soon as he was outside the door. A scenario flashed against the inside of his eyelids- He was seated in the front of a crowded plane cabin, right when the escape door was forced open. The pressure of the vacuum ripping the air from his lungs.
That is how the cold felt, like a near outlandish what if. Relief from stuffiness in the form of a lack of breath altogether.

Ryo couldn’t even make out who it was that his other had left on the floor.  His face was masked by the shadows, the liquid and his own grimace.

Is the music working? The uncanny voice chimed. Ryo hadn’t even realized that he tuned out the music entirely.
The boy winced and rolled over, burying himself in the covers like that could somehow create a barrier from the spirit.
It really is insulting that you are never happy when I clean up for you. Why did I ever bother?

The nails of his migraine were now racking across the inside of Ryo’s brow bone, scraping the surface and breaching into his eyes. He ripped the head phones off, and stuck his arm out from beneath the cover to drop them to the floor.

Didn’t you want to switch schools? This one felt ill fitting.
Ryo heaved a heavy breath, shaking on the exhale.
Answer me.
“No.”
Heh.

Ryo left the tv distinctly black and powerless that morning. The spirit jangled at his rib cage, like an insolent toddler with demands to see the news.

Ryo ignored him for the most part, moving like a ghoul across his small kitchen apartment. Setting on a pot of water for tea he was likely to leave cold and forgotten, the cloudette sat finally at the compact table. “I don’t care to watch the news right now.” He mumbled breathlessly.

Oh? I can’t help you evade the police if we don’t check in.

“Okay.” Ryo answered listlessly.

Oh?

Ryo pointedly ignored him after that. The kettle started to howl, yet he made no move to stand up.

Snow pattered onto the panes of glass in his bathroom. Ryo only vaguely registered them. The scent of the antiseptic…. Felt like greeting an old friend. One bred from mutual codependency, but a friend nonetheless.

The blood on the blobs of cotton turned brown wherever the medical substance did not drench the material. Despite this, the boy continued to dab at the wounds left by the ring’s piercing prongs with the same cotton ball.

“How many times can you reopen the same scars before I get seriously hurt?” he asked with a hollow lilt.

I am being sparring and careful. Ultimately, that is up to you.

“I could end up so injured that I am uninhabitable.” Ryo countered, brushing away a gelatinous coagulation.

I would black you out before it got to that point. Don’t worry.

Ryo flinched. Words like that felt almost… He shook his head to clear the thought. The other trying to forge an emotional dependency in Ryo was nothing unfamiliar. It’s just his methods that shifted form over time.

Is school canceled? Because of the snow?

Ryo grimaced. The question almost felt like a parent chatting idly over the breakfast table. “No. Because you killed a student.”

But it would be canceled due to the snow if not that. Either way you have a day off. What do you plan to do?

“Nothing.”

I’ll take the body for the day then.

“No.”

Hmm?

“Please no.”

Then do something.

The bell chimed with a sharp sour sound, like the first sip of tea that was way over brewed. Ryo’s breath stuck in his throat.

The shop’s owner locked eyes on the boy, brow knitting immediately like the fabric of a knit when one loose thread is pulled abruptly.

“Mr Bakura, shouldn’t you be home?” Mr Kato said sternly.

The boy stiffened, shifting his bag from his shoulder to lay it on one of the hobby shop’s tables. “If I had stayed home, I would have gone mad.” He said quietly.

The middle aged man’s face smoothed out a degree. “Yes… we are all perplexed over Hayashi… his brother keeps pointing fingers as his best friend. Apparently there was some drama in the group over a shared crush, but is that really a motive for- for that? You all are far too young to even think of something so grotesque…”  Mr Kata paused to gather himself. “They aren't even really sure what happened, and they haven’t even moved poor Hayashi’s body yet.”

Oh really? They left him in a puddle?

Ryo winced, and slowly unzipped his pack.

“I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to get gory.” The shop keep sighed. The spirit laughed again at the other’s threshold for gore, distracting Ryo from giving a reply.

“You know you aren’t scheduled today right Bakura?”

Ryo smoothed a hand over his face, digging the palm into his eye. “A busy mind is less likely to wander. I would like to pick up whatever slack there is if that is alright?”

There was a paternal softness to the man’s eyes when his shoulders went lax. “Alright. That sounds fine. We got the shipment of paints early. Would you like to organize them? You can be creative with it if you would like.”

In all honesty, all Ryo would

like

to do was to curl up in a ball under the snow drifts along the road.

“I would, yes.” Ryo murmured instead. “Do you mind if I make a scheme for the organization?”

“Have at it kiddo.” Kato smirked, rounding the counter to head back to the store room for the flat of paints.

Ryo collapsed into his chair immediately upon being left “alone” again.

Which one was Hayashi again?

The spirit asked with a morbid and saccharine casualness.

Ryo’s throat tightened. He took a breath as if he were to answer aloud like at home, before answering in their shared mind space.

You can’t even have the remorse to know the name of the child…

The spirit sneered.

He didn’t seem like much of a child to me, not with the threats he was dolling out to you.

Ryo winced.

Hayashi. Bleached hair, over bleached and porous. Blamed me for his crush’s disappearance, because I rejected her…

The spirit cackled.

Yes, you were harsh on that girl.

Ryo’s breath hitched.

I didn’t mean to be. She wouldn’t stop touching my hair. She followed me everywhere.

The spirit hummed an eerie hum, almost akin to a lullaby. Kato creaked the store room door back open, handling the flat of paints into the main display room of the shop.

She followed you home once.

The other murmured quietly, somehow sounding in only one of Ryo’s ears.

Ryo sat up straight all at once.

“Hm? Are you that excited to get to the display, Ryo?” Kato asked with a gentle playfulness.

Ryo played along with the convenient alibis, moving to take the offered flat of merchandise.

I don’t remember her following me home.

Ryo could hear the spirit of the ring take a long, relaxed inhale.

You’re welcome.

The insides of the boy’s brow bones scraped with invisible nails once again. He set the flat of paints down carefully beside the destination of the display.

Once his back was turned from the shop owner, his brow knitted painfully.

What did you do to her?

Cruel.

The spirit faux moped.

You make me sound so guilty. Do you think I killed that poor girl?

The cloudette winced, feeling the prongs of the ring go cold against his rib cage.

Yes..

He thought helplessly.

If I did it would have only been for your sake. You did ask her to leave you be… many times. Right?

The spirit mused.

Like colors within tiny jars marred together to create an ugly pukey brown in Ryo’s watering eyes.

Just tell me what you have done.

Calm. Down. I merely relocated her.

The spirit huffed.

Ryou breathed in a deep breath to soothe his nerves.

The spirit continued blithely.

Yes, anything she chose to do beyond the drop off is on her.

The air in the gym the following day was morbidly hot and stale, even with the winter heaters cranked up as high as they could possibly go. Ryo was not oblivious to the eyes racking over him during the memorial service.

Ryo. The seemingly docile exchange student that riled up the boys that were trying their best to change. The boy that rejected the darling art club president only for her to runaway, seemingly vanishing off the face of the planet.

It all felt like the plot of a gritty psychological horror flick, not a highschool drama.

Darling Inoue Emi… and that brute Hayashi… one missing, one beyond. The former best friend turned rival seething in the front row, and Ryo; the catalyst of it all. Not many eyes were consistently on the speaker of the service.

I can take care of Hirutani too if he decides to get too close.

The spirit whispered in Ryo’s ear. The cloudette pointedly ignored him.

Just as well. I think he has other plans anyway. I heard murmurs that he wants to rebuild his old middleschool gang, but one of his prized members refused him.

Ryo shifted uncomfortably in his spot. While he did try his best to be discrete, several girls eyed him distastefully. A few of them he could recognize as members of Emi’s circle.

Please stop talking to me.

He pleaded with the spirit.

Hmmm? Eager to mourn the boy that swore to tear out your veins? That is what he was saying when I had you black out you know. Such a dramatic boy. I doubt he would have the technical knowledge to pull off such a craft.

Ryo’s eyes burned.

Please, stop.

Ungrateful brat. I saved your damn life.

Ryo had to restrain himself from answering aloud. Instead he stood still as a statue, until the ceremony ended. The chill of the rings’ prongs made his blood run cold despite the stuffy stale air.

Snow filtered back onto the recently plowed and salted road before Ryo slowly. Somehow the air in the bus stop shelter was colder than the air of the open winter, chilling the sweat from the gym into a frigid vice along his back.

The ring was barren and silent the moment the service concluded.

It wasn’t fair.

Peace and respite from the spirit was never left sacred, always turning to fear and anxiety not long into the quiet. It wasn’t uncommon for Ryo to break the silence first, like an innocent child apologizing to their parent after they were stricken, afraid they were the one out of line.

The siren of temptation to offer the olive branch of fear was becoming deafening, only drowned out by the abrupt crunch of snow to his left.

A tall muscular boy with an undercut gathered into a stout ponytail offered him a discomforting grin from the doorway of the shelter.

Ryo’s expression stayed stagnant, appearing almost serene if you were poor at context clues.

Hirutani made his way into the shelter, sitting down next to Ryo in a sprawl several degrees past manspreading. The taller boy unraveled a way to long arm along the backrest of their shared seat, training behind Ryo’s head in a silent threat.

Ryo fully expected some slithering comment, a thinly veiled promise of confrontation- and he would have certainly preferred that over the silence.

Yet the silence carried on, stiffening his spine to stone and churning his stomach to cheese.

Ryo had met his threshold a few minutes in. “Did you need something?”

Hirutani lifted his head, raising his chin into the air as if he planned to use it as a guillotine on Ryo’s neck. “Co-operation.” the brutish boy breathed.

Ryo looked down to his lap. “With what?”

Hirutani sneered. “The cops ain’t shit. And Emi doesn’t listen to any of us anymore. I think she may come out of the woodwork if you were working with us. Wherever the fuck she is… She has to know something. More than the buffoons that keep insisting it was some accident or..”

There was a split second where it sounded like Hirutani’s voice had some softness to it. Like betrayal or despair. “You know? I heard some idiots try to say Emi was the one that did it. I don’t want it to be Emi, Bakura, I really don’t.” Hirunatni asked, lulling his head down to look Ryo in the eye.

Ryo looked away and folded his hands in his lap. “I highly doubt it was her. She is persistent and assertive, but not violent. She wouldn’t do such a thing.”

Hirutani clicked his tongue. “She had access to the art club room after school. And she did poof right before he died. That’s what the kids back during the memorial were saying.”

“Shouldn’t you have more faith in your girlfriend than that?” Ryo asked mildly.

Hirutani gave pause, staring Ryo down.

Heh…

The spirit hummed.

Shush

.

“You’re right Bakura… Shame you’re scrawny.” The boy muttered, digging in his pocket for a light.

Awe, he wants you in his gang. If he wasn’t so ignorant…

Ryo damn near responded verbally.

Quiet.

“Which way are you going, Bakura?” the taller of the two unwittingly cut back in.

“South” Ryo said simply. “I need to pick some things up for dinner.”

Hirutani raised a brow. “Do that yourself, hmm?”

Ryo spoke without thinking. “I have to, I live alone.”

There was a darkness to the other’s kindness. The threat laced between the coins as Hirutani slid them into the machine to pay for Ryo’s fare was not lost on the cloudette. He knew well that it was some sort of play, a leash. The other making Ryo indebted to him, or maybe even just trying to seem buddy buddy with him for some sort of alibis or rainy day debt.

Either way, that new dark factor was stored away in Ryo’s brain along with all the other grimy details of the day as he exited the vehicle to crunch his feet in the gray snow.

Ryo stared down the walk to the tiny convenience store he more or less lived off of, as if one of Hirutani’s goons would peek out from the automatic doors when they slid aside. Nevertheless, the doors made way for the same sight they always did, damn too bright fluorescent lighting and the kind woman that was way too damn smart to be working there.

Even when Ryo had to move around, he still made a point to shop here- even if it were out of the way. He and the manager had made friends, and he was partial to the little homemade goods she cooked for the shop on nights he had no energy to summon forth in the kitchen.

She looked up from her book, and waved him over- though her normal casual smile was heavy. However, Rina said nothing about his classmate’s death. Ryo was deeply grateful for that. She caught on to that misfortune and bizarre circumstances stuck to Ryo like glue a year into their friendship.

Rina gave a lazy yawn, patting her mouth almost comically to make her yawn warble when he approached the counter. “Hey kiddo.” The young 30 something smiled sleepily. “Dinner groceries? Or something else this time?”

Ryo smiled softly back at her. “Dinner. Did you stay up till dawn again?”

Rina’s smile faltered. “Yeah. I did. Don’t wanna say why though, I am sure you have had enough of that for the day.”

Ryo winced, but smiled again. “Thank you.” he nodded in thanks.

“So, who was your friend just now huh? Never seen him with you before.” The woman conversed blithely. She set her law book on the shelf behind her counter before rounding the surface to join him on the main floor of the shop. She made her way to the heated displays where her homemade hot foods were displayed, and started picking through what was left for something suitable to give Ryo. Ryo had long since wondered why she gave up dreams of joining a detective agency to run her father’s konbini, until last year when his memory really dived. Being a shoulder to cry on about slowly losing a father was one of the few ways he could pay Rina back for her kindness.

The woman tsked, giving up on the display.

“Is there something wrong Miss Rina?” Ryo asked.

She quirked a brow at him. “Again, drop the miss. We are more family than anything these days.”

It wasn’t the first time she told him that, and it wouldn’t be the last. Truth be told, Ryo would love to drop the formalities and just… let himself have this slice of found family, but it was dangerous. Keeping her at a reasonable distance was safer.

Rina spoke up, digging out her apron from behind the counter. “I’ll make you something fresh. All of this has been here since morning.”

Ryo flushed and shook his head, ready to protest that it wasn’t necessary but Rina blatantly ignored him. With a swish of her inky black ponytail she disappeared into the little kitchenette behind the display, leaving Ryo to wait in the small dining bar.

“You still didn’t tell me who your friend was!” She called through the space, making Ryo jump.

“Ah- yes, er. Not a friend persay, a classmate that was headed the same way.” the cloudette stammered. Rina hummed in such a distinct tune that Ryo could see her expression in his mind’s eye.

“If you guys go home the same way, you should hang out. Or at least walk home together. I don’t like the idea of my little guy going home at night alone with some  freak on the streets.” Rina chided.

Heh. Your mother is worried about you.

Both his friend’s and his haunter’s words mixed together into something noxious in Ryo’s stomach, making him suddenly feel ill. He crossed his arms on the table and laid his head in the crook of his elbow. “I will be fine, Rina.” he murmured.

Ryo could hear her huff, even through the architecture. “I am not playing Ryo. This isn’t me nagging you to fix your bag so you don’t get old man back problems. Honestly, I have half a mind to pose as your mother and write a note into your school. With your shitty luck, I really feel sick thinking about you out there when some murderer could be wandering about. This isn’t just some bully.”

Ryo really hated how worried she sounded, how worried

he made

her feel. “I will… get some sort of self defense device.” He murmured.

You don’t need one.

“And I will look into the laws regarding absences in outstanding circumstances.” Rina said firmly, punctuated by the sizzle of something on her grill.

Ryo shot his head up. “I miss enough of the year as it is, at this rate I will be in my 20s before I graduate highschool.”

“Better old than dead.” the woman said bluntly.

The rustle of a take out bag punctuated Ryo’s head falling back into his arms. Rina rounded the display, and nudged his arm with the neatly packed hot parcel. “On the house. It’s a surprise. Don’t open it until you get home.”

Ryo rolled his head in his arms to look at her through one fringe shrouded eye.

“Don’t give me that look. I am allowed to care about you. Now c’mon, up. It’s late. You should get home.” She said, poking him a couple times.

Ryo slowly slumped out of his seat upon her command. He gathered her offered food, knowing better that to battle her on the cost or lack thereof. He then thanked her quietly and turned for the door.

“Ryo.” Rina spoke in her serious tone as he approached the door.

The cloudette looked over his shoulder with a defeated mope. Her face softened up. “Give me a quick call when you get home, kid. So I know that you are safe, yeah?”

Guilt flushed Ryo’s cheeks, and he bit his lip but nodded to her request.

----- CHAPTER BREAK -----

The clear glassy plastic clicked dully when he set the phone back down in its receiver. Ryo managed to hold it together until the end of the call with Rina, then he slumped into his couch, effectively turning it into his coffin. The shifting graphics of the screen painted his face with cold light, making his face look like one falling into rigor mortis. Unmute it. The spirit blandly demanded. Ryo was far too out of energy to refuse. The cloudette bit his lip and rolled onto his side to face the tv, knowing that would be the spirit’s next request. He left his eyes open, but let his focus go blurry so that he himself could tune out what they were seeing. The program ran through all theorized chains of events that could end with Hayashi limp in the sea of darkening burgundy that he was found in.The spirit was deathly quiet, no doubt entranced with what he had done. Ryo felt like he was going to throw up. “I am going to sleep when this program is over.” He said, trying to put his foot down. You can sleep after seeing that? Ryo winced, feeling the pressure in his abdomen push against his bottom ribs.See, you and I are not so unalike.Ryo shook his head, and rolled onto his back to stare at the ceiling instead. … Do you know why I chose that method? Ryo scoffed. “Convenience.” He muttered. Homesickness.The cloudette’s eyes blurred, and he blinked a few times to banish the dry salt blurring his lenses. “Homesickness.” he repeated. “You don’t have a home.” Everyone has a home. Ryo drew himself into a curled ball, facing away from the tv entirely. What? Don’t you believe me? You had a home once too, and a family. Ryo bit his lip to keep from yelling. “I want to go to sleep now.”Don’t ignore me. Ryo rolled over, off the couch and to his feet all at once. He seized the remote and shut off the television before storming into his room as if the other couldn’t follow him there.The sound of the phone ringing was dull at first, then sharp and piercing, like someone’s long manicured nail digging into your ear canal. Ryo glared blearily at his alarm clock to see what time it was, feeling his gut sink when he found the clock flash five am back at him in the dark. He could hear the spirit growl in the back of his mind, even more upset at the early awakening that Ryo was. The boy slumped out of bed, pulling the blanket with him to trail on the floor behind his tread. The phone stopped ringing when the timer filled out and went to voice message. The respite was just long enough to be torturous, and like clockwork, then the phone started screaming for Ryo’s attention again. His hand slapped onto the glassy plastic, like a slab of meat hoisted onto waxed paper at a butcher’s shop. He picked up the phone, almost forgetting to speak for the first couple seconds. “Hello.” Ryo struggled to get out past his drowsiness. “Bakura, about damn time.” was scolded into Ryo’s ear. Despite him and Hirutani not even being in the same building he still felt as if the other was far too close for comfort. What does that oaf want? Ryo sighed. “Good morning Hirutani.” He said with sleepy practice. “Do me a favor. Meet me in town by 7. We are going to talk.” his classmate ordered. Something was… off. Hirutani sounded… worried somehow. “I… had other plans today.” Ryo said timidly. “Not anymore kid. You’ll want to be there.” the gangster spoke bluntly into the phone. The alarm bells in Ryou’s head clattered together with the meat of his brain pinned between their metal shells. What should he say, what could he say? If he asked why he may seem suspicious or disrespectful- and he knew better than to call down fire from the other boy. A shudder ran through his vertebrae- if it had been Hirutani’s bad side he ended up on instead of Hayashi’s then things would have played out a lot more… messily. He was sure of that. “Bakura?” the other boy started to sound annoyed. “You still there kid?” Just go. I won’t let him hurt you. The obvious double meaning to the spirit’s words made the whole prospect instantaneously darker. Go. I am curious. Ryo felt like a lab rat, staring down the two starting paths of a maze he had already walked. He knew what lay at the end of each trail, neither pretty, and yet, he was not permitted to stay in the safety of his cage. His breath shook. All he wanted to do was sleep. “Where do I meet you?” he asked quietly. “That konbini you went to last night.” Hirutani answered with genuine casualness. Ryo stiffened. Oh? Does he want to meet Rina? Heh. “Why there?” Ryo asked as naturally as he could. “It’s close to me, we both know where it is. The food looked good, and you looked chummy with the owner. You can get us a deal right?” Hirutani answered, tone evident that he was starting to get annoyed. “That… is up to her. She struggles to make ends meet sometimes.” the cloudette murmured. Hirutani paused on the other end, and Ryo instantly regretted sharing that information. “I get that. Me too.” He said finally. “7. Don’t be late, kid.” Hmm. We best get moving then, shouldn’t we? The spirit crooned playfully. Ryo couldn't help but feel like the click of the phone being set back into the receiver sounded like something akin to a knife chop. The cloudette backed away from the phone as if the spirit or his classmate may morph from he plastic right in front of him. “What do you think he wants?” Hmm? Asking for help? “No! Just… talking.” We rarely simply talk. “Just answer my question… I know you have thoughts.” Ryo huffed. The boy turned to drag himself back to his room, limbs heavy with dread. He didn’t sound hostile if that is what you are afraid of. I am sure he thinks you are far too docile to be a threat. Ryo grew quiet. He knelt before his dresser and opened the stiff drawer with a dry scrape of the wood. “You haven’t killed anyone since… the first night. Why?” You are deplorably ungrateful, you know that? “Just tell me why. Normally you would trap someone, or frighten them to the point of being more or less brain dead. Why?” Ryo spoke quietly. Survival. The spirit said after great pause. His voice sounded hollow, free from his normal expressionistic venom. I told you, he intended to kill you. I took over in the nick of time, otherwise you would have felt his hands on your neck. Ryo trailed a hand to his throat, feeling his sore windpipe under his finger tips. Jealousy is a demon. Coming from me that should tell you something. “I am not going to thank you if that is what you are getting at.” The cloudette muttered. Fine. Ryo’s vision unfocused. The heavy cords of the corduroy jeans in his hands blurred to look like a smooth fabric. Ryo had arrived at the konbini’s storefront at 6:50. He slumped against the brick, his nylon jacket making an artificial zip like sound when it slid across the cold stone with his fidgets. His brown eyes scanned the passersbys for a tall boy with an undercut, but came up short for a good half hour past their agreed upon meeting time. The boy’s mind wandered along with his gaze, settling now and again on groups of friends enjoying their sundays. There was one duo in particular that stood out to him. Two teenage children around his age, a girl and a shorter boy. The boy was clearly insurmountably shy, pulled along by his friend. She sped up into something of a skipping run, the architectural cut of her brown bob swaying gracefully with her movements as she ushered the strange looking shy boy into a shop across the street. The boy looked seconds away from begging her to have mercy on him, picking some place more familiar. He looked like a sweet little outcast. Someone that Ryo could understand. All wild hair, meager stature and intricate hobbies. Ryo recognized the item that slipped from his pocket in their little parade. A game piece from a more obscure game focusing more on mind plays rather than the more modern games of chance. They used to sell parts for it at the shop he himself worked at. Kato stopped carrying it for lack of interest. It was a depressing day…. Ryo quite liked that game. One could play it alone if they so desired. The duo vanished behind the door to the dance shop, and Ryo lowered his gaze down to the concrete beneath his boots. It seems dear Hirutani got cold feet. Ryo picked himself up from the brick wall with another plasticy nylon zipping sound, ready to join Rina in the shop for some warmth. When he approached the sliding auto doors, part of him felt… sad… that the other had failed to show. It was not as if he sought out friendship with a Hirutani, but… curiosity wasn’t always rational. “Ryo! Why are you up so early? Do you work today?” His friend chimed brightly the moment she saw his mop of white hair poke into the small pond of salary men quickly grabbing their coffees. Ryo weaved his way through the gentlemen and odd lady to reach Rina’s counter. He rested his arms on the surface and exhaled the biting chill from his lungs. “No Miss Rina. I am off today.” The woman turned around, and lightly bopped him on the head with a pack of cigarettes before handing them to the bewildered buyer. “I said quit it with the miss.” “Sorry Miss Rina.” He murmured. Rina groaned loudly, taking the now thoroughly weirded out man’s money to put in the register behind her. The next customer filled the empty space he hastily provided, and set a nikuman bun and burnt coffee onto the counter. She started ringing her up immediately. “So, what are you up and out so early for then?” Rina asked efficiently between transactions. Ryo rested his head in the crook of his crossed arms on the counter, watching her handle the busy shop like a supercomputer. “I was meeting another student here to talk about, well, things.” He sighed. Rina’s current customer, a young lady just barely out of highschool and on the way to her first adult job no doubt turned curiously to spare Ryo a glace. She blinked at him a couple times, the chewing of her gum slowing to a stop. “Rintama?” she asked finally. Ryo flinched. “Er- yes. Rintama.” He answered, getting quieter with every word. “You’ve seen the news?” The woman nodded. Her face fell and she turned to Ryo, accidentally holding up the line in doing so. “You poor thing.” She said evenly. “I went there.” Ryo shrugged slightly. It wasn’t hard to believe. Rina’s shop was technically in Rintama’s district. She started chewing her gum again, turning her head abruptly back to the transaction before her with a sharp inhale. “I hate to say it, but I am not that surprised something like that could happen there. Sad? Yeah. Surprised? No. You seem like a good kid… consider transferring if you can.” With that, she took her receipt and her food and weaved her way back to the exit with a slight glance back at the kid she gave half baked advice to. Rina huffed. “She means well.” she managed. “She doesn't know you have to play hot potato with schools.” Ryo sunk his face fully into his arms. Rina reached over and poked his shoulder. “Go pick something out to eat. And a drink. On the house.” She smiled. Ryo shook his head from within his arms. He had seen the papers Rina brushed into the corner of her counter. The rent of the shop kept going up.  The guilt wouldn’t let him digest any more free food. “Ryo?” “I can pay. Just like everyone else.” He said, picking his head up to flash her a small and artificial smile. With that, he slipped from the counter to disappear in the pond of customers before Rina could fight him. When he moved to the hot food display a finger curled into the hood of his coat, jerking him back. The zipper thankfully gave, only choking him for a split second. The spike of cortisol however, would take longer than a moment to dissipate. Ryo stumbled, and looked behind himself with wide eyes. He found, Hirutani looking him down with a bored expression. “Dramatic. That didn't hurt.” The taller boy huffed. “Get your food, and come back. You’re late.” Ryo straightened himself out, hand subconsciously curling around his own throat. “I was here. I didn’t see you. I waited for you outside.” He protested calmly. “Well shit, I didn’t want to freeze my ass off. Just get your food.” Ryo carefully selected a box of prepared food from the display, as if his selection would somehow set Hirutani off. He moved to get in line and pay, feeling the whole time like there was a timer over his head. Rina sighed, handing him back his change- unwittingly sending him back to the wolf’s den at the back of the store. The walk towards Hirutani was disorienting. Ryo sat down in the seat two down from Hirutani, and set his tray of food on the bar to grow cold in front of him. “What was it you wanted to share with me?” he asked cautiously. His classmate slowed his chew, eyes flicking to glance at Ryo down the side of his own face. He swallowed as if punctuating a sentence. “Does weird shit normally happen around you Bakura?” the classmate started, ignoring the cloudette’s question. The tips of Ryo’s fingers tingled, like they were losing circulation. He laid his hands on the tray of food in front of him, moving like he planned to lift the lid when he really only wanted to steal the parcel’s warmth.  He had two options, play dumb and call the other’s bluff- risking his rage if he did the same in turn or… admit he is the common denominator in a series of strange happenings. For a moment Ryo missed the spirit’s constant voice in the back of his head- and the thought made him disgusted with himself when he caught it. Even so, he flattened one of his hands over his ribcage where the ring laid cold against his heart beat. “Yes. Often. It is why I switched to your school. I was told it was for my safety.” And just like that, he gave up the ghost. So easily too… Hirutani leaned back in his chair, eyes trained on the ceiling. His slight smirk faded. For a moment Ryo felt like maybe Hirutani was hoping he would deny it. “For your safety hmm?” Ryo’s hand slipped from the cooling package to fold into his lap instead. “One of the teachers at my last school grew hostile towards me. For one reason or another she missed a few days of school in a row. When they went looking for her they found her in her apartment … well.” he breathed to clear his mind, trying to find the right way to explain it. “She struggled with substances.” Hirutani clicked his tongue. “Sounds like the reason for her absence was pretty damn obvious.” Ryo picked at a loose thread of his sweater, pointedly keeping some information to himself. She was trying to go sober… the spirit tormented her to the point of extreme escapism. That was his current theory.The woman was sent to the hospital. Ryo was sent to a new school. Last he heard she had not been discharged yet. “Your theory that I attract trouble is true I am afraid.” Ryo conceded. “At the school before last it was bullying that had taken a violent turn.” Hirutani crumpled the wrapper from his bun. It was not objectively loud, but it was loud enough to startle Ryo. “Severe bad luck then. I already knew about your teacher. I did some digging on her.” Ryou looked up at Hirutani, studying his expression. “You did research on me?” he asked thoughtfully. “Bit yeah. Freak shit happens and people wanna know what they are dealing with. You can’t blame me can you?” Ryo’s face fell. “No, I suppose not.” “Either way, it makes things easier. We don’t share a classroom, so I didn’t know how smart you were. You knowing you have a shadow trailing you makes shit easier.” Hirutani said, digging out a cigarette. Ryo clenched his jaw with the impulse to tell him not to light it in here. “How so?” the cloudette asked calmly.Hirutani put the rolled paper between his lips. Weirdly enough he did not light it just yet. “I was gonna offer to look out for your skin. I am missing man power, but you are just one guy to keep tabs on.” Ryo leaned back in his seat, genuinely surprised and confused. “Why?” Ryo asked quietly. Hirutani’s brow knitted, and he stared down his nose at the cloudette. “What? Don’t think I am good enough of a guy to look out for a classmate?” Ryo closed his eyes, blocking out the other’s offended expression so he could answer him calmly. “Not that. We just aren’t close. A couple weeks ago I could have sworn you had nothing but distaste for me given-” “I’m gonna stop you right there.” Hirutani said dangerously. “I was never after Emi, and I didn’t see you as competition. Nip that in the bud right now.” Ryo opened his eyes, glancing at the other for an explanation. Hirutani sighed loudly. “She was my childhood friend. Like a little sister to me. The fight was because I didn’t think Hayashi was good enough for her. Never had any beef with you, you were just in the cross hairs. We clear?” Ryo took a moment to digest what the other said. “That… does clear things up. Yes.” “As for why I’m offering to protect your skin-” Hirutani stopped short, and rolled his eyes. “Listen, Emi asked me, back a while ago. She caught on to your bad luck streak too kid. It isn’t hard to find.” Ryo looked down again, unraveling the loose thread now. He used his nails like sheers to deconstruct the fibres. “I would think you would despise me, having rejected her.” “Honestly, I would have hated it more if you went out with her. I don’t want whatever curse you have rubbing off on her.” The boy said bluntly, digging out his lighter. “You say that as if you are not already worried about her..” Ryo murmured. Hirutani laughed, a loud one in the back of his throat. “Deflate your ego kid. I love the girl but she is a dramatic piece of work. You aren’t the first pretty boy she ran away over. She will show up. And like I said, she might just return to society just so she could see you again."Ryo coiled the fraying thread around one finger, then pulled it abruptly to snap it off before it could unravel his sweater further. He hoped to hell that Hirutani was right. “I have kept myself safe on my own. I appreciate your offer, but there is no need.” The flame of Hirutani’s lighter licked at the end of the paper until it caught. He took a drag then eyed Ryo down. “Maybe you are stupid. You know people blame you right?” No, that made sense. So that is why Hirutani really called him here. Ryo didn’t have much to say, so he stayed silent. “Emi runs off and Hayashi loses his shit.” Ryo looked to the side, not trusting himself to look at Hirutani any longer. “Lost his..” “Didn’t hear? They suspect Hayashi did it to himself, or got someone else to do it for him. That is what I was trying to get at before."Ryo started to pick at the skin around his nail, waiting anxiously for the voice in the back of his head. The silence was, in many ways, worse than the taunting itself. It bred the fear that already dwelled in him into a full writhing litter. “If you stick your neck out it may put you in danger. Drop it. Please.” He struggled to get out. The classmate’s eyes focused on Ryo in a deep analysis that made Ryo feel as though Hirutani could see through his very bones. The expression turned to a restrained rage only seconds later. “You think I hurt Hayashi don’t you?” The pressure in Ryo’s stomach made him feel like his voice was pulled down into the acid, and digested. Somehow he found his voice regardless. “No.” he said as clearly as he could manage, somehow pulling off a calm voice. Hirutani took the response, and leaned back with it. Ryo could see him dissecting his tone in his head. Finally, the boy stood up and took his coat off the back of his chair. “You know, people never bother to wonder why guys like me do what we do. Answer me this Bakura: if there was no one out there to keep you safe, and a couple of guys that understood offered to take you in and do just that- what choice would you make?” Hirutani took a deep breath after his words, and genuinely waited for Ryo to give him an answer. The cloudette dug his nail deep enough into his cuticle that it started to bleed. He hardly registered it. “I would… probably end up isolating myself in the end honestly.” He breathed out solemnly. “Is that what you are doing now?” The classmate asked, looking at him out of the corner of his eye. Ryo squeezed his bleeding finger in his other fist, making a makeshift tourniquet. “I guess so. I would rather that than let someone get hurt because of me.” He answered honestly. The classmate’s gaze shifted, but did not lift. “Guess that’s one way to be a man.” He muttered under his breath before throwing his coat on. Hirutani swept his garbage up into his shopping bag to take home with him, and left Ryo in the shop without a word. It was shameful to admit, but Ryo was somewhat surprised- he never regarded Hirutani as the sort to avoid littering… He waited a few minutes after Hirutani disappeared into the snow to make a move. Ryo silently gathered his untouched food, and slipped it into his shopping bag. He rolled the tray up in the plastic like a swaddled baby, mixing the contents of the tray into a semi homogenous mix that would surely disgust him whenever he opened it at a later date. Further signing the dish’s doom, Ryo tucked it into one of the pockets of his massive plasticy coat. He left the busy konbini without a word to Rina, too anxious of whatever she may have said about the exchange. The barrier between the cold of the street and the heaters of the store suffocated Ryo at the door, almost making him cough. He pulled the neck of his sweater up momentarily over his mouth, and pushed his way into the snowy street. The wait for the bus was not that long in retrospect, but winter can make any amount of time feel like an eternity. The shelter at this particular bus stop was damaged. The roof was cracked, no doubt initially from the weight of the snow- but Ryo could detect where it was picked at by students with nothing else to do during their wait. The metal bench he sat on was unbearable for the first ten or so minutes of waiting, taking its sweet time to warm up with his body heat. The boy had resorted to pulling his hood taught around his crown to keep his ears from going bright red. He sat there alone for another four minutes or so until the crunch of a couple pairs of feet echoed in the eerie quiet of the winter shrouded fiberglass shelter. He looked up only briefly, impulsive curiosity summoned by simple animal instinct. It was the pair from earlier. The girl had a few bags on her arms, and her neck scrunched into her sweater like a little bird whose feathers made them look like a fluffy little ball. The boy seemed much less phased by the cold, or rather, too distracted with his friend to register it. Ryo felt a spark of sympathy when his legs dangled from the seat upon sitting down. The cloudette turned his head back to staring at depths his own feet carved into the snow that drifted into the shelter from the wind. He heard the rustling of paper when the bags of the pair exchanged hands, the boy insisting he take them so that the girl could warm her hands in her pockets. Ryo felt a slight sting of self disgust when he caught their names, realizing he was eavesdropping. Anzu, and Yugi. The names gave him a moment of mental respite, noticing that parents had the tendency to name their children after the strangest things, his own parents not exempt from the observation. His own name could take a multitude of diverse meanings depending on the characters he chose to write it with. It was a source of teasing from the spirit. One day it was pointing out how weak of a dragon he was, the other it was teasing his honorable landlord for being named after a form of currency. On a rare day it was pointing out how far from reality the boy named reality really was. A nudge to Ryo’s arm made him jump out of his skin. He looked sheepishly with wide eyes to the girl sat beside him, noting with embarrassment how her pretty eyes held the same multifaceted intelligence that Rina’s did. The boy stared too, worry and kindness etched into his eyes. The girl held out a bundle of plastic that Ryo took a moment to recognize. His meal had slipped from his pocket, landing in the snow. The fluffy ice muffled the sound enough that he failed to realize his accidental littering, and now this woman held the plucked parcel out to him with growing concern illustrating her features. Ryo sunk further into his hood, his own features shrouded by his coat and the shadow it provided. He drew one arm from his pockets, and took the parcel back with silent apology and embarrassment. Her hand curled back from the object, but hovered without disappearing into her pocket. “Are you okay?” the boy chimed in. His voice shook a little, signalling to Ryo that this kid may just be even more shy than he himself was. Ryo nodded with a wince, resisting the impulse to get up and walk home instead. “You were swaying in your seat… Yugi and I almost thought that..” the girl, Anzu murmured. Drunk. The words she held back from saying were ‘Yugi and I almost thought you were drunk.’ Ryo could feel the words like they were tangible touch. He could drown in his own embarrassment. He clenched his jaw before answering. “N-no. Sorry. I just,... lost my appetite partway through breakfast. Blood sugar I guess.” He stammered. The stagnation of the girl’s expression clearly communicated that she didn’t quite buy his excuse. Regardless, she did eventually draw her hand back into her pocket. What a bland duo . The musing sounded in Ryo’s mind, making him flinch with the abruptness.  The bag within the garbage can crinkled grotesquely when Ryo wasted the entirety of his take out into its polymer bowels the moment he was home. He rolled words over in his brain, wondering how on earth to address the spirit’s silence. Even now, years and years into their corporeal cohabitation, he still didn’t quite understand the logistics of how their interactions worked. For so long he felt like he was nothing but a passenger, a seat warmer for when the driver wanted to take the wheel.  The spirit’s seemingly resigned attitude today put a crack in that interpretation, one just big enough that Ryo felt like he could see through it if he squinted. “Define your homesickness.” He decided that if he thought too much about it, he may end up saying nothing. So, Ryo said one of the fist things that came to mind. What are you on about? “You said you were homesick. I was baffled that you had a concept of home.” Ryo said bluntly, tossing the take out contained into his sink to rinse off next time he turned the faucet on. The boy consumed by the occult failed to recognize a roaming spirit to be previously human… The spirit mused with a clearly wounded bite. Ryo’s hand stilled on his fridge’s handle. “Previously human.” he repeated. Yes. Previously. Don’t play down your intelligence, I know you know what ghosts are. Ryo worked the fridge open, the sound of the cold preserving suction thankfully dispelling some of his inhibitions. “That is all you are? Really? A ghost?” Don’t belittle me. The cloudette smiled mildly to himself, the rare feeling of equal ground stabilizing him. “Can you move a planchette?” I am done talking to you. Ryo smirked, dare near laughed. If he were less sleep deprived he may have been alarmed by his ability to find humor in this, in the spirit, but when your restraints are anxiety a lack of awareness can leave you freer than normal. “You still didn’t answer my question.” Ryo hummed. I am not playing seance with you. “Not that. You know what I meant.” the boy said, pulling an artifice laced beverage from the fridge. The spirit was silent for a long while. Ryo sat down on his couch, opening the drink with a hiss of carbonation. He crossed his legs beneath him and dragged his book bag across the floor closer to himself. A few pages into his homework the ghost finally spoke. One of my earliest memories was also my first real exposure to death. The dark puddle left on the floor reminded me of a boiling vat. It was an old execution method. I was orphaned too. Ryo felt the surface of his skin go ice cold. First came sympathy, then empathy… then rage. He closed his eyes, willing himself still in order to keep from yelling. He wanted so desperately to throw it into the ghost’s face that he had a massive hand in leaving Ryo orphaned. And honestly? Ryo wasn’t entirely sure why he held himself back from doing so. He just… didn’t have the emotional real estate to dwell on it at that moment. On the spirit’s side, the comment thoroughly distracted his host from continuing the painful conversation.

----- CHAPTER BREAK -----

The spirit was silent for the next three days. For three days Ryo could cosplay a normal teenager.He had no idea what he was doing.On the other hand… these multitudes of quiet were much more peaceful than those that preceded them. Last week the quiet would have driven him mad. Like the fear of a hit that never comes, he would just keep flinching the moment he was sure it would come down. Each blow that failed to land made the anticipatory flinch worse than the last. This time around he just sort of… lacked things to fill the time and silence. The peace ended on the bus ride home from school, no fan fair preceding it. You didn’t switch schools yet.Ryo shifted from standing with a hand on one of the loops, to sitting in a recently freed seat. Was that your goal? He asked back thoughtfully. No. The spirit said slowly after a great pause. My goal was simply to avoid waiting for another vessel to come along. Your death would be very inconvenient for me.  The spirit explained evenly. Charming. Ryo answered blandly. His comment was followed immediately with a scoff from the spirit. Ryo rolled his eyes. What’s wrong? Cranky?The spirit did not answer for the rest of the ride home. Ryo stepped down the steps of the bus when his stop came, and trudged through the slush to the staircase of his apartment building in the snowy quiet. The jingle of his keys at his doorway almost drowned out the spirit’s confession. You are less afraid of me than before.Ryo blinked, hand stilling on the key in the lock. He lulled his head back and closed his eyes for a moment, before resuming the turn of the key. He opened his door, entered, and closed it firmly shut. “Does that really cause you to pause? I am a captive audience either way.” He said clearly and aloud. It is uncomfortable. Ryo smiled quietly to himself, though his brow gathered into a knot. The boy thrust his school bag onto the couch, relegating wednesday’s homework to be thursday morning’s problem. He trailed to his bedroom and flopped onto his bed, arm stretched to the headboard. “Well, that is unfortunate isn’t it” the boy said blithely, not entirely sure what changed either. This thing haunting him was still insurmountably dangerous, even if he now knew that he was just the consciousness of another human. Ryo should know better than most that humans can be the worst monsters. “This doesn’t mean I am comfortable with you.” he followed up. Hn. “So I guess we are both uncomfortable for once.” Hn. The ghost grunted again. Ryo rolled onto his side, sliding a catalog off his bed stand to flick through. For a few moments the only sounds between them were the flick of glossy pages and small noises of interest from Ryou whenever something in the publication caught his eye.  How much do you remember of that first night? The spirit asked quietly. Ryo dog eared the page advertising an oracle deck he was interested in, then sat up to lean back against his head board. “I remember how heavy my chest suddenly felt. How my vision went double, then blurry. I remember watching my father go insane, and I remember saying things I did not mean. Then my memory gives out all together.” Ryo explained in a thoughtful, but clipped manner. It was me. “I know that.” Ryo said with some bite. “You started talking to me shortly after a museum field trip a couple years back. On the bus ride home. Scared me to death.” You thought I was imaginary. “For a while, yes. That explanation wasn’t sustainable.” the boy confirmed under his breath. The spirit breathed in slowly, as if meditating. You were terrified of me. His voice held an air of reminiscence… but also the whisper of something else that was harder to define. Ryo didn’t grace the redundant remark with a comment. He instead reached to his nightstand for a phone book, letting the catalog slip from his lap in favor of looking for pizza delivery. The spirit huffed at the cold change in topic. He looked through Ryo at the pages, able to register what sort of thing he was looking at, even if it was a tad blurry.  Get something with meat. “Not your body.” Ryo remarked. Excuse me? Ryo leaned back, crossing his legs comfortably. “ You - are dead. I don’t need to listen to you. In fact….” In fact? The spirit spat. Ryo bit the inside of his mouth, deciding to keep that tidbit to himself upon second thought. The boy folded the phone book in half with the desired page facing up, and hopped from his bed to call in his order. Plain cheese. No meat whatsoever. The spirit realized a little too late that Ryo had taken a different bus route after school. It wasn’t until they were in a part of town he didn’t quite recognize that he started to get uncomfortable, and it wasn’t until Ryo got off the bus to wander into a hole in the wall store smelling of burning resins that the spirit started to rattle the ring for Ryo’s attention.What are you doing? He asked impulsively. The scent of the incense assaulted his memories through Ryo’s nose, dragging him back to places he did not wish to revisit. “Shopping” Ryo hummed lightly. The cloudette pulled open the door, summoning forth the chime of the entryway bell. An older teenager, about 18 or 19 with bags under his eyes characteristic of college life leaned over from his work to regard Ryo emotionlessly. The entirety of his eyelids were painted with a black khol, ironically making the sleepless bags on his face harder to detect. “Welcome welcome” he said with a lack of enthusiasm, but not warmth. “Do you know where everything is?” the guy asked, clearly hoping Ryo would say ‘yes’ to prevent adding to his work load. Ryo smiled a content little smile back at him. “I can manage,” he promised. The other boy made no effort to obscure the look of relief that smoothed out his face. The employee rounded a shelf, returning to his work- and thus effectively leaving Ryo ‘alone’. What are you shopping for? The spirit demanded, cutting into his thoughts loudly. Ryo actually winced with the volume, going to hold one of his ears as if the other had shouted aloud. “Just more occult collectables.” he whispered, deeming the music in the store loud enough to hide his murmur. If the spirit had his own form he would have been staring Ryo down incredulously. You always order those in.“Not always.” the boy shrugged back. He stepped further into the dimly lit store, passing a long crowded shelf of various inscences. The ring rattled again loudly. Ryo slapped his hand over his shirt where the gold lay beneath, stilling the pendant forcefully. He looked about himself to check if the boy a few shelves down heard him. Thankfully there was nothing to indicate the black clad lad even remembered Ryo was in the building with him. The ring writhed under his hand. Ryo curled his fingers tighter over the prongs. “Quit.” he said firmly, flicking his attention away from his abdomen to the heavy wooden bookcase beside him. It was laden to the nines with incense in nearly every form the perfume could come in. Sticks, cones, even ropes, loose herbs, powders and chunks of resins. The perfumes of department store fame would have left Ryo crushing his own skull in his hands with the desperation to assuage a rapidly forming migraine. These scents however, melded together in a balanced harmony. It was intense yes, but they did not clash. Softness. That had to be what it was. Incense and natural perfumes all had a softness to them, like the slip of silk or liquid silicone. Modern perfumes were sharp, biting and permeating. These did not drift into your nose like scented smoke, they stabbed through you like an acid. Ryo knew the spirit had a distaste for the over use of noxious artificial scents, he did too. There was nothing strange there. What interested him was the apparentness that these natural scents seemed to bother the ghost even more. Almost as if they caused him pain. In pondering this Ryo decided that wasn’t so odd. Incense was and still is used by multitudes of cultures to clear and banish unwanted presences. Demons, forces that tread where they were not supposed to walk, some dogmas even say they repel ghosts. Ryo always believed the latter to be false though… it felt contradictory to him. You burn incense to bring comfort to your deceased loved ones, why should it work differently just because the disembodied soul was a stranger? Even so, the fact that the perfumes were leaving the spirit in distress was clear as day.Curiosity took Ryo by the hand, guiding him to pick up a bundle of egyptian musk scented ropes. He held them delicately, as if they may unravel easily. The paper label on the bag was written in a delicate font, mimicking handwriting. Difficult to read, but not impossible. The name egyptian musk is a bit of a misnomer. This classic perfume is entirely made of botanicals and resins. Cedar, rose, frankincense, myrrh, patchouli and amber build the notes of this blend, deeply rooted in ancient perfume making practices. Ryo murmured the words under his breath as he read them, then smirked. “No meat in this either.”Shut the fuck up.Ryo raised a brow.. And grabbed a second bag. “Well then.” Don’t buy those. I hate them. Ryo stilled, narrowing his eyes in thought before he smirked again. “I will refrain from buying them…” he trailed.Hn.“If- you tell me why you hate them.” Brat the spirit breathed out. “So there is something there.” Ryo mused victoriously, proceeding further into the store. It was a peace even greater than the quiet feeling safe again. Places like this didn’t just calm Ryo down, they let him release that which wound him into a painful ball of  twine in the first place.  He watched his finger tips glide across the treasures on shelves as he walked by, silently noting that all the areas on his hand that he had been picking at were starting to heal, loosening their scabs. The disruption and release of the feelings of powerlessness that suffocated him. That is what it was. That is what places like this did for him, and that is what the revelation that his devil was but a ghost felt like. One of his bite broken nails caught on the edge of the next table after his hand ghosted between shelves. Ryo tapped his nails on the glassy wood thoughtfully, his attention captured by the display in front of him.Pointed crystals at the ends of chains with no clasps hung from a jewelry tree in the center. Not necklaces, but tools. It was a long shot, but it was still a shot he could try to take. The stories trailing one after another in the forums and magazines he consumed gave him some hope, the prospect of stealing back some of his autonomy. Ryo reached out, and brushed his hand across the semi-precious stones. Their surfaces were colder than a glass of ice water, and the chime they made when kissing one another in their swaying paths reminded him of a flowing body of water’s babbling. They looked a bit like the prongs on the ring actually, but each one was a singular point. There was something poetic about it, though Ryo didn’t care much to discover what. The spirit keeping quiet was not lost on him either. “What do you think of these spirit?” he asked quietly. Ryo could feel his other’s attention shift, letting him know the ghost hadn’t paid the gems any mind until he spoke up. Rocks on strings. He said finally, clearly saying something just to say something. Ryo tilted his head, unwinding one from the tree. He picked one made of a blue opaque stone, flecked with bits of white. It hung from a gold chain with a soft brightness to it, like the warm yellow of a sunflower. Ryo pinched the miniscule sphere made of the same stone at the end of the chain between his thumb and forefinger, letting the point dangle above the palm he hovered beneath it. “It is called a pendulum. They are used for dowsing, amongst other things. They are often featured in the catalog I get, but I didn’t want to order something so fragile through the mail.” The cloudette happily explained. “I haven’t actually held one before. It does feel special.” Dowsing. The spirit repeated, only mildly interested. Explain.Ryo let the pendulum swing lazily in the air, watching it with mesmerised deep brown eyes. “The art of using tools of divination to find that which is lost or sought after.” The spirit laughed. Ryo frowned. “What?”Nothing. You are just amusing on occasion. He brushed off. Hurry and buy your rock. It stinks in here. Ryo’s smile dropped. He took the packet of incense from where it was stowed under his arm, and inhaled a long huff of the fragrance. The ring jangled fitfully, the whole way through the transaction.People are staring. Ryo shrugged, smiling despite the ghost huffing in his ear. Each time a bump in the road made both him and the bus sway, the pendulum would do a little dance at the end of its string. It made Ryo happy, so he had no plans of stopping. I can’t protect you in a place this crowded. The ghost growled. You are being reckless. Ryo tilted his head, squinting his eyes to look through his milky white bangs as they blurred the sway of the stone- further mesmerizing himself. Your ideas of ‘reckless’ are bizarre and inconsistent. I am just playing. The cloudette thought back. You have no idea how easy it is for you to get targeted. My ideas of recklessness are sound. The ghost said with a shake to his voice. Ryo noted the quiver, and stored it in his memory securely. He lowered the hand holding the stone’s chain, letting the gem fall into the open palm of his other hand. Ryo stored the pendulum safely away in his pocket before speaking back up. “I have never heard you sound scared before.” he murmured in a hushed tone. I don’t get scared.“An obvious bullshit lie.” Ryo said, not caring who heard him. He pulled the cord running through the bus to indicate to the driver that he wanted to depart. The bus pulled to the side of the road, stopping with a little cloud of exhaust.This isn’t our stop. “I know.” the cloudette smiled.

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Ryo almost slipped in the melting slush when he stepped onto the street from the bus’s staircase. He steadied himself with the railing without a falter to his smile, just a twinge of pink embarrassment to his cheeks. Why are you so damn giddy? You could have broken your neck. The phantom hissed in his brain. Ryo brushed the comment aside, and turned to wave at the bus driver who, to be fair, was also concerned Ryo hurt himself just now. The cloudette watched the driver wave awkwardly back before she shut the doors and pulled back into traffic. In the bus’s wake was a spectre of fog, suspended water from the snow and clouds dyed shades of pink, blue, purple and teal from the evening light pollution. Where are we? The ghost demanded. “Isn’t it pretty?” the boy breathed. I know you didn’t come out here to admire the weather. Where. Are. we?Ryo grimaced, his face scrunching for a second with annoyance. “You seriously can’t tell?” He sighed. Then he took mercy on the poor phantom. Ryo turned to face the ornate facade of an old brick building, and waited with a content expression on his face for the spirit to put the details together. The museum. “That’s right spirit. The origin of epiphany.” Lofty prose. I am guessing you didn’t bring us here to simply recite poetry to me. grumbled the phantom. Ryo smiled, and tucked his hands into his pockets to keep warm. “Mmm. I started to put your pieces together shortly after visiting this place. Retracing my steps is worth a shot.” he mused while he made his way to the entrance. Is that what the rock is for?...“Not exclusively.”You said it is used to search for things. The spirit poked. “That, and finding truths. It is also a diviner’s tool.” Ryo chimed.Oh? The boy who never learned how to properly cook rice fancies himself a magician now.Ryo’s gait hiccuped, and a pout distorted his face. It wasn’t… a lie, persay. He had long since given up on cooking rice fresh, opting instead for microwave packets from the konbini. But- in his defense, he only had one person to feed. They were fast as well as convenient, and he sometimes lost time to the blackouts…Ryo bit his lip, clenching his fist around the pendulum in his pocket. The spirit didn’t bring that up as simple small talk. Symbols of loneliness and isolation were nuanced and littered all around Ryo. The phantom could pick up just about any of them without much digging- without much suspicion. The ghost was prodding at him to try and shut him back down. “I don’t always have a large appetite. The packets do just fine.” he replied back, trying to sound blithe. Hmmm. Ryo hardened his brow, making the conscious effort not to let himself start to feel small again. The boy pushed the doors of the museum open and listened to the echo of his own footsteps on the gleaming tiles, focusing on the way his one tiny disturbance filled the massive room with sound. It worked, and the tightness in his chest started to loosen. The next steps echoed too, all the way to the front desk. Despite how tiny he was in the grand cavern he made a disruption that was not easy to tune out. The gentleman at the counter already had his eyes on the cloudette long before he reached the kiosk. He was dressed smartly, with a pristine plastic customer service smile. The man handed Ryo a pamphlet without needing to say a word. Ryo took the paper with both hands, giving the man a tiny head bob of a bow. The sign above the kiosk stated that students could enter the museum for free on weekdays. The only issue was the distance from home, but Ryo could tolerate the long commute. If the museum was helpful, then the time spent getting there would be worth it. Ryo turned from the kiosk to look across the room at the many halls dotting the circumference of the room, punctuated by two heavy stone staircases on the left and right respectively. It took but a moment of being overwhelmed to dampen his enthusiasm.Lost already? Ryo almost rolled his eyes, opting to close them instead. I am not lost, I am just not sure where to start. I believe they call it decision fatigue. The boy replied back into the mental echo. Try your rock then. The spirit muttered, trying to egg him on again. Ryo made a mental coin flip between the two staircases, landing on the left. Why are you so hung up on the pendulum? He asked, starting his walk across the room to the staircase. Are you afraid I may find something you rather I didn’t? Ryo felt his inner voice lilt up at the end of his sentence, betraying his hope. However, at the moment he was too optimistic to care. Not at all. The spirit said, calmly this time. It is the concept. That is just a rock. Ryo clutched the stone in his pocket. How could you be so sure? Because I have done this dowsing thing myself. Many times. A pebble doesn’t have the capacity. Cute fairy tale though. The ghost mused into his ear. Ryo felt some of the lightness drop in his chest, and he shifted as if he could reach into his chest to catch it before it fell to the ground. What do you mean by that?The spirit grunted. Not sharing.  That seems hardly fair. Ryo hummed to himself. He put his pendulum away, and used his freed hand to steady himself on the railing of the steps. What about me would compel you towards the delusion that I uphold fairness. The phantom grated out.It made Ryo jump. The heels of his dress shoes clicked on the stone step, echoing loud enough to draw the attention of the gentleman sitting in the kiosk below. He took a breath, and laid his hand over his lower sternum where the ring lay against his rib cage. It was vibrating. Like a phone. “Do you hate that word?” the boy whispered.What. Word.“Fair?” Ryo answered. I hate fallacies. I hate lies, and I hate those who tell lies. But then again, I hate just about everything and everyone. The phantom seethed. This is no grand revelation for you, just proof that you are too stupid to effectively analyze that which is literally speaking directly into your brain. Ryo closed his eyes and continued up the rest of the staircase. “I am sorry I upset you so much.”You are not sorry, and I am not upset. “Let’s change the subject,” Ryo smiled mildly. “You know how to dowse? The phantom growled out an audible exhale. Yes. You wasted your money.“Is the pendulum phony?” I couldn’t care less if it was or was not. You just didn’t need a second one. Ryo blinked, then looked down towards where the ring lay as if the Phantom stood face to face with him on his rib cage. “A second one?” The ghost groaned in annoyance. The ring is multifaceted. Its fringes can be used the way you describe using the pendulum, and much more accurately at that.Ryo bit the inside of his lip, trying to digest the information. “You are in the ring.”And?“So I can’t trust any reading that the ring may give me. It is under influence.” Have it your way. The spirit scoffed. “I am not falling for it.” Ryo repeated more for himself than for the other. Got it. ____The sun was well and gone long before Ryo started to give up on his self imposed field trip. His spirit slowly softened with the dampening of the ghost, dissolving like salt in water. Every grand room held treasures meaningless to a boy chronically haunted. Each examination of something vaguely familiar made the light leave Ryo’s eyes little by little when the cl;oser inspection yielded him nothing. The salt swirled in his soul, and the phantom drank the brine as it flowed forth from the boy. The comfort shifting its holder in a sure promise to return things to the way they had been before their little trip.Ryo left a theater room, and slumped onto a bench in the hall with eyes desperately vacant. He found… nothing. Perhaps the museum was a red herring, something so plausible to explain the ghost away that it effectively wasted all of Ryo’s mental energy- thus returning the phantom back to his safe pit in the boy’s heart. Shall we get going? The phantom hummed with a twinge of sadism. The museum will close soon. We wouldn’t want to be trespassers now would we honourable host? “I don’t want to talk to you right now.” Ryo murmured. Oh? How so? Ryo stayed stubbornly silent. Upset that your pebble did nothing? The ghost teased. Ryo stood abruptly to his feet, face scrunching with the effort to keep his eyes dry. “I was so sure. You- you- were so scared. There was something here. And you were frightened I would find it.” That hardly matters now hmm? Ryo could feel the ghost smile as he purred the words. Like you said, there is no longer anything of note here for you to find.  Ryo lulled his head to stare at the marble beneath his feet. His jaw hurt with the effort to keep it still. “I just want to understand.” The cloudette murmured to himself. And what exactly are you looking to understand, host? The spirit asked with an even mirth. You don’t know, do you? How can you find an answer to a question you cannot properly ask?Ryo closed his eyes tightly. Then he counted to 10. When he opened them again, they were dry. “You don’t always answer my questions, and when you do I have the feeling that you are li-”Actually, I have never lied to you. Ryo clenched his jaw shut. He gathered his things, and buttoned his jacket back up. His hands paused over the ring briefly, wondering how the haunting would translate if he threw it down the stairs. It was not as if he had never tried to get rid of the ring, it just never really …. Worked. It was phenomena like that, the reappearances, the uncanny accuracy of the spirit’s voice, the blackouts…. That forced Ryo to accept that the ghost was reality. Ultimately driving him to grasp at straws, such as scouring a museum with a piece of occult paraphernalia for any answers he could find, any at all. I would have expected you to shout at me in disbelief after that. Ryo winced, and pulled his sleeves over his hands to prepare for the cold. When he passed a trash can on the way down to the lobby he fished the pendulum from his pocket, and banished it to the landfill. ____It was sheer dumb luck that Ryo found nothing. Then again, even if he did find the trigger object he would not have been likely to understand what he was looking at nor why it was significant. The spirit remembered it like yesterday. A stone tablet from a tomb. It was on display as an example of a mistake that could be made- giving scholars a look into the artists’ processes when decorating the tombs with art and text. A smear of glittering gold, like solid jewelry was scraped across the coarse stone by accident. The foolish scholars mistook it for a mishap creating paints in the dark. Ryo was unable to resist the siren’s call to reach out and touch it, all too curious about a “paint” made from literal gold….The boy’s lapse of judgment freed the ghost from another long stretch of years screaming into the void. The moment Ryo touched the puzzle’s scrape was the moment that the ghost had finally been granted someone else to talk to. And again, it was sheer chance that the tablet was in storage when Ryo stalked the halls of the museum with his silly little rock. The spirit watched the scene shift with each of Ryo’s steps through the boy’s eyes, and he did so with rapidly fading interest. Strange how ghosts could grow tired and sleep…He was exhausted from the pounding anxiety that thrummed in his soul’d body with each exhibit his host wandered into. Now the boy was turned to leave, allowing the spirit to slump against the wall of his soul room. The white snake, the tiny scrap of his ka left to him, curled around his arm as if he was a tree. He nudged the cuff with his muzzle, like he had many, many times before. The chain clinked, with an almost comforting cadence, when the spirit shifted to lay down on the cold stone floor. The suction of the museum’s front door opening against the force of the outdoor winter’s cold made him jump just as consciousness was starting to drop from him.

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The soul room was shaking. Not enough to be dangerous, but just enough that he was woken up. The ghost groaned, and then craned his neck to try and peek through to the other’s eyes.The vision was blurry. Ryo was crying again.The ghost groaned, and sat up fully. The snake coiled around his torso hissed at the disturbance before slithering into his shirt to coil against his warmth. He squinted to try and make out what Ryo was looking at.Feet. He was staring at his own feet, on some moving surface. His feet were dangling. Ryo was back on the bus. The ghost had only managed to sleep for about 20 minutes before the boy woke him back up.The phantom crossed his legs under himself, and focused to try and gather the context clues. Ryo wasn’t talking, so he was alone. He managed to get a seat on the bus so it was late, on a less taken route. The room was shaking, which meant that Ryo’s cries were restrained.The room only shook when he gasped or sobbed. The boy was holding his breath, likely trying to keep from making any noise that may disturb the other passengers.The ghost slumped back against the cold stone wall behind him. There was never a good night’s rest with this boy. Ryo was either in danger, declining into apathy, afflicted with nightmares he just had to realize were actually memories by now, or… he was so low he resorted to talking with the spirit in some sick pantomime of companionship.Either way, a good night’s sleep was rare for the spirit of the ring, and it was precisely because of things like this.“Host.” He said evenly.The room shook again, then went very still.“You are making a scene Ryo. Not very polite of you. I am sure everyone on this bus is very tired.”Please shut up.The ghost closed his eyes. He reached a hand to smooth the scales of his companion’s head, fingers cold as ice on the serpent’s skull. “Why are you so desperate to know more about me?”Wouldn’t you be? Ryo thought back without really thinking about his words. Loathe as I am to admit it, you are the only consistent presence in my life.The vision Yami Bakura was stealing shifted. The bus went over a bump, and Ryo stiffened to keep himself steady. His yami watched the movements like a hawk, ready to catch him if necessary.“I make a point to stay out of things that do not serve me.” Bakura answered Ryo hollowly. “If I were haunted, I would be careful how close I get to my haunter.”The vision shifted again. Ryo drew his knees to his chest, thoroughly breaking etiquette now. There is nothing that you could do to me at this point that I would not welcome. The host said thoughtlessly.Yami Bakura lulled his head back. “You will change your mind about that.”You don’t know that.“I do.” the ghost breathed. “I’ve been through it myself. Or did you think ghosts come from people with happy lives?”The vision faded to black. The bus was going through a tunnel.What is your name?“Hmm?”Ryo sniffled into his sweater, starting to calm down. If you were human once that means you would have had a name.“You have asked me that before Ryo. I told you it does not matter.”“To who?” Ryo murmured aloud under his breath.The ghost clenched his jaw tight enough that he could almost hear his teeth squeak. “To anyone. I was garbage. Foder. I was barely considered human when I was alive, let alone now.”If I keep asking then that means it matters to me, but, whatever.The bus left the tunnel, but the vision Yami Bakura received through Ryo’s eyes stayed black as black._____ The smoke alarm wailed in miserable futility. Ryo fanned it half heartedly with the museum pamphlet from days ago that he forgot to throw away from his pocket. One of the girls in his group fanned vigorously beside him. The other clutched the recently used fire extinguisher to her chest, as if she couldn’t believe how quickly she reacted to the danger in front of their eyes.The home ec instructor made his way over to the group solemnly. He looked over the three students who each looked back at him with varying expressions. The fan girl was defensive, no doubt willing to put up an argument if the teacher chided Ryo for his carelessness at the stove. The other girl looked sheepish, clearly worried of a bad grade or even punishment. Ryo just looked, literally, with no expression at all.The instructor sighed. “Don’t look so frightened ladies.” He soothed. “I just want to borrow Bakura for a moment, okay?”Ryo bowed his head, and took off his apron silently before following the teacher out of the lab. The sheepish girl took the assertive girl’s hand before she could follow him.The sounds of the kitchen lab vanished at once when the door was shut behind them, before slowly whispering back in place. Ryo kept his eyes trained on the ground, hands folded together in front of his ribcage where the ring lay under his shirt.The teacher knitted his brows, and silently appraised the boy before him with clear protective concern. “You know, if there is something wrong, we have people here you can talk to.”Ryo smiled hollowly. “I am fine.” He answered back with a matching substance. The teacher bought not a syllable.“You live alone, don't you Bakura?” He tried instead.The clasp of Ryo’s hands tightened.No he doesn’t. “Yes I do.” Ryo said, speaking over his ghost.The teacher winced. “How come?”“I am… My parents are not around. My aunt is my legal guardian, but she travels for work. She sends me all the money I need though, and she pays for my apartment. So there is no need to worry. I am well taken care of.” Ryo explained with a soft sterility, the words long since rehearsed.The teacher looked appalled, though it only really shone through in his eyes. “I can’t imagine trying to navigate all of this without someone to go home to.” He started. “There is a support group that meets on tuesdays. To deal with Hayashi and Emi I mean. That is why it was initially started, but people are free to talk with each other about what they need to.”Heh…. I can’t imagine him telling a wanna-be shrink about me. Nice try professor.Ryo kept his face steady. “I really am fine. I promise.” he said, giving the other a little head bob of a bow. “Now, if I may be excused. Despite my lack of skill, I feel it unfair to leave my partners to finish the project themselves.”Yes… wouldn’t want to accidentally produce anything edible now would we host?Ryo turned for the door then, his curtain of hair obscuring his face.“Wait.” The teacher demanded, taking the knob of the door before Ryo could take it himself. The boy kept his head bowed, face covered.“I am sorry son, but I do not believe you are fine.” the professor said with a strained evenness. “The contents of that pan were on fire, right in front of your face- and you just sat there and stared at it. Still holding the pan! It was horrifying to witness- Bakura that was the look of someone who doesn’t care if he gets hurt. If Himari hadn’t- …. What is going on?”Please. I wouldn’t let him go ablaze. The spirit leered.“What’s wrong is…” Ryo started carefully. “Someone important to me refuses to be honest with me.”…hm.The teacher’s brow smoothed out. “Don’t you find that rather ironic?” he asked half heartedly.“I do. I am sorry.”The teacher slowly let go of the door knob after giving it a second of thought. “I have half a mind to suspend you. I think you need the time honestly, and you did lie to me- and set my classroom on fire!”Ryo said nothing, he just simply took the doorknob with a ginger grasp.“You are free to go, Bakura.” the professor exhaled.Ryo gave the other a small smile built of artifice, then passed through the door wordlessly.The overhead of his group’s stove station was stained with lamp black and the seafoam-like gunk of a fire extinguisher. Ryo’s classmates watched him return to their station with amorphous expressions, deeply contrasting with Ryo’s mask of resigned sincerity.Someone important to you huh….______Ryo set the envelope on his coffee table in a strange pantomime of normality. His teacher knew that Ryo lived alone, that there was no one to receive his letter of suspension… so what was the point in wasting the paper?Even so…. He set it in the middle of the glass surface. As if it were something special to him. Then, he sat down on the couch to simply stare at it.You have a week off. Congratulations.Ryo’s brow hardened, and he winced with a twang of anger. “It isn’t a vacation- it’s a scar on my permanent record. Can you be quiet for just one day?”I can, but we both know you will break that silence before the day is up.Ryo seized a throw pillow and justified it’s absurd name, chucking it at the wall adjacent to himself where it bounced lamely to the ground.Oh-ho. We are quite angry today, hmm?Ryo scraped his nails across his scalp, taking a deep breath. “You are such a prick.” He muttered. “Himeka and Himari were so scared- why would you do that? If I die, where does that even leave you?”The ghost snickered. You were in no real danger, I assure you.“I was inches from a grease fire!”Does it scare you, host? That I can seize control so quickly? The ghost purred. Have you learned your lesson? Or will this episode make you more insolent? Either way, I will be entertained.Ryo pointedly made no move to answer him.Every moment you are in control is a gift from me. Remember that, and be grateful.Ryo stood up with his breath shuddering from a mix of emotions he would feel ashamed over in just ten or so minutes.You are welcome, my dear Bakura Ryo.The cloudette turned on his heel, pulling the cord of the ring out from the collar of his shirt. “You hate the cold right?” He asked with forced evenness.The spirit did not respond.Ryo stormed towards his balcony, and knelt in front of the sliding door.What are you doing?Ryo held the ring an arm’s length from himself, where it jangled limply, helpless in the moment. With his free arm he yanked open the glass door.The boy dug about, carving a hole into the snow on the balcony, then shoved the ring into his grave of ice. Once it was done his breathing started to slow, then even out.Ryo stared down at the ring, wedged between walls of snow with his anger dilated eyes. A stab of empathy tried to gut him, but he shoved his emotional self’s dagger away. “I know I can’t get rid of you. I know you always somehow show up here again. In the mail. In my bag. I don’t know how you do it, and it drives me crazy. I am tired of feeling like the only one losing his mind. So now, if you burn me I will freeze you in tandem.”With that, Ryo covered the ring over in snow, and slammed the glass door shut.His hands lingered on the door’s handle. The nausea of his own cruelty tied his stomach in knots immediately. He knew the spirit was waiting, counting on Ryo’s bleeding heart to back track on his actions. Ryo bit his lip, and pulled his hands away, shoving them into his pockets to clutch their lining so that his digits were not in danger of sliding the door open again.Ryo.The cloudette screwed his eyes shut, and stood up. The spirit’s voice still rang clearly in his mind- and that terrified him. It always did. It was why Ryo opted to keep the ring on. At least then hearing the ghost’s voice made sense and his brain didn’t have to sprain itself doing the mental gymnastics of trying to understand why the ghost was still present in his mind if the ring wasn’t touching him.I know you can still hear me.Ryo took a step back, swallowing the frog in his throat.This isn’t like you, this cruelty. The ghost muttered in anger. Not like you at all.Ryo turned to put his back to the balcony. “I’ll be carving figures in my room.” He said weakly. The boy crossed his arms tightly over his now unadorned chest, and quickly made his way to his room. The slam of the bedroom door could be felt throughout the entire apartment, even through the snow outside deep into the ghost’s soul room._____The tiny figure made a satisfying sound when it clicked onto the hard surface of the desk. Ryo hunched over, resting his chin on his work surface so that he could look at the miniature of himself “eye to eye.”He carved the tiny mage to be wearing a smile.It was impulsive. Part of Ryo wished he could take it back. Smooth his face over and carve a more realistic expression… but then again.Maybe this was okay. The little white mage was supposed to be a better version of himself, so maybe giving the white mage a smile wasn’t really a lie.Ryo winced. His cold hands shook when he moved to get out his paints. The ghost was shuddering, he could hear his breath quaking. Sitting a few rooms over from the ring dampened the sound, but it did not block it out completely.The boy glanced at his clock, flinching when it read 3 am in flashing blue light. It had been hours. Ryo deflated in on himself before he sprang to his feet. He just wanted to gain some power back in the situation- he didn’t want to freeze the ghost completely!!Leaving the miniature mage on his desk Ryo hurried out of his room towards the balcony, now bathed in the black of night and fluorescence of street lamps. He all but slid to his knees in front of the sliding door, then seized the door open. All the while he bit his tongue to prevent himself from uttering the word “sorry”. He dug, with bare hands, in the frigid ice to pull the ring from its grave in the snow. When he found it the ring’s sheen was gone, brushed over with dusty frost. When Ryo went to pick it up, the warmth from his hands melted the ice before the cold of the ring refroze the condensation- effectively glueing Ryo’s hands to the gold.He immediately felt like he was going to vomit, violently.His head compressed as if in a vice, like something was trying to force its way into his skull- thrusting his brain against the inside of his cranial bones to make room for its presence.RYO.The boy curled over himself, holding the ring to his chest as he doubled over. He cried out, no longer biting his tongue. His forehead dug into the snow in front of him, cradled by the curve of the dug out grave.Any human would have died left that long buried in ice. Given that Ryo already knew the ghost hated the cold, it was fair to assume that meant that he could feel pain as well.The pain of death, without any release. That is what he just put his ghost through.DO YOU HAVE ANY IDEA WHAT IT IS LIKE TO FREEZE? The ghost demanded through a snarl. I have never put you through something so severe… something that could take your life…. Do. you. Know. what. It. is. like?Ryo clenched his jaw shut tight.Answer. Me. It was subtle, but the tone of the ghost’s voice was settling back down. It was if he did not intend to yell- but was too prideful to admit the mistake at the same time.“No.” Ryo breathed out. “I didn’t mean to leave you in the snow for that long.”Ryo tightened his arms around his torso, shivering- from cold, fear or guilt he did not know.I ought to take over and bury you alive in the ice. An eye for an eye. The ring spirit spat. I am not one known to bestow mercy on those who compose sick rituals.“It wasn’t a ritual, I was just angry.” Ryo murmured.You conducted a symbolic gesture intended to change tides in your favor. It was a ritual. A cruel, sadistic one. The ghost grated out slowly.Ryo shuddered, picking himself up enough to look into the hole in the snow right in front of his face. “Well you would know about that better than anyone I suppose.” He said quietly.The ring went eerily quiet.Ryo sat up slowly. Then he scooted back from the balcony enough to shut the door. Both his hair and shirt were soaked through with rapidly melting crystals of ice. His hands felt like the joints of his fingers were frozen in place around the ring.The cloudette got to his shaky feet, trying desperately not to cry.I am waiting.Ryo’s eyes went hazy. The black of his pupils were swallowed up by his brown irises when he focused his vision on a bright street light as an anchor. “For what?”You know what.“I am not going to apologize.”You should.Ryo was quiet for a moment. “Yes. Perhaps that is true, but it is not going to happen.”I should kill you.Ryo drifted his hazy eyes down to look at the thawing relic. “You could, but where would you live then?”…I can live in any vessel that I choose.Ryo digested this information slowly. “Then why haven’t you picked another one yet?”…“I have tried to get rid of you so many times.” Ryo continued.Stop talking.Ryo slowly made his way to his couch, slumping into the cushions. He huddled into the chair’s back for warmth, and held the ring up in his lap as if looking at a doll or maybe even scowling cat. “You say you want to kill me, yet it never happens. When you say you will protect me, that is when you follow through on your word- even if the method is deplorable. You try your best to keep me where I am accessible to you- I do not believe you are free to choose another vessel. It doesn’t make sense- that is not how haunting lore works, at least not to my knowledge. Ghosts are as shackled as those they haunt.”The spirit sighed. Fancy yourself a medium now?“It is demons that can hop from vessel to vessel. And you already betrayed to me that you were human once.” Ryo continued. “I think I am starting to be able to tell when you are lying to me.”A shudder ran through the spirit. He sat up rigid in his soul room, as if trying to make some distance between himself and something behind him. Ryo couldn’t see the shift in his posture, but he could see the pendulums of the ring sway unnaturally. He stared at them as they settled back down, vowing to commit the anomaly to his memory. “You are as stuck with me as I am stuck with you spirit.”The prongs tinkled again.“It really is weird to realize that you are as lonely as I am…” Ryo said with a sorrowful softness to his voice. “I realized that… I am the most consistent presence in your life as well.”Tch.“Or…. afterlife?” Ryo corrected.Pedantics. The spirit huffed.Ryo smiled reflexively, then frowned when he caught himself doing so. “You know, it really would be easier to talk to you if I knew your name.”YOU THINK YOU’VE EARNED IT AFTER THAT?Ryo jumped in his skin, screwing his eyes shut as if frightened spittle would land on his face. “Fair enough.” He sighed, peeking one eye open.I am still waiting for my apology. The ghost muttered.Ryo tilted his head, and dropped his weight completely into the couch. He yawned and let the ring fall flat against his chest. “Maybe if you tell me your name, I will apologize for leaving you in the snow.”Tch.Ryo closed his eyes, too tired to move to his room even if he was freezing. “A stalemate then.”

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The first few days of suspension were spent in some amorphous combination of bedrotting and game rotting. Every couple hours during the day Ryo would roll over in his covers, but he would not get up- not while the sun still looked down on him. Instead he settled back into the deepening divot in his pile of blankets and cushions.  When night fell he would rise like a sleepyheaded ghoul, then grab his gaming bag haphazardly by whatever portion of the bag was closest to him. He would make his way through the dusk to the game shop he worked at part time, stopping now and again to watch the colors of the atmosphere shift through all the hues that lead inevitably back to black.  He had more or less given up on trying to pry what information he could about the ghost from the ether, at least for now. Honestly, the past few days spent floating in the mundane sleepy mindlessness felt like they really could save him. The spirit was fairly quiet after their squabble… and while his schedule was fucked up and down the wall, he was actually spending time enjoying himself again….The cloudette made an internal promise to apologize to his home ec teacher as soon as he was back in school. But, for now, he sat at a table surrounded by faces that could have become his friends in a kinder timeline. He may be able to push the spirit away for the time being… but he couldn’t forget him completely. If he did then someone else would surely die. “Bakura. Your roll.” The girl beside him said in that soft spoken raspy voice of hers. She was a little older than him. Intelligent in the way that can really be scary if you end up on her bad side, but oh so comforting if you were her ally. The heavy curtain of her dark brown hair felt like a shield, even as it splayed over her shoulders when she moved to hand him the dice. She was kind to him, and far too smart for her own good. Really…. too much… Or maybe she was too nosey more so than too smart. She was the sort to peep that something was wrong, and Ryo could feel the red threads of her mind piercing through the fabric of his body while she used the needle of distant observations to sew right through him. She was the sort to understand something dark, the sort that wouldn’t judge you for it. She had her whole life ahead of her, and yet at such a young age her perfume was always made dusty by the scent of her cigarettes. She wore her eye shadow to emphasize her undereye bags, because hiding them would be futile. The baggy hoodie extended past her body and hands, hiding that which you did not need to see.  Her voice would crack while she gave the best advice, advice that you knew was written by experience even if neither of you would ever verbally acknowledge it.  She stood on equal ground with those who needed a shoulder, because she needed one too. Her name was Kiri. And like Ryo, she lived alone with no one to go home to. Right now she was waiting for him to roll.Ryo always made a point to forge a distance between her and him whenever the game session ended, otherwise he wouldn’t be able to help getting close to her. Somedays this plan was more successful than others, and some days they would inevitably run into each other like magnets. Two stray cats that spotted each other in wolf’s territory, forming a coalition to protect one another. Potentially she was the desperately longed-for friend he was starved for by the ghost. No threats present in her company, nor advances to dodge. Just a companion. Just… everything he’s ever wanted. And he could see her. She was real, and right next to him. Her name was not a secret. Kiri shook her hand a little, making the dice tinkle in her palm. “Are you still in there Bakura. It’s your roll. Your little white mage will die if you don’t do something. You can’t just leave him out there.”Ryo opened his mouth to try and say something, but the frog got caught in his throat. Kiri narrowed her eyes with a smile, and grabbed his wrist. Then she manually deposited the die into his palm. “Want me to shake them for you too?” She asked, summoning a mild chorus of laughs from the other players around them. Ryo’s face started to burn peony pink. He was about to reply, ready to give one of his sleeper hits of a dead panned joke or prod… but, like clockwork… Annoying. You finally give up on stalking me, and it’s to do this. This girl irritates me.Ryo closed his mouth, choosing not to say anything. He hid the shift in his mood by bowing his head to look at the die, obscuring his face with his hair. He shifted his hand side to side to let the dice tumble into one another in his pink palm.It had been days. Why now? When he was having fun…The boy’s view of the floor under the table and beyond his palm became obscured by Kiri’s lowering sheet of hair. She peeked up at him, and gave him a frighteningly analytical look. “Your entire demeanor just changed.” She said quietly enough that the others wouldn't be able to make out her words. The resounding chorus of oos confirmed that their companions misread what she was doing, keeping the exchange between them sacred. “You are normally so excited to turn around a flailing campaign. What is wrong?” She added on, following him when he moved to sit back up. “Do you miss being the dm that much?” Ryo experienced a heavy drop within himself. It felt the way the colored oils in a shaker charm looked when the heavier color slowly descended after the charm was turned over in one’s palm. The thought- the concept- came, but he refused to put words to it. Kiri was stronger than him. Maybe she could handle knowing about the spirit. Ryo worried his lip between his top and bottom canines, piercing the skin unwittingly. He sucked on the wound lightly to keep any blood from spilling where it may be visible to the others. Then he cleared his airways, and put on a smile. “I am just… worried. I feel guilty sometimes, having fun while I am suspended, you know?” He told Kiri with a calculated tone. Good choice. The ghost chimed in the back of his head. Ryo felt as if he had been punched in the gut, once for each word. The fact that he did not know where the limits of invasion lie with the spirit’s ability to consume his thoughts blasted him in the face once again. “Didn’t he suspend you to force you to take time off to care about yourself?” Kiri countered without missing a beat. “That’s what the lady at that konbini told me.” Ryo held his breath, staring at Kiriko,... and waiting for the spirit to say something snide. A moment passed and the ghost said nothing at all-  leaving Ryou to just sit there looking as if he had lost his mind. Kiri visibly deflated. Then she took her dice back. “Pack up. I am walking you home.” Another round of poorly hidden oos and snickers rounded the pair. Ryo looked at her like a beached porpoise. “I can take myself home.” He rebutted, sounding as sure of himself as she was. “I don’t trust you to make it when you are acting all flighty and skittish. Especially not since you were fine literally minutes ago.”Now that comment from the girl got the table to hush. Kiriko winced, and looked back at the group of friends. “You guys can take over my rouge. Let’s just say that Bakura’s mage got knocked out. There is no need for you guys to stop playing okay? We will be back next session.” With that she turned her back on the group. She placed a consoling hand on Ryo’s shoulder, then headed to the cubbies where everyone stored their stuff for the night. Kiri pulled her own and Ryo’s bags out of their slots, and called over her shoulder for the boy to get up and help her pack up.___It could have been a sweet moment. Like something out of  a movie from a beloved studio that animated witches and trolls. Ryo was sure that, to Kiri, their walk in the night probably did look like one of those movies. The street lights made stars out of the pavement where the fresh melting snow trickled over the uneven asphalt’s surface. Kiri looked back at him every few paces, and while her blue eyes were full of sympathy they were also full of a resolve to get through to him regardless of his position on the matter. It was the exact thing he feared, this kind danger that closeness with her promised. The very thing he had been trying to avoid ever since he met her not long ago. The exact trigger that could make the phantom inconsolable. “We will stop by that konbini you like so much. I like the lady who runs it.” The brunette said with a clipped but affectionate firmness. “We will eat, and you will come clean.”Ryo’s face strained with the efforts to keep his expression steady when the ghost belted out an unhinged chuckle. Oh? And what exactly will you be telling her about? Me? Hayashi? Emi? Maybe Amane?Ryo froze his brain, biting the tongue of his mind to keep from snapping back at the phantom in displaced pain. Kiri stopped walking. Her piercing blue eyes drove through him like a plow in the snow. “You did it again.”Ryo manually straightened out his back, and equipped a cheerful tone. “Did what?” Kiri narrowed her gaze. “You dropped. You were starting to light back up while we were walking, but you dropped just now.” She said with a pointed slowness. Ryo pressed his mouth into a tense line.Oh, now she is cunning. You are normally a good actor. Kiri turned away from Ryo, and started to walk again albeit at a slower pace. Her ill fitting used snow boots were soaked through, the water resistant coating long since worn away by the owner before her- and yet she paid it no mind at all. She just looked at how the street lights danced on the wet architecture around them. “You worry me Bakura.”Ryo felt the air get punched out of his lungs. What is she doing? Grumbled the ghost.The cloudette thought hard about it for a moment… then he decided to answer. She likes to paint in between atmospheres. She paints some of the sets for our campaigns. The spirit huffed. And?Ryo mentally shrugged. I think she wants to paint the city block covered in melty snow and street lamps. The phantom hummed. If she likes “in between atmospheres” so dearly, I could show her some that would blow her mind. He purred.The cloudette’s blood ran cold, but this time with something other than simple fear. No you won’t. I will lose her okay… There is no need to hurt her. Really? The ghost pondered. You would have to give up your beloved game shop. She is always there these days.Ryo did not answer him.“You know. Back in the home…” Kiri started. Ryo blinked away his displeasure with the spirit to make room for a more pleasant expression. He answered her in his standard sweet tone. “Yes miss Shikabane?” “You would have been picked on relentlessly.” She said bluntly. Ryo grimaced. Kiri looked behind herself at him through her bangs, arms crossed behind her waist. “But I would have had your back. Just like I do now. So-” Ryo winced, knowing what she was going to say next.“Tell me the truth when we sit down to eat Bakura Ryo. I want to help you.” ___The door chime that normally gave Ryo comfort sounded more like the ding of some machine powering up to execute him. He held the door open for Shikabane Kiri, and watched her enter the konbini knowing full well he would not be able to see her again after tonight.The girl, all adorned in fading bruises and patched up baggy cargos all but skipped into the store, full of a level of life that felt fictional these days. She leaned on the counter to chat up Rina as soon as she spotted her, both of them looking so at home that they melted into the scenery. Losing resolve? Ryo pointedly ignored him, and moved to join Kiri at her side. Rina spared him a brief friendly glance, then turned her attention back to Kiri. “How is the whole…” The woman gestured vaguely with her hands. “Process… resolving?” she asked, swallowing down the morbid words.A soft haziness settled into Kiri’s eyes. “I am fine. I kind of like living alone.” the brunette shrugged. Kiri took a deep breath, glancing at Ryo for a split second before she felt strong enough to push up her sleeves. “Here see? He is no where near me anymore. They are all old and fading.” the girl mused, smoothing her own hand over the bruises that were now yellow where they were once deep deep purple. “Actually, the guy working on my case thinks I was misplaced from the get go. He says when I first showed up at the orphanage I showed up with two brothers.”Ryo stayed silent, letting his friend talk. He moved to give her a mild supportive lean, and closed his eyes to make the bruises fade from his eyes. Kiri set her sleeves back down a moment later. “He wants to find my brothers. He says I shouldn’t have been separated from them. It’s crazy, I didn’t think my parents even had a will for me- us? This. They were still so young to be thinking of something like that…” Rina reached over and took one of Kiri’s hands. “I hate that you have to go through this kid.” then her eyes flicked to Ryo. Even with his gaze averted he could tell she was looking at him by the context of her mannerisms. “But, you have a friend to lean on. Or… a friend to lean on you. Ryo- you are going to crush her.” the woman chided, leaning over to flick his forehead. He hardly flinched. “Whatever, you kids go pick out something to eat okay. On the house.”  Rina chimed. “Hurry though. It is late. I don’t want you two to miss the last bus. I am unsure if I trust Ryo around trains.” Ryo’s brown eyes popped open, and he lifted himself from Kiri’s shoulder. “What is that supposed to mean?”“Only that you are chronically accident prone.” Rina laughed as she disappeared into another room.

----- CHAPTER BREAK -----

Kiri was a bit uncouth at times. In an endearing way to be sure, but also in a way that would make people stare if the konbini wasn’t deserted at this hour.She flipped her hashi over so that the ends on the thumb side of her hand were pointed towards Ryo, then she poked his cheek with them.He winced. She needn’t say anything, he knew what she was on about. Their meals were both almost completely gone.It was time to talk. The brunette gathered her knees to her chest, resting her soggy worn out boots on the upper support rung of her stool, then she rested her chin on one of her knees to emphasize the pointed look that bore through him like a javelin. Ryo set down his own ustensils to start scratching at his hands like he was attempting to excavate the bones. She poked a leg out to nudge his forearm with her toe. “Quit hurting yourself.” He groaned, but pulled his sleeves over his hands to ball up the cuffs in his fists. She withdrew her leg, and got her balance back right before her stool threatened to tip. “Soo… what’s bothering you?” Ryo grimaced again, knowing the ghost was up…. That said, it was nice to be able to emote freely. The phantom started to hum in the back of his head, giving Ryo the start of one of his famous migraines. “Nothing… unique.” He murmured. Now that is quite insulting.Kiri tilted her head, and scrunched her face. The girl clearly didn’t buy it. “Is this about the Rintama art room tragedy?” She asked quietly.Yes. The Rintama art room tragedy. That is what they were calling it now, due to the …. paraphernalia from the art club found at the site. A few days back they had ruled that Hayashi…. That it was intentional on Hayashi’s part due to the items surrounding him and the nature of his wounds. It meant that Ryo no longer had to look over his shoulder all the time- but it did leave him hollow. Imploding even.It made him wonder more about how ghosts worked. Could you only perceive them if they inhabited you? Hayashi could be haunting him, and he may never know…“Bakura.” Kiri murred gently. “Is it?”Ryo swallowed back his musings. “It’s part of it. Yes.”Oh? Kiri reached blindly back to the table, plucking her cola to take a swig without taking her eyes off of her friend. “Do you wanna talk about that part then? Or move to the other parts?” Ryo felt like the veins in his arms were ascending out of his skin. He took a deep breath. Don’t you dare. He held the air captive until it went stale, then he exhaled in a choking cough. “Uhm, Shikabane…”“Mm?” She hummed. “Do you believe in ghosts?” Ryo asked with a raspiness as if the question itself were a phantom. The brunette leaned back, and looked towards the ceiling for a moment. “I can’t say that I do, but I also can’t say that I don’t.” Ryo’s face fell. “You need proof… is that your position?”Do you want to give her proof, host?? Kiri thought on this, then she shook her head. “Not really. I think if it ever affected me, I would care to find out if they were real or not, but they never became relevant to my life. So… I am content to just let those who believe in them do so, and those who don’t can do that also.” she shrugged. The cloudette turned away, using his hashi to play with the bits of food left on his tray. Hah. The one time she minds her own business. Ohhh, poor little Ryo. All alone in a crowded room. Ryo grimaced, “Be quiet.” He muttered to the spirit. The stool holding Kiri creaked. Ryo looked up in the horror of latent awareness to find her staring at him oddly. “I-” Ryo swallowed. “That wasn’t for you. Sorry… I was lost in my own thoughts.” The brunette kept her eyes on him, but nodded slowly. Then, she smiled. But it was a smile that gave Ryo no comfort, a smile of distant sympathy intrinsically related to pity.  “You believe in ghosts don’t you Bakura?” she pointed out. Get rid of her. Now. You said you would. Ryo bowed his head. “Yes. I do.” He admitted. “Though I don’t feel like I have much of a choice in the matter.” Kiri did not ask him why. Just like with everything else, she trusted that if he was comfortable sharing something sensitive like that he would do so on his own. “Makes sense.” She shrugged. “I probably would believe in spirits too in a different life.” The crinkle of cellophane broke up the tension almost immediately. Ryo looked over his shoulder back at her, and the mope on his face started to disintegrate. “Want one?” She smirked, already knowing the answer. Kiri held the half open packet of cream filled puff pastries in her palm where he could see it better. They were cheap, prepackaged, and squished from being in her bag. To him though, they were like ice cream, even low quality cream puffs were excellent. He hesitated though. Kiri did not have much money. “There are only two. You should have both.”The brunette huffed. “I got this because I knew you liked them too. If you were not going to have any I would have picked out something else.” The sound that came out of Ryo was both endearing and pathetic. Just like earlier, Kiri seized his wrist- almost toppling over in her stool in the process. She then deposited one of the puffs into his hand with an air of finality that demanded he just eat the damn thing. “Thank you.” He mumbled. The girl merely hummed an mmhmm around her already full mouth. Ryo took a ginger bite of his own. That bitch is still here, Ryo. The spirit growled with a deepening malice. There was a reverbing quality to the ghost’s voice that Ryo had never heard before. Ryo sucked in a startled breath, inhaling the pastry in the process. He coughed, and started to choke. The boy stumbled from his chair at the same time that the girl rushed to her feet to try and help him. He kept her at an arm’s distance.Ryo recovered as quickly as he began to choke, gasping for air only a moment later. Kiri hovered about him as closely as he would allow. When he found his voice again he rasped out something nonsensical; “Let me buy you a new pair of snow boots.” Kiri leaned back, eyeing him down her nose while trying to determine if she heard him correctly.  “Uhm. What?”Ryo, with his voice still strained wheezed out. “Your boots. They aren’t actually keeping your feet dry are they?” What an unorthodox parting gift. Yami Bakura bit into Ryo’s brain harshly. Ryo damn near yelled at him aloud. Kiri tilted her head. “I mean…. Bakura, this is so left field. You are changing the subject- plus you almost died just now.” The girl countered. “What is going on….” Kiri whispered then, more to herself than to him. Ryo maintained a guilty eye contact with Kiri. Her blue eyes shifted slowly as she analyzed him. He kept biting his lip where the wound from earlier lay on his flesh, unable to break the compulsive habit. Everytime he felt he found the right words to say, he would hesitate, and bite. Kiri’s eyes fell to a dark hardness, then like clouds parting her expression lightened back up. “New boots would be nice.” she said hollowly. The smile she gave him afterwards was so obviously a peace keeping smile… It made him feel so much worse. “I am going to use the bathroom before we go though, okay?” She told Ryo gently, as if a careless tone of voice would scare him off like a deer. Kiri gave him another look like he was made of glass, then she turned to disappear into the ladies’ room. Ryo. Listen to me. Carefully. Ryo averted his gaze. He moved to make himself busy with cleaning up the trays and trash from both of their meals. I am listening.It is only a matter of time until that girl finds out that you are connected to Hayashi’s death. If you stay around her we will end up in territory where you no longer have a choice in how involved I get. The spirit spoke with a blunt low tone. She is not an idiot you can skirt around. You have two hours to lose her. Ryo slowly balled up the cellophane from the cream puffs in his hand. The dispersed crackles gave the cadence of glass slowly breaking. The bits of cream left on the inside of the wrapper were squeezed through the different locked planes of the crinkle, looking a bit to him like body fluids being squeezed from an old wound. His fist closed completely, and he wondered if there was a way to physically remove the spirit from his body. Like squeezing puss out of infected flesh. This is your idea of giving me a choice in the matter? That girl has already realized that you are not the boy she thought she made friends with. The phantom grated out. You are in danger. If you don’t lose her, I will. Is that clear? Two hours.  Ryo clenched his jaw tight enough that he felt his tongue close off his oral airway, leaving him to breathe slowly through his nose. I could have been the boy she thought she made friends with if you would just mind your own business. You are my business Bakura Ryo. No. I am an object that you are jealous over. The boy thought back with smouldering resignation. The spirit gave no reply, and Ryo simply moved to throw away the trash on the trays in eerie silence. You won’t be ruining my last night with my friend anymore.  He told the phantom once his hands were free. A humorless chuckle bubbled out of the spirit. And how do you plan to enforce that? Another crinkle of cellophane sounded from the boy’s hand as he dug into one of his pockets. From that pocket he produced the packet of incense that the spirit irrationally loathed. Ryo cleared his throat. “This.” He murmured quietly. You kept that. The yami breathed insidiously. “Yes.” Ryo answered in a sweet emotionless tone. “It causes you some sort of pain right? I wonder how you would feel if I lit it?” Ryo deposited the packet back into his pocket, where he made the point to ghost his fingertips over the lighter he had the forethought to purchase a couple days ago. The spirit didn’t think anything of it at the time.  “Well?” …. Two hours… conceded the ghost.___Most places were closed. Just a few underground boutiques in the district lined with bars and izakayas were still taking customers. Kiri and Ryo made their way down a staircase bathed in intentionally flickering light. The brunette looked over her shoulder every now and again. Each time she did Ryo’s heart suffered a new crack. The boutique was all used high end. Just barely in Ryo’s price range- which Kiri pointed out multiple times- to which he made it clear that he did not mind. After a bit of playful squabble that felt like old times Kiri started to gather pairs of boots she deemed good candidates. Ryo wandered with her through the store, trying not to lose her in the dim, club-like lighting. The music playing was… odd. Comforting in an uneasy sort of way. Some niche alt tracks from other countries. Ryo spoke a little English, and he could make out some of the words. However, when he tried to listen in, he ended up hearing lyrics that felt too close to home. Strings of words he knew the writer thought could only ever be allegory. Ryo lost himself pondering a heavy trench length black denim jacket. It was odd. Plain whereas the others on the rack bore copious amounts of eccentric decorations. Really, the only unique feature of this coat was the juxtaposition of the color, material and cut. Kiri rested her chin on his shoulder, making him jump. The booming music covered the sound of her footsteps, despite the heavy pair of canadian snow boots she was currently trying on. “I like that coat. I think it would suit you.” she chimed, sounding as if nothing tense happened between them just 40 minutes ago. Ryo looked to her, then to the jacket. He rubbed the coarse black denim between his fingers. It was his size… but…“I don’t really wear black.” He murmured. Kiri scrunched her face. “Yeah, I noticed that. I always thought it was odd.” Ryo turned around to face her, and she stepped back from resting her chin on his shoulder to allow him to do so. “Why would that be weird?” He asked, taking the jacket’s hanger off the rack. Kiri shrugged. “I mean, getting to know you clearly shows that you are pretty much a goth kid. You just don’t look like one. It’s odd.” Kiri paused to think for a moment. “But also interesting I guess. I still think you should give the jacket a chance though.” Ryo sighed. Then he took it off of the hanger, making Kiri give a giddy little squeal. The jacket ended up being a bit too big for him despite his predictions. Not egregiously so. In a few years it would fit him perfectly. It was comfortable. Kiri took him by the sleeve, and led him happily to a mirror for him to have a second look. She appraised his reflection with a bright sleepy smile. He appraised himself with undecided curiosity. Ryo leaned in towards the mirror with hazy eyes. The jacket washed him out, but it also emphasized the slight grey hue to his hair that was normally lost. His brown eyes also read better when paired with the black. The few minor flecks of hazel coming through. Kiri clucked her tongue. “It’s one of those slimming cuts. You normally wear kinda loose-ish things, I didn’t realize you had a little princess waist.”  She teased.Ryo went pink instantly. He damn near choked again. “We- Kir- Shikabane.” he started, managing to control his tone even if he stumbled over his words. “Hmmm?” She asked, turning over to admire the Canadian boots. “We are just friends right? Platonic?” The cloudette asked carefully. Relief washed over him when she smiled, laughing one note through her nose. “Oh yeah. 100%. Ryo, you are cute, but I like girls.” She explained, giving him a playful shove. The relief and peace mixed with melancholy. “I’m…. gay too.” Ryo whispered, never having said it aloud before now. “I know, I can tell.” Kiri chimed. “That's why I feel safe with you.” He waited. Ryo watched Kiri check out the boots in the mirror, striking different poses while he waited for the spirit to ruin that moment. Waited for him to point out that “safe” was the last thing she was when she was with Ryo. The spirit actually honored his deal with Ryo, and said nothing. “I feel safe with you too.” He said finally. Kiri gave him another playful shove. “I think these are the pick… is that okay?” She asked, tilting her head. “If I need to pick something cheaper, that is fine too.” “Shikaba-” Ryo started, cut off by a firm shake of the head from his friend. “You can call me Kiri. I am fine with that…. Can I call you Ryo?” the girl asked, folding her hands behind her back, trying not to let hope take over her face and normal cool demeanor. Ryo winced, but smiled. “Yes. I’d like that.” “Cool beans.” Kiri chimed. “Back to the boots and coat.”The cloudette blinked. “Coat? What about it?”Kiri stepped closer to him, and took the collar of the coat to flick it into a standing position. “It is too cool to leave here. Like, this it makes you look like a modern vampire. I am not getting boots if you leave this here. It was made for you.” Ryo drew in a long breath. “Is that a hard ultimatum?” “Why yes it is.” She purred. “Okay… “ the cloudette conceded. Kiri gave a giddy little laugh, then moved to gather both of their things in the rush to the check out. “Do you think the guy will let me wear these out of here? I don’t want to put my ex foster dad’s boots back on.”  Ryo smiled warmly, following her to the counter.___They spent about half an hour in the shop. 40 minutes to find the boutique, 30 to get out. Ryo had 50 more minutes to get closure, and cut Kiri off. It wasn’t enough. “This way.” She chimed, between puffs of her cigarette. Ryo side stepped to avoid the wisp of smoke when it curved unpredictably. Both of them wore their new garments out of the boutique, and he didn’t want his Kiri coat to smell like that which she hurt herself with…Kiri ducked behind herself, and grabbed the hand of his that was free from their collective bags. “This one. If we take this route then we can ride together for a while before I have to switch trains.” She said, squeezing his hand. Ryo closed his eyes, to calm himself down. “You don’t need to do that, it’ll-”“It’ll what? Make my trip 40 minutes longer? It’s not like anyone is waiting for me back home.” She said looking back over her shoulder. “You should know kid, when you are an orphan your friends are your family. Don’t cut me off dude.” Ryo squeezed her hand back. He followed her down the steps towards the bullet train, and rehearsed in his head all the terrible things he was going to dump on her to drive her away. “Yeah, I know.” He said latently.Kiri paused on the last step. Ryo could practically hear things click in her head. “It was violent wasn’t it. How you lost your mom and sister. That is why the Rintama art room tragedy has you so fucked up, more than what’s normal. It triggered bad memories?” the girl asked, turning to him. Ryo just returned her gaze. “I’m sorry.” She murmured. Ryo set his jaw, and made his way down the last step so that they were side by side. “Nothing to be sorry about. I never told you, so you wouldn’t know.” Kiri bowed her head to stare at the tiles beneath their feet as the two of them started to walk hand and hand to get their tickets. “I mean, I am also sorry I kind of broke on you back at Rina’s. I should have known it was something like that. I actually… feel like such a shit friend now.” Ryo let go of her hand to let her pass through the counter first. The clicking of the gate spokes as her hips pushed them along felt inordinately loud. “It’s okay. You're not the first person to feel suspicious of me. His best friend would be breathing down my neck if we shared a class. He liked the girl that liked me… I rejected her, and she ran away. Driving Hayashi… crazy isn’t the right word.” Ryo explained numbly as he took his turn passing through the counting gate. Kiri waited for him on the other side, arms crossed over the multiple layered hoodies she wore in lieu of a bulky jacket. Ryo wanted so desperately to make her take the black denim so that she would have one, but he also knew she wouldn’t allow it to have another wearer.  Actually….Kiri clucked her tongue. “So what, people blame you because this guy had his heart broken by a girl that liked you instead?” “Not just that.” Ryo breathed out. When he was free of the gate he bent over to rummage through the bag from the boutique. Inside was their discarded old garments. Kiri’s old boots, and his old puffer jacket. He removed the boots, then picked up his jacket. Kiri gave him a confused look, and picked up her soggy old boots. “He blamed me for Emi’s disappearance.” Ryo clarified quickly. “Since I rejected her.” Kiri pursed her lips in thought. “You can’t control how people react… I know you. You are a nice guy, I trust you weren’t mean to her so… I don’t think there is any blame on you.” Ryo squished the coat in his hands, then took the now empty shopping bag by its handles. “Thank you.” He said before holding out the jacket. “Take it. I can get another, well. I already have, so…”Kiri’s eyes widened slightly. “Isn’t that like a nice down coat?” Ryo simply nodded. “I want you to have it.” he said, holding out the bag as well for her to put her shoes down in. Kiri worried her lip, but eventually moved to redeposit the shoes in the rapidly wearing out bag. When her arms were free Ryo held the coat for her so that she could put her arms through. She did so, with her head bowed so low that her face was obscured by her hair. Kiri swallowed thickly when she took the collar from him, and adjusted it. “It’s really warm… Thanks man.” Ryo leaned in over her shoulder to see her face, just as she had done to him back at the boutique. “Thank you for accepting it.” He smiled warmly. “Should we throw these old soggy boots in the trash?” Kiri’s head popped back up, her bangs parting to briefly betray the wetness that had started to gather in her blue eyes. “Hell yeah, chuck those soggy old boots. I am so ready to burn that bridge.” Ryo smirked, and took her hand in an uncharacteristic sprint towards their stop. Close to the bathroom was an alleyway between the gate that protected the track beyond the loading area and the wall of the bathroom itself. Ryo normally hated littering, but leaving the boots at a crossroads was a catharsis that Kiri needed. The two friends wedged the damp deteriorating shoes in the tight space where they would be forgotten. Once they were well set into the landscape Kiri kneeled before them, and Ryo joined her. She took the cigarette out of her mouth, and put out the ember on the toe of the boot. Then, the girl dug through her hoodie for the pack of cigarettes, and shoved them in the crack between the wall and fence as well. “I started because of him. He always smoked them, so I got addicted to the smell. They reminded me of the times he seemed calm, but … it was never real, so…. No this, that we have? This is real calm. So I don’t need them anymore.” She spoke low and sweet. Ryo leaned on her, feeling his own heart beat rise so high that he felt as though he was being lifted out of his shoes on the intervals of his pulse. Spirit…. Please. He pleaded in his mind. She really isn’t a threat to me…. The spirit gave no answer. Ryo lifted himself from Kiri’s shoulder, and gave her a sleepy and melancholy smile. “I’ll leave you to have this moment. Let me get us some drinks for the ride home okay? Any requests?” Kiri narrowed her eyes playfully. “You know my request.” A small laugh shook him along with his raised pulse. “Grape soda. Got it. I’ll be back in a few minutes okay?”Ryo rose from the ground. The moment he turned his back to Kiri, his face scrunched with the efforts to keep from crying in anger. Spirit. Answer me. Now. He grated out into his mind on his way to the vending machines. Kiri shifted to stand up as well, letting herself have this one moment of reminisce. Her foster father wasn’t always all bad, but it was time to let go of him. When she turned her back on the boots she did not look at them again. She instead made her way over to the boarding station to admire the different colors of the vending machines reflected in the moisture along the train track’s wall. She popped her hands in her pockets, and gave immediate pause. Kiri felt a lighter, and a small crinkly bagging of something odd. She grabbed both items and took them out to ponder them. The lighter was pretty standard. A nice one, but standard black. The baggie though? It was one of those tiny treat bags, with a small portion of what looked like twisted ropes inside. Three of them, as if they had been taken from a larger set. They had a fragrance wafting from them- a pleasant one too. Something that smelled fresh, without smelling particularly wet or dry, warm or cold. Somewhere in the middle. She had always liked perfume, it made atmospheres easier to live in- and this one was unlike any she had collected before. Kiri started to walk again, mind divided on working the cellophane packet open. She walked along the boarding station back and forth, rolling the little rope between her fingers, enjoying the pleasant scent that got worked from the fibers in doing so. A low, dull rumble announced that the train was just about here- meaning in a moment she would have give Ryo back the little ropes. Maybe she could convince him to let her keep one… actually, she was sure he would. She smiled deeper to herself, putting together that they must have been stored with a lighter for a reason too. Ryo was into all that witchy shit… it must have been incense. She turned her attention back to the lighter. Pocketing the baggie, she used her now free hand to open the lighter and spark it ablaze. Kiri lit the end of the twisted rope with delight. Once the ember caught, she put away the lighter as well. Then she just watched the smoke dance a lazy little grapevine as she walked along the track. It made her feel a little like an anime character, like a cunning shrine maiden that saves the hero right before he suffers an insane loss with some sort of spell or ritual. She was distracted by her joy and fantasy. Her new boots, unlike the old ones, were a little too big for her.
Shikabane Kiri lost her footing on the damp station tiles, and fell right in front of the train.

The last things she heard were the wail of the train. The clank of the cans of soda as Ryo dropped them. The thudding of his running step, and his scream.

Then the little pop of the ember on the end of the incense being snuffed out by the dampness on the tracks beside her where she landed in the glow of the train’s lights.

The last thing she saw was her best friend’s face, trying to reach her while someone held him back from trying to reach her.

And that was how Shikabane Kiri died.

She had always been so scared that she would die alone. Even as she accepted what was about to happen she found solace in the fact that wasn’t the case. Ryo was right there.

Shikabane Kiri died, knowing she would not be just a corpse. She would be remembered by a dear friend after all.

Don’t look, landlord.

----- CHAPTER BREAK -----

It wasn’t Ryo’s face that bid Kiri farewell from this world. Not technically.

The wind was knocked out of the boy in an eerie procession to the train collision. Ryo screamed Kiri’s name, and reached out towards her- then he suddenly could no longer feel his hand. His feet skidded to a stop without his permission, right at the edge of the tracks where the trails of scented smoke were dissipating. The train whipped across the space, not far from his nose.
Bakura fully intended to try and pull Shikabane Kiri out from the tracks.
Yami Bakura intended to make sure there was not any extra spilled blood that night.

The Yami covered the face he shared with his host to muffle the traumatizing incense smell from overwhelming him more than it needed to. His eyes were glued on the  accident, memorizing it all in Ryo’s stead. To an onlooker he looked like the girl’s best friend crippled by shock, and sure enough that was Ryo’s state in all of this.
But it was not Ryo who was currently piloting the body.

The train finally decelerated to a stop… but the Yami could not make out where Kiri laid. Just bits of her clothes. Bits of the puffer jacket, now a deep and glossy red.

“Don’t look, landlord.” he murmured under his breath, voice lacking malice for once.
He heard Ryo sobbing in the back of their shared head, triggering a migraine for them both. Yami Bakura intended to stay at the edge of the tracks as long as he could stand the fragrance. All for Ryo’s sake, though he was unsure if his host would believe as much.

A crowd of whomever was still out at that hour gathered quickly. A sweet older ticket teller grabbed Bakura’s arm gently, to try and coax him away from the gore.
“Don’t look at that son.” He advised with a familiar tenderness.

That fatherly tone really fucking pissed off the spirit.
He ripped his arm out of the man’s grip. “Too late.” he said with his usual sharpness, though the mirth was missing. This whole shit show really complicated things. And Ryo would not stop fucking crying. It would really be best to force him to black out… but this damned perfume was leaving the Yami so dearly weak.
His possession of the body could give out at any moment. If it did, then a blacked out Ryo would crumble to the ground. While this was one of the rare instances where they would not need to wrack their brains for an excuse as to why the boy just collapsed in public, the yami would really rather avoid the extra complication. That and Ryo was never appreciative of the black outs, even if they were what was best for him.

“She was a friend.” the man observed. “You two came in together. The pair with the shopping bags.”
Bakura did not answer him.
“Or… girlfriend?” the ticket teller asked.
Yami Bakura closed his eyes, and leaned his head back. “It did not last long enough to get a proper label,” he said hollowly.
The teller blinked at this. “It looked like you two were thick as thieves.”

What a way to word it. Yami Bakura thought against the backdrop of Ryo’s breakdown induced hiccups. Bakura winced. You need to breathe Ryo.

The teller’s face fell with overwhelming sympathy. “Son, It is okay to cry. You don’t have to keep your face like stone. You just lost a loved one.” He said, trying to take the boy’s arm again.
The yami ripped out of his grip once more like clockwork. I have lost countless loved ones. Death is just air to me. “Do not touch me.”

A couple of women who worked for the bullet train started to make their way down into the tracks to inspect the incident, as if there was really a girl there left to look at.
Yami Bakura decided that whatever they were going to pull up would not be something Ryo could currently handle.

He turned from the wreckage towards the tiny garbage memorial Kiri and Ryo had wedged between the bathroom and fence. He picked up the girl’s dented grape soda along the way.
Bakura knelt in front of the girl’s memorial, and took the packet of cigarettes.
Ryo choked in their mindscape. What are you doing? He asked.
“Smells, even unpleasant smells, are the backbone of memories.” he whispered to his host. “Besides. I cannot stand this perfume much longer. I’ll use one. You keep the rest as a memorial to her.”
It took Ryo a moment to answer. I quit already. Last year.
“I am just going to burn it, and carry it with me. To negate the incense.”  Bakura said, standing back up. He pocketed the cigarettes, and cracked open the soda. The hissing pop was drowned out by the sounds of the rushing response team that had just arrived.
“Che. As if there is anything they could do.” the phantom scoffed.
At least they care! Ryo shouted at him. The spirit startled, choking on his swig of soda.

He closed his eyes, took a breath, and counted to ten. It worked, even if he squeezed the can hard enough to make the purple drink dribble onto the cuff of Ryo’s new coat. “Host. What are you insinuating?”

I have seen you move. You can’t always black me out, and when I am conscious during your possession I can see what you can do if I concentrate. You could have gotten to her…

Yami Bakura stared ahead at the staircase that led out of the underground. “I could have.” He admitted. “Provided I had the foresight to know what was going to happen. I cannot see the future, and you were far too busy with the silly little vending machines. Neither of us could see her being so reckless next to the tracks.” He said, throwing the crushed -still full- can at the ground. “Besides. I was honoring our agreement. I was giving you time alone with your dear friend.” the spirit grated out, nearly growling on the word ‘friend.’  “For once, I am not the bad guy here Ryo.”

Ryo started to say something into their mindscape, but all that came out was an angry choked sob. He was crying again.
“Deep breath. Then speak.” the spirit advised, making his way through the counter gate.
Can they even lay her to rest? Ryo managed to get out.

The spirit winced. He digested the desperate question he knew that Ryo already knew the answer to. When he dwelt on those pleading words long enough to make himself sick he finally started up the stairs. “Not everyone gets a funeral. I didn’t get one either.” He admitted honestly.

That rendered Ryo silent for a good while.

Once the spirit was back on the street surface he pulled out the pack of cigarettes, and produced one of the paper rolls from their coffin. The pop of the lighter tickled both of their ear drums, or rather, the set of eardrums they shared simultaneously. The sound seemed to soothe Ryo, if the decrease of both volume and frequency of his post-cry gasping was anything to go off of.
Yami decided to sit on the railing of the station entrance, and just watch the ember burn for a while. The fragrance of the clove cigarette slowly purged the perfume from around him, making it easier for the phantom to breathe. The spiced tobacco would settle into the denim of the black coat like the seeds of a great forests’ trees. No matter what you did, or how hard you tried to remove it, the roots would always be there. The Kiri coat would always smell like Kiri. It was the spirit’s morbid parting gift to them both.

And something that would prove oh so useful years later when he needed Ryo to sympathize with the Kul Elna massacre.

Is that why you are a ghost? Ryo asked quietly, pulling the yami from his thoughts. Right… the funeral question.

The yami clicked his tongue. “Not really. My story is more complex than that, Ryo.” The spirit looked down at his chest where their shared heart beat slowly- thanks solely to the Yami’s possession. The possibility that Ryo could have had a heart attack hung over the ghost’s head like a heavy dark grey storm cloud. “She isn’t going to be stuck as a ghost. Don’t worry about her, she isn’t hurting anymore. If Kiri was a ghost I would tell you.”
Ryo did not say anything in return. Something about the boy’s silence this time really stung.

“You need to rest.” the phantom sighed, pulling himself up from the railing. “I will get us home.”
I want to see her. Ryo demanded.
The spirit sneered. “There is no her left to see Ryo. I am not letting you look at that.” he said, raising his voice. The echo bounced off the melting snow, dancing along the empty street.

Ryo yelled back. You think I am fragile? After all that I have had to survive by your hands- you don’t get to make that call!
“Enough.” Bakura grated out darkly. “There are some things in this world that no one can handle seeing and remain human afterwards. Take it from the fallen.”
You are such an asshole Ryo whispered, hardly audible.

The spirit sucked his teeth, and dropped the cigarette to put it out in the snow. Do you blame me for that girl’s death? He asked his host, wary of the consequences of saying such a thing aloud even on an abandoned street.
Ryo’s breath shuddered. Honestly, I blame us both.
The yami hummed, finding himself unsure of what to say to that. Ryo was a good person, but he hardly took the blame of things on his shoulders. He was always driven to find a more complex, and nuanced explanation than ‘oh god, it is all my fault.’
“It really was a freak accident.” the spirit murmured, attempting to soothe him.
Don’t comfort me. It’s not what I want.
“Good thing I am so practiced at disobeying you then.” The spirit countered.

Ryo fell silent for a good chunk of time after that. For about an hour, it was just the crunch and slosh of the yami’s footsteps in the snow, now stained grey by the street.

He found himself staring at the frozen sea of grey as he walked. It reminded him of the murk that followed him just about everywhere when he was without a host body. The darkness that clung to him like tar. He only really got to see bright colors when he was piloting a human.
When he was living through Ryo.

It only lasted a couple hours. Then there was another sniffle to break the silence in his head.
“Good morning host.” The spirit said evenly. “We are almost home. The sun will threaten the horizon in just a handful of hours.”
Ryo said nothing.
“What is it?” the yami chided lightly. “I can tell you have something you want to say.”
I have many things that I want to say. Ryo muttered hollowly in spite of his sleepful lull.
“Have at it. What are ghosts for?” the phantom smirked, rounding the corner.

Ryo pressed back into the bed in his soul room, staring ahead at the door that led to god knows where. He had tried it many times… but it was always locked from the outside. Out of all the treasures that lined his inner sanctuary, that door was all that enticed him these days.

What came out of his mouth was not what he intended to say. “Do you wish you had a proper funeral?”
Once the words were out he could feel the ring spirit stop walking.
It was like being in a slowly moving car. You could tell you were moving, but not enough for it to really register while in motion. When the movement stopped however, now that was jarring. It was kind of like falling asleep in the car, then when the car parks not only are you mildly startled awake but you are also mildly nauseous. Only for a second, but still. That was what the movement of the host body felt like in a soul room.

Ryo pulled his knees to his chest, and waited for the spirit to gather his words.
I will be upset about it, yes, once I deem myself ready to receive one.
Ryo scrunched his brows, trying to make sense of what he said. “What does that mean?”
Does the concept of ghosts having “unfinished business” ring any bells?

Ryo rested his chin on his knees. It brought up another question, but he was sure if he asked it the spirit would shut down. So, he asked him something else, something much more obvious. “What is your business then?”
Closure. The ghost said immediately. That is all I am prepared to tell you right now Bakura Ryo.
The cloudette hung his head, forehead now kissing his knee caps. “Why did you hate Kiri so much?”

The spirit stopped walking again, only for a single beat. When he started to move once more it was to go up a staircase…
If Ryo closed his eyes and focused, he would see what the spirit was seeing- but this was a skill, and one that took great practice. The vision he currently received was a blur.
I already explained why you two needed to be separated. The ghost countered.
“And I told you she didn’t suspect me anymore.” Ryo said back. “Plus, that isn’t what I asked.”

The ghost picked up his pace. He made his way up the stairs with a quickness that was almost inhuman. It made Ryo carsick, but also curious as to why he was in such a hurry.
The phantom did not give Ryo an answer until he was back in their apartment, and when he did speak it was aloud.
“I do not share well.” He grated out. “And I don’t care to try either.”

Ryo felt things he could not really put into words. “You are saying you were jealous of her?” Ryo held his breath when he finished speaking. The concept of the phantom’s jealousy just… kept popping up.
The ghost leaned against the closed front door, putting all his weight into it like a final girl trying to keep zombies out of the shed she happened to duck into. “Is it really so shocking that a ghost is insurmountably lonely? I thought you liked to tease me for how attached I am to you.”

Ryo clenched his jaw, tight enough that it hurt. “I want my body back.” He said, clear as water.

What followed his request was whiplash. The spirit conceded with no fanfare, a distinct rarity.
Ryo stumbled over his step when he and the ghost traded places. The first thing that hit him was the smell of the clove cigarette. He could smell it in the soul room… but it was deeply muffled. “.... Thank you.” was all he could say through the confusion that came with the ghost’s rare courtesy.
Do something recklessly dangerous again, and I will be putting you back to bed. Yami echoed firmly in his ear.

Ryo bit his lip to keep his expression in check.
Now, go to bed.
“No-” Ryo interjected. “One more thing.”
The ghost groaned. What is it?
“You seem… sorry… that she died.” Ryo said carefully.
The spirit said nothing back, and Ryo took that as an invitation to continue.
“When you said you would take care of her, I assumed that meant killing her. That doesn’t seem to be the case anymore. And, with Emi, you said you relocated her.”
Correct Bakura confirmed.
Ryo felt some weight lift from his shoulders. “Okay… what does that mean exactly?”

The spirit took a long deep breath. I guess you could say I was going to save her for later. You would have met her again when the time was right.

Ryo scrunched his face. “That is cryptic and ominous.”
Che. Even when I do you a kindness you are ungrateful.  The spirit bit. Go to bed. You will need your sleep.
Ryo leaned back against the front door, arms folded over his chest. “I … I am not tired. I just slept.”
The adrenaline from all of this will wear off come tomorrow, and you will be overcome with grief all over again. A worse grief than earlier. I’ll have my hands full just keeping you safe. We both need sleep.
The cloudette’s cry swollen eyelids crinkled in an incredulous squint. “I don’t need you to keep me safe.”
You were going to jump into those tracks without a single intelligent spark going through your skull. The ghost bit. I think tonight makes it very clear that you do need me very much.

Ryo screwed his eyes shut as if that would barricade the rage that bubbled in him. “Thank you for saving me.” He said with much effort.
You are welcome.
“But you need to know that running towards someone you love when they are in pain or danger is only natural, even if it is dangerous. It is only human.”
Trust me, host, I know that very well.

___

When the spirit heard the soft sound of Ryo’s snoring, the tension of his own strained breathing finally let up. He felt like he had been punched in the chest, square where his red coat parted to expose his midriff.
He said he dearly needed sleep, and that was very true, but he couldn’t help how stuck in place he was.

Ryo had never… sure he had thoughts sometimes, but he never took any actions that could end him before- even accidentally. He was normally so careful…. All his near death experiences before tonight were the faults of others.

The chains creaked with the strain of him trying to stand as close to his soul room door as possible. Where he could no longer take a step forward the spirit opted to lean in as close as possible. There was a tiny crack in the door, one where if he squinted he could look through to see Ryo’s door on the other side of the hall.
It was such abject cruelty. He could get close enough to his door that he could almost touch its petrified wood.
Throughout the centuries he had many times where he stretched his fingers futilely towards the wood, even though he knew it would always be for naught.

That was back when there was nothing on the other side.
Now the other side hid Ryo from him. The spirit had no way of knowing both their doors were locked from the outside by someone else.
All he felt was a new spark to try and reach the door, and it was driving him utterly insane.

The snake remnant of Diabound hissed lightly beside his cheek.  He reached up from where he lay coiled on the thief’s shoulders to nuzzle his scar. One of the only bits of touch the thief could still receive from another.
“I’m fine.” he puffed. “I am always fine.”

----- CHAPTER BREAK -----

Ryo had started crying again as soon as he woke up, but it wasn’t like the night before. No, these are tears that flowed freely despite his stagnant face and overwhelming out of body feeling.The spirit had to hold his tongue to keep from blurting out such cruel remarks. ‘You didn’t even know her that long’, ‘What happened to your claims that you are not that fragile?’, ‘Come now, don’t you become a stagnant corpse as well.’ Things like that. Around 8 the doorbell rang. Ryo hardly flinched. The bell rang again. Then once more hardly a moment after the last chime. Ryo. Get the door.The boy did not respond. The spirit groaned.There was a stiffness that took the boy’s body, then a laxness rendered him limp as a rag doll. A moment later, he sat up from the bed, tears no longer flowing from his reddened brown eyes. The spirit grimaced, and wiped his host’s face on his sleeve. “You owe me for this.” he muttered. Ryo gave him no response. “Fine. We will talk later.” he puffed, rolling out of the covers to his feet. The spirit trailed to the mirror, smacking his face lightly a couple times to get the tears flowing again involuntarily. He made a few faces, shifting along expressions until he came across one that was soft enough to resemble his host’s personality. He rubbed his brow a few times to get it to relax, then let his eyes round out. He held the host body’s cheeks in both hands, gazing at Ryo’s features for a few minutes while the doorbell chimed. He stood there for a little longer than necessary. The bell rang twice in sharp succession, making him grimace again before placing the “Ryo” mask back upon his face. The phantom padded his way to the door, making sure to hunch his shoulders in a reclusive manner, before he opened the door. His mimicry of Ryo’s voice was without parallel. “Rina.” He said, feigning a sniffle. The woman pushed her way into the apartment, closing the door behind herself before she pulled the cloudette into a tight hug. She carded her hand through the hair at the back of his head to hold his skull to her shoulder in a protective manner, like a mother trying to protect her baby from a hurricane or tornado. “I told you two not to stay out that late.” She murmured into the crown of his hair. “I am so sorry. Are you hurt?” The spirit let himself be held, but to do so he had to fist his hands into his pockets and hold himself back with everything he had. He wasn’t even really sure what he was feeling, being held by this woman in such a manner. It was completely alien to him. He swallowed his distress and confusion… amongst other emotions he could not name… down into his gut. Then he wracked his brain for something a completely destroyed Ryo under the throws of his retriggered ptsd would say. “I wish I was.” he mumbled in a numb tone. Rina scratched lightly at the back of his head. A well, or even semi-adjusted person would be able to tell that she was just trying to soothe him, but the ghost had no damn clue why this woman was scratching him. He almost shoved her away. “No sweetheart, no.” She spoke with forced evenness. “No more blood, there has been enough blood.”The spirit sneered in his head. There will never be enough blood, it is the only true constant of this world. He heard Ryo’s breath hitch in the back of his head, around where Rina was skritching him. He did not mean to project that to his host…. Whatever this woman was doing, it was disarming. It needed to stop. The spirit splayed his hands on Rina’s waist, and applied some pressure to communicate that he was done with the hug in a way he thought Ryo might execute. Rina sighed through her nose, but she backed up from him in the end. Her hands slipped from his hair and shoulder to graze his upper arms instead, still unsure that he would stay together if she let go entirely. “Ryo, sweetie, that wasn’t your fault. I need you to know that.” The spirit stared her down blankly. In truth he was trying to put together what Ryo would say to that- and with the boy in a leaky-eyed unresponsive lump in the soul hall he had no guidance. Luckily for him, blankness seemed to be the correct solution. “I mean it, Ryo. It wasn’t your fault.” Rina repeated. The spirit stepped away from her, finally escaping her distressfully enigmatic and disarming touch. “I insisted on buying her new snow boots. If we had just gone home right away we could have taken the bus.” he said with a hollowness he picked up from his host. Rina winced, covering her mouth in thought as she leaned against the door frame. “You wanting to take care of someone you love does not make you a bad person, Ryo, even if it causes damage along the way. Sometimes life… breaks, we don’t intend it to, but it does. That’s just how things are sometimes.” She said carefully.The phantom could not help how his eyes hardened with every word she said. She didn’t seem off put by his intensity either. “When my father was sick, really sick, I did things that I thought were what was best for him… when in reality they only hurt him. My intention though, was love. He knew that, and so did I.”The phantom swallowed the frog gathering in his throat. “What are you trying to say, Rina?” The raven smiled bittersweetly. “That miss Shikabane knew you loved her, and that she forgives you. I know she does- hell, I don’t think she would have blamed you in the first place. She didn’t seem like that sort of girl.” The spirit did not blink. His host’s big brown doe eyes went dull with the dryness, and hard with his squinting gaze. He blames me all the time bitch. He muttered to himself, careful not to project it this time. Rina’s smile fell. “I mean it. I really do.” She said slowly, her voice choking up. “You are a good kid. You make mistakes sometimes, but that is only because you are a teenager, sweetheart. Everyone breaks things when they are a teenager, it’s how you grow into an adult.” The ghost closed his eyes, and focused on his breathing. He turned from her abruptly, forgetting to act with Ryo’s softness- but, again, that seemed characteristic enough for the situation. Rina didn’t bat an eye.“Have you eaten yet hun?” The woman asked, following him into his apartment. “If not, let me make you some breakfast? Please?” “I am not hungry.” the cloudette growled out. Again, his companion’s empathy did not allow her to so much as flinch. “You need to eat. That is non negotiable.”“Have you any idea how ill one gets when eating on a severely sick stomach?” He said with forced patience. I’ll not have him vomiting all night long. He always does whenever something dark happens. “I will make you something gentle.” She said, a firmness to her voice that made it clear he had no choice. He watched with a twitch to his brow as the woman welcomed herself into his landlord’s kitchen. He huffed, pivoting to flop onto the couch. He just had to ride out her visit, then he could go back to trying to break the damn chains in his soul room. He really hated this woman… The phantom curled up on the couch, holding himself with his eyes locked on the sliding door leading to where Ryo nearly freezed him towards a second “death”.  His hand trailed to the back of his head, where the flesh still tingled from her unwelcomed soothing ministrations. He dug his nails into his host’s scalp, drawing blood that white hair had no hope to conceal. Host, the spirit called into the mindspace, starting to feel nauseous. He could feel Ryo shift, indicating that he heard him. What did that woman do to me?Ryo’s voice was thick and heavy with a cry induced drowsiness, but he did answer after a beat of silence. What do you mean?Rina. Just then, at the door. She was touching me oddly. Were you paying attention? The ghost asked, disgusted with himself for the slight panic in his voice. She is too old for you by modern standards, correct? Ryo coughed, making the spirit feel dumb for asking such a thing. Calm down, she was just holding you. Comfort, like a parent?The spirit laid there for a few beats, focusing on keeping his breathing as even as he could to preserve his ego. It was very… affectionate.Yes, and? Ryo murmured. My previous statement. The ghost grumbled. Ryo’s breath chuffed, making the spirit wonder if he had just laughed at him. Affection can be platonic. Like me and ….like when Kiri and I hugged each other. That was platonic too. It isn’t always romantic or sexual in nature. That sort of affection Rina gave you, from a parental-type figure, is normal and healthy. Ryo explained patiently in between recovering little hiccups. The spirit narrowed his eyes at the screen doors, feeling them burn in a way he would not dwell on, or even acknowledge. I wouldn’t know. He felt Ryo shift again. Oh. The ghost jumped out of his host’s skin when Rina’s hand petted his hair over the back of the couch. She rounded the back rest, and sat on a free portion of the furniture’s cushion producing a cup of tea from her hand. “Here hun.” The spirit smacked his own hand over his head where she touched him as soon as her hand was gone. “Not thirsty.” “I don’t care.” She said bluntly, but not without kindness. “I can tell that you have been balling your eyes out, you need the water.” ____Rina left after she was sure the boy had a good meal. It was hard for the spirit to choke down, once again accidentally acting perfectly towards her expectations of Ryo’s distraught over Kiri. Luckily for him, she had to return to her store- even if she made it very clear she would rather stay by his side for the day. Now alone, the spirit fled the living room for the balcony. He all but hung his waist over the side of the railing, desperate for fresh air in a way he could not pinpoint. He felt sick, his heart rate very clearly audible in his temples. And his eyes would not stop burning. He wanted to scream. To break something. To cry.And he never fucking cried. Spirit. Ryo asked gently into their mindspace. This time it was the ghost who was far too overwhelmed to speak. Thank you. I would not have been able to face her. Ryo murmured into the phantom’s ear. Yami Bakura just stood there, swallowing gulps of air through his breakdown. Then, his face grew wet.

----- CHAPTER BREAK -----

Spirit? Ryo asked in that soft voice of his. What is wrong?

Yami Bakura did not answer him. He hung his host over the railing like a rug out to dry.
There was a bite to the snow cold iron digging into the upper abdomen, fighting the lower ribcage for purchase. His head throbbed and he grit his teeth, catching his lip in the process. Blood dribbled down the cloudette’s chin. The garbled growl the spirit belted out to drown his own deplorable sob made him sound as if he were the one possessed instead of Ryo.

His grating growl only worked for a moment. On his next exhale he sobbed out like a man in agony.

Spirit!

Ryo called out.

“Shut up. Shut the

fuck

up Ryo.” Yami Bakura choked out. “She had no right.” He continued, voice shaking like a mad man’s. “She had no right to touch you like that. To hold you…. She isn’t your mother- your mother is dead!”

Yami Bakura slipped then, to his knees. He knelt against the railing, forehead pressing into the iron rungs with enough weight that it would leave marks through his bangs. His eyes screwed shut, and he choked over his own breathing with the vain effort to keep from crying.

Ryo took a while to gather his thoughts. When he spoke up his voice was gentle, yet it held a welcome sharpness. Like cold water on the flushed skin of summer.

She cares. That is all

. He soothed.

Why does that make you cry?

“I am not crying!.” the phantom childishly denied. “I’m not. I don’t cry.”

Ryo closed his eyes, and brushed his finger pads along the texture of the blanket that clothed the bed in his soul room. He counted to ten in his head, then he opened his brown eyes to stare at the locked door across from him. “Would it… be easier to talk face to face?” He asked carefully.

That is impossible.

The spirit growled.

The human boy furrowed his brow. “Just unlock the door.”

Yami Bakura shook his head, still leaned against the railing. The metal grazed the body’s  forehead, drawing even more blood. His ghost did not even seem to notice. Luckily, the wound was easily concealed with his hair. “I can’t unlock the damn door, I can’t even reach it.” he muttered bitterly.

Ryo felt the skin on his arms and back prickle with a chill, feeling the other’s desperation in his very bones. It made him… sad. “You’ve tried to reach me before?” He asked.

The spirit just choked another sob, one that echoed into the mind space pathetically. That was as good of an answer as Ryo would get.

He wanted to ask

why

the spirit was trying to reach his soul room, but it was not the right time. “It must be lonely.” He murmured instead. “Being trapped inside me all the time.”

Yami Bakura said nothing. He just wheezed through the efforts to try and stop crying prematurely.

“That is okay. You don’t need to answer.” Ryo sighed. “I understand.”

For some reason the ghost let a small heaving sob slip out of him.

“Back to Rina.” Ryo breathed, his brow hardening. “I do not appreciate you saying she had no right to hug me. That will not be tolerated again.” the cloudette said with a practiced evenness despite his expression. “With that out of the way, why did it make you cry so? Tell me. It’s okay to talk to me, I promise.”

The spirit was silent for a long while. When Ryo decided to speak up again he was cut off.

Do you have any idea what it is like to be held by a ghost?

The phantom spat.

“I think we can both agree that is a stupid thing to ask me.” Ryo said carefully.

The spirit scoffed.

Yami Bakura peeled himself from the railing. His face was lined with streaks of tears and dribbles of blood, one of the two colors much more dried up than the other. He sat back from the guardrail, and crossed his legs in a gesture of faux casualness to try and reclaim some of his power over Ryo in vain. His eyes caught on the street below, watching little groups of coat clad people wander along the walkways together. He watched them like an illustrated man on the face of a five of pentacles card. “It is cold. Hollow. Despite receiving a hug, you feel more alone than you were before they held you.” he explained in his now calm, but still-hitching voice. “I was raised by countless nameless ghosts, none of which could ever speak a word to me.” He swallowed. “You want to know more about me? There. You know more about me now. I

could

have been raised by my own mother, and yet I will never know if I was or not.”

Ryo’s eyes softened. He stared at the door as if it were the face of the spirit himself. “I am sorry to hear that.” he murmured into their mind space sincerely. “Have you… never received a hug from a living person? Before Rina I mean.”

“Not in conscious memory. I was an infant when I lost my family.” The spirit said mindlessly back. Ryo had no way of knowing this, at least not for sure, but the spirit would have never betrayed that information to Ryo under any other circumstances. As it were, the phantom was completely unguarded in that moment- bare to his essence and at Ryo’s mercy.

“If it were possible, I would hug you. Provided you would allow me to do so.” the human boy spoke back gently, resting his head on his bent knee.

The spirit winced. “Don’t tell me that.” He choked out. His face contorted with another involuntary sob, one that he swallowed back. That was a bad decision, a swallowed cry breeds nausea.

It is true, so why shouldn’t I say it?

Ryo murmured into his brain.

You should come out of the cold.

The spirit scrunched his cry sore face, but conceded. He rose to his host’s feet, and padded back into the apartment like a zombie. “Fine. Now what?”

If I said I had an idea, would you listen to it?

Ryo asked patiently.

“I already said ‘Fine, now what?’” he grumbled.

Ryo covered his mouth with his soul room comforter, muffling a laugh he conceded was ill timed. “I would like you to put my body to bed, then… return here.”

The spirit huffed, but started to make his way to his host’s bedroom regardless. “You want your body back.”

Not quite.

“Hmm?”

Ryo stifled another laugh. It seemed that the long stretch of time spent crying left him mildly delirious, or at least airy in some way. He could not quite explain it.

I want you to be in the mind space with me. I would like to talk to you as close to face to face as we can manage. We can hear each other through the door if we speak up.

The spirit paused, his hand stilled on the knob of the bedroom door. He set his jaw, and gripped the knob with enough force to make his knuckles creek. “.... You keep wishing that landlord.” He said coldly.

The phantom ripped the door open, then flopped onto the bed. He passed out from the exhaustion brought on by his sobbing episode almost immediately, but stayed firmly in control of the body.

It left Ryo feeling as if he had punched square between the eyes. The human boy waited, curled up on his bed and hopeful, for his ghost to join him. Yet, the only thing that greeted Ryo was the sound of the phantom’s stuffy nose labored snoring.

Ryo sank back down into the pillowy cushions of his soul room bed, utterly dejected yet unaware that his other had no such place to sleep in his own soul room.

___

When the doorbell chimed for the second time that day, the ghost had to answer it all on his own. He had lost the privilege of Ryo’s guidance. The human boy held to his guns, thoroughly burrowed under the blankets of his soul room bed- a shield against the ghost’s bullshit.

The bell rang three times in succession, like a hammer railing in the nails throbbed behind his cry-swollen eyes.

“Host…. I swear to hell…. If she touches me again…” He muttered, assuming it was Rina. The scruffy boy tried to roll out of bed, but he found himself hopelessly tangled in the sheets. He fell to the floor, bracing himself with now rug burned hands on the carpet, enshrouded in the cold silence gifted to him by his only human companion.

“Ryo…” He growled into the carpet where his nose was smushed into the fibres.

Still no answer.

His stomach lurched with a dark anxiety. “Ryo, answer me. Now.” he spoke slowly. Still, no reply came to him.

Yami Bakura winced, and ignored the dinging bell to close his eyes. Still laid on the floor, he reached towards his ka, rousing it awake. With all his concentration he demanded the white python to squeeze through the cracks in the decaying walls and door of his room.

Ryo snored. If he was just sleeping his ka should be able to hear him from the hall.

With all his focus coalesced, Yami Bakura could hear the hiss of his ka, the soft sounds of its scales against stone as it carefully slithered through the crumbling infrastructure of his inner self. Something gave, and he could tell at once that Diabound managed to squeeze a part of itself into the hall, even if it was painful.

“Good. Now just a bit longer. Listen carefully for him.” the ghost urged under baited breath.

The python stretched towards the glossed black wood of Ryo’s door, then stilled to try and listen.

Tiny soft sighs, and little puffs of air. It was hard to hear even without the multiple layers of consciousness to operate through, let alone trying to hear it through the python- but faint as it was Yami Bakura could hear Ryo snoring away, safe in his room. He swallowed thickly, feeling himself melt into the fibres of the carpet where he lay on the floor. “Thank you” he whispered to his ka. “You can go back to sleep.”

Immediately after its master granted the blessing the python wriggled its way backwards into the room it shared with the ghost. Both ka and boy grimacing with the pain of stone rubbing against the grain of scales.

Then, the pain stopped. The ka was safe, coiled in their room, and the snake’s master let himself have a moment of respite.

A moment cut short by five consecutive dings of the door bell.

The ghost bared his teeth, and sat up on his knees. He hobbled to his feet, light headed and achey from the horrific cry he endured, his back burned with the scratchings of stone against scales from his impulse to keep a future casualty safe.

The bell rang again with such comedic timing.

Followed by an aggressive knocking.

The spirit took a long deep breath, then he let himself forgo the act of putting on a Ryo themed mask. It was safe to say that this rude intruder was not Rina back to make him dinner. Likely just some nobody there to complain about his overflowing mail, or something of the like.

Yami Bakura arched his spine to stretch away the stiffness, then he descended upon the front door with a calculated coldness to his every move. Not bothering to undo the chain the ghost opened the door but a crack, mildly surprised at the identity of the guest on the other side of the door.

“Hirutani, how may I help you?” he replied with a hollowness to his voice to mimic the sorrow his classmate likely expected of him.

The taller boy dug his hands into his pockets, then tilted his head in a calculated gesture. He studied the cloudette’s red cried out eyes, his own face shifting for a beat with something that looked like sympathy. “Another girl is gone, Bakura.” He said casually, clicking his tongue. “Heard about it on the news. Friend of yours. Yes?”

Yami Bakura did not answer. He just lowered his head, taking full advantage of Ryou’s big brown doe eyes to convey a speechless sadness.

Ryo. Wake up.

Hirutani pulled a hand from his pocket, and wrapped his knuckles on the wood of the cracked door. “Let me in, friend.”

The ghost chose his words carefully. “I am not feeling well to take guests.” he said with a melancholy lilt.

“Yeah. I am sure you ain’t.” Hirutani said with a low darkness bathed in.. not necessarily

false

comfort, but certainly a comfort Yami Bakura was sure his host would not like to receive. “None of us are.”

Yami Bakura lowered his eyes to the ground. “Is this about your offer?” He asked.

Hirutani sucked his teeth. “Offer has changed. I don’t think anything can protect you from whatever the fuck it is following you. I don’t want to be put on a shirt by god knows what.” the taller boy snorted. “Let me in. we gotta talk.”

Yami flicked his eyes open, and made deliberate and incredulous eye contact with the other.

“I ain’t gonna hurt you, hell knows you don’t need any help fucking up your life.” The bleached blond sighed, with an uncharacteristic softness to his voice- or, at least, something akin to the concept of softness.

Yami clenched his fists at his side, but ended up conceding to the classmate’s request. He closed the door, unhooked the chain, then reopened the mundane portal but stood firm in the way of the entrance. “What did you want to talk about?”

Hirutani rolled his eyes, and then rolled his neck to relieve the stiffness of his own self imposed tough guy act. “I got a theory. Dark one- but it can’t be helped, not looking at your history.”

The blond then pointed to the empty space between the Yami’s waist and the door frame that showed the backdrop of the room. “Can I come in? Don’t make me beg Bakura.”

Yami Bakura took a deep breath, and slowly moved to the side.

Host, just so we are clear. If this boy becomes violent, so will I. If you are too zonked to hear this warning it is not my fault.

The ghost heard nothing in reply.

Hirutani moseyed into the apartment, and whistled under his breath. “Okay.” He said, nodding. “Okay rich boy. Well off

and

pretty. Guess you gotta take what little life gives you right?” He asked, looking over his shoulder back at the cloudette.

Yami clenched his fist in his pocket, digging his nails into his palm to distract himself from the impulse to lunge at Hirutani for his remarks. “What is this theory?” He asked instead.

Hirutani sighed. “Can I sit?” he asked, pointing to the couch.

“Yes.” Yami said, reminding himself not to be rude.

Hirutani plopped onto the couch, albeit less uncouthly than the phantom initially expected of him. “Sit with me Rapunzel.” The taller boy hummed, patting the spot next to him on the cushion.

Rapunzel

The spirit scoffed into his mind. Yami obliged, but made sure to keep a reserved distance.

Hiruntani lulled his head back, spreading his arms out to their wingspan over the back of the couch. “Man, where do I even start? Gotta say, for a second I thought you might be a slasher from one of those movies ‘Kura kun.”

The Yami flinched, eyeing the other through his bangs.

“But then, I realized way too much that has happened to you is something some kid just could not pull off. Ya know? Like, looking up the car accident- you were too little.” the blond shrugged.

“Leave my mother and sister out of this please.” The ghost murmured in his best impression of Ryo.

“Sorry, sorry.” Hirutani waved off. “Anyways, point is, I did a lot of digging- both on the shit that has happened to you, and on your hobbies. Frequent occult shops often, huh Kura?”

The spirit winced. “I can’t help it.” He started thoughtfully. “It is mostly divination. Even if it is fake, I can pretend that I can speak to my sister. I write to her, every week.” He murmured, bullshitting his way through the response. If Hirutani asked, he could just show him all the letters Ryo wrote to Amane.

“Man…” Hirutani sighed. “God, that’s sad. Not judging, just.. Yeah. I feel for you.” he said with a modicum of sincerity. “My folks are pretty trash, my family is my gang. It’s a bit hard for me to relate to. Forgive me if I come off cold.”

Yami stiffened, thankful that the other bought it for now. He folded his hands in his lap the way Ryo was want to do when he became uncomfortable despite his manners refusing to allow him to communicate that discomfort.

“Sorry.” Hirutani sighed, seeming to have gotten the signal. “Look, I will cut to the chase.”

Yami tilted his head, to look at his guest expectantly. Hirutani took a breath, as if he dreaded what he was going to say next. “You need to switch schools. You got something following you, and I care about Rintama. Like I said, my gang is my family, and most of them go there.” the blond explained. “You are rich, yeah? Hire a home teacher.”

Yami blinked a couple times, scrunching his brow in confusion. “And what exactly do you think is following me?”

Hiruntani winced. “Hell, I will come out and say it. You are into witchy shit, so you probably believe in all of this too.” Hirutani grumbled under his breath.

The taller boy shifted on the couch, moving to lean forward with his elbows resting on his knees. He clasped his hands, cracking his knuckles. “You got an onryō Kura kun. Might even be your mother. Kinda hope it is, like, she is watching over you in the only way she can sort of thing.” The blond shrugged. “Either way, something is attached to you, preventing people from getting close to you, so you gotta leave Rintama.”

Yami Bakura stared the other down for a good moment, his face manually frozen to avoid expressions that would expose him. “You think I am haunted.” He asked with a tilt to his head.

Hirutani closed his eyes. “Well, when you invite shit in… I am not saying you asked for this Kura, but what is done is done. Most people at Rintama can’t protect themselves from stuff like that. You gotta leave.”

“I heard you the first time.” Bakura mumbled. “And my name isn’t ‘Kura’. It is Bakura.”

Hirutani moved to get up from the couch. “Just though Kura sounded cute.” He admitted under his breath.

Yami Bakura set his jaw, reiling himself in by a margin.

“Look.” Hirutani started, turning to make direct eye contact. “I don’t wanna hurt you, but if you come back to Rintama I will have to do

something

. Don’t make me hurt you Bakura.”

The ghost studied his classmate’s eyes for a tense beat. “That argument with Hayashi was more complicated than I thought.” the phantom said with a tone that was hard to define.

Hirutani’s eyes went hard and stagnant. It did not deter the ghost.

Yami Bakura crossed his arms, and leaned back in the cushions of the couch. He re-adverted his eyes and to look out the balcony as if it held a whole biography on Hirutani in the reflections of the glass. “It was about a crush, just not on miss Emi.”

“Watch it Bakura.” Hirutani warned darkly.

Oh, now you get his name right.

“I know that Hayashi was angry with me for Emi’s rejection, even if he wanted her to himself.” The ghost spoke with even calculation, voice clear like water. “But where did you fall in all of this? Perhaps you were happy… that the boy you had eyes for rejected the prettiest girl in school? That he also turned out to be gay.”

The blonde shifted, as if he were to lunge for Ryo’s neck just as Hayashi had attempted to do that fateful night. However, invisible strings held Hirutani from moving across too much distance. He buried his hands in his pockets. “It ain’t like that.”

“Hmm? Did I misread the situation?” Yami asked with an innocent and apologetic lilt.

Hirutani’s breath caught in his nose.

Yami smirked to himself, pleased that he could still read people like open texts.

The intensity in the air between them came to a head. Hirutani’s state had the sharp pointedness of needles piercing flesh, and the Yami’s had that resilient confidence of a bulletproof cupola.

Hirutani broke first.

He sucked his teeth, and turned from the other for the door. “Don’t flatter yourself. I got a boy I like.” He seethed under his breath.

“The old friend that refuses to rejoin your gang?” Yami Bakura asked innocently. “The one that goes to another school right? Blonde, a bit dopey. You have a thing for big brown eyes it seems.”

Hirutani’s breath became laboured. He huffed, then belted out “It’s like you want me to fuck up that pretty face.”

“But you won’t.” Bakura cooed gently, like a little bird in a cage.“Because you don’t want to hurt me.”

Hirutani stayed glued to the floor, his back shaking with the efforts to stay still.

“If you like this boy so much, why flirt with me?....” Bakura murmured, feigning sympathy. Finally, he sighed. “I will transfer schools. I agree with you that it’s what is best for everyone.” he said, closing his eyes in a heavily veiled sadistic bliss.

“... you better.” Hirutani spat under his breath.

The sound of the classmate slamming the door on his way out

almost

startled the ghost as he tucked away every interesting tidbit he learned into the back of his memory. Then, he frowned. Deep, and offended. “Onryō huh?”

----- CHAPTER BREAK -----

The spirit toyed with his options like a cat to a ball of yarn all morning the day after Hirutani’s visit. He just barely paid any mind to Ryo’s empty mechanical routine, going through the motions of pretending that everything was alright. He was still fairly interesting to watch, even if he was a grieved zombie. Ryo would stumble out of bed, then look at the window with bleary eyes to see if it were night or day. Then he would glance down at the ring, almost as if he wanted to make sure his phantom was still there. The breaking point of loneliness, when a lost boy opens his heart to a demon. Hell if the phantom couldn’t empathize… then again… that would make him Ryo’s Zorc wouldn’t it?  The thought made the base of the ghost’s skull tense, as if it were about to implode into his brain. Best not to think about that.  Diabound coiled around his shoulders, nudging his cheek now and again in a plea for comfort. The thief king bowed his head in a rare show of remorse, something reserved for only two beings these days. The damage to the python’s scales was far more severe than the second hand pain that the king felt yesterday would have let on. He set aside his juggling of the options to splay a warm hand over the snake’s back, providing the ka the only comfort he really had to offer. The snake melted slightly, burrowing its head at the back of its master's neck where it could rest in the warmth trapped by his hair. “Was he asleep the whole time?” he murmured to the reptile. Diabound could not speak, but it could share memories with its master just the same as it shared its pains and senses.That said, it was annoyed that he would ask again; Yes, Ryo was asleep for the entirety of Hirutani’s visit. It was the ideal outcome- but also the harder one as well. If he wanted to keep the blond’s visit a secret then the spirit would have to come up with a reason to give to Ryo in order for him to leave Rintama. That said, grief made even the strongest men malleable- and Ryo had certainly had enough grief to last multiple lifetimes.The phantom felt Ryo slump onto his couch, shaking the soul room in doing so. Another depression nap… That was all his human did lately- sleep. The apartment was slowly becoming filthy. The pantry was running out. He himself looked like the drowned rat version of himself. Hair greasy, and sticking to his forehead… ill fitting hoodie splotchy with various spots… Tracks of dried salt and runned mascara trailed down his face, their paths disrupted by his empty hearted attempts to wipe them away. Cold fingers clutching the ring hard enough that the chill of Ryo’s hands made his soul room run cold. It was too cold, too close. And it was getting old fast. A completely broken Ryo… it did not appeal to the ghost, let’s say that. Dwelling on why for too long would make the phantom emotional. “Ryo. Do you need a rest from the world?” He asked evenly into their mind space.Such a question would normally be met with immediate suspicion from the human boy, but this time Ryo simply curled into his blanket. What are you going to do if I say yes? He thought back eventually, turning over the possibility in his head… It had been a godsend the day previous- but if he was being honest… It terrified Ryo that he let it happen, the willing possession. Even if he didn’t want to face the world anymore it wasn’t an excuse to unleash a vengeful ghost upon the innocent town. “Let you rest.” the spirit huffed redunantly. You know what I mean. Ryo nearly snapped. Even in the mindspace, his voice was breathless. The thief king huffed again. “You have errands to run still, yes? Let me take care of those.”Ryo stilled on the couch, and his breathing evened out. The concept, the ghost wanting to take care of him, seemed to bring him some comfort… or at least calm- but he was still very much reasonably hesitant. Why are you … asking? He thought back eventually. “Hmm?” You would normally just take over. Clarified the cloudette, mouthing the words to himself as he thought them. The thief clicked his tongue. He laid back against the stone floor of his soul room, lazily petting a disgruntled Diabound head when it popped into his face after being made to move when he laid his head upon the stone. The snake hissed at him, and he hissed back- tongue out and all. “I am not trying to break you.” He offered in way of explanation. “So long as no one touches me I will be civil.” He reassured Ryo a moment later. “You are a mess, hardly hanging on by a thread. Ryo, you need the rest- in fact-”Ryo swallowed thickly, waiting for him to continue with baited breath. The spirit took his opening when it presented itself, like any expert thief would. “You should take the time off. Grief will destroy you- trust me on that. Maybe it is time to leave Rintama. Find someplace else that isn’t bathed in tragedy.” The soul room instantly shifted. Ryo sat up, and glared at the screen door, imagining his reflection to be that of his ghost’s. That way, he could pretend to speak to him face to face. You have a lot of audacity to say such a thing when you were the very catalyst of the tragedy. The phantom snickered. “Actually my dear host, your pretty face was the catalyst of the tragedy. Perhaps you should start wearing a mask.” his ghost bit, emotions hardly clear. There was an unspoken comfort in between them when they argued like this. A return to normalcy in their bickering, reassuring on the side of the phantom… but bittersweet on Ryo’s end. The… soft moments had passed it seemed.Ryo flopped back down onto the couch, and groaned into the pillow. “Careful you don’t break your neck, landlord…” The phantom grimaced. Swear to me that you will not cause anyone, anyone, any harm.  The cloudette demanded slowly. The thief king tilted his head, eyes a tad widened with his tone. “And how exactly do you plan to enforce that?” he asked with a dark playfulness. I have a few things in mind, neither of which you would like. Ryo answered- immediately too… communicating to the phantom that it was not a bluff. Said phantom sucked his teeth. “I promise to be a good boy. That is what you want to hear, yes?” Ryo did not answer him, but he did let his weight drop into the couch completely as if he were about to fall asleep. The spirit smirked. Times where Ryo willingly let him have control were rare, and it always went like this. Falling asleep… the one and only way Bakura Ryo knew how to let go…… A free trial of death. That first day of free reign was spent exactly as the phantom had promised, running errands for his host. Nothing entertaining, nor eventful occurred- and making sure of that required much effort on the ghost’s part. It did pay off though. That evening Ryo reached out to him to double check that he made good on his promise. With nothing on the news, and a freshly clean house full of groceries it was clear that the ghost could behave for short bouts of time… at least when threatened with incense. It took the human boy all of three hours to make sure he was reading the situation correctly. He opened and closed his own fridge several times, as if convinced there was a severed head hidden somewhere he kept missing. No such gore reared itself to Ryo, no matter how hard he searched for it. The ghost could feel the heavy sigh of his human shake the whole soul room as soon as Ryo conceded that, yes, the ghost really did keep his promise. The human stepped back from his kitchen, taking one last cursory glance towards the news flashing softly on his television. Then he padded to his living room, and clicked the device off.He stared at his own reflection in the black glass for a good ten or so minutes, then heaved another soul shaking sigh. So? The ghost asked impatiently. Ryo closed his eyes, then slowly laid back on his couch. “One week.” He conceded. “I should be okay in a week. Stay out of trouble… and if they manage to find a way to give her a wake, then you need to wake me up.” The ghost hummed. Fair parameters. He said without elaboration. Ryo nodded to himself, wringing his hands in his sleeves. “... I thought about what you said, or rather, I dreamed about it.” The phantom  grimaced, mildly pissed that his human was still awake. Go on.  “About Rintama.” Oh?“... I will start to look for a new school in spring.” the cloudette murmured in resignation. “I may graduate late but… I can’t imagine I can retain much information right now anyways.” With that Ryo rolled onto his side, and pulled the blanket off the back of the couch to prepare for sleep. Are you sure this has nothing to do with the anniversary of your mother and Amane’s deaths coming up? The ghost asked bluntly. Overwhelmed? Ryo’s breath hitched, and he buried his face into the cushion of the couch. I am asking in genuine sincerity.  “I find that hard to believe.” Ryo grumbled. I mean it.“Just let me sleep.” the human winced.Fine. Good night Ryo. The ghost said, forcing his voice even. Sleep well. Ryo’s stomach flopped with each of those words. He clenched his jaw, and made his weight drop into the cushion despite feeling his heartbeat in his eyelids. If he wasn’t so worn to shreds then it would have taken him hours to fall asleep with the unleashed ghost’s doom looming over him. He stilled himself though, forcing himself to recall the image of the goreless fridge interior and sparkling apartment as proof that this could work- a lifeline to keep his trust from drowning. Ryo slowly became numb then, starting at the tips of his extremities. His toes, then his fingers. The top of his head next, and oddly enough he tip of his nose as if he were to sneeze. His heart grew so light that he felt sick, then, all at once his body followed suit. He was in his soul room once again. The room shook gently as the spirit reclaimed the body, and sat up. Ryo followed suit from the bed in his soul room, not actually intending to sleep.

----- CHAPTER BREAK -----

It took all Ryo had to steel himself, to force himself to block out whatever the hell the ghost was doing.The moment the control had shifted he felt him get up and make his way to his laptop, clacking away on it like a mad man…Regret and nausea, dread screaming at him that he made a foul mistake, all mixed in him like a grotesque broken emulsion- but it was too late now. If he did not take his opportunity, who the hell knew when the next opportunity would rear itself.Ryo forced himself out of the comfort of his soul room bed, and started to scavenge the space for what he had been trying to manifest into the room for the past couple days. He turned over drawers and shelves, acting like a mad man himself, until he found it: a lock pick kit, as well as a manual on how to use it. Relief washed over him, and he fell to his knees with his hand over his racing heart. A smile crept up on his face, and a moment later he surprised himself with a little laugh. “He thinks I am weak and helpless…” he smiled to himself, careful not to project his voice to the ghost. “But I am going to be the one to open that door. I am coming for you spirit. I need to see your face…” With that the cloudette rose to his feet, and opened the book to get reading up on the ins and outs of breaking space.___The spirit clicked his tongue lazily, scrolling through the pages to find Hirutani’s old middle school, or rather, pictures from his middle school class. Polaroids submitted by students of their various breaks, the work of the newspaper clubs, even those boring black and white student photos- anything to track him down. He had happened to see the boy in question, but only a couple times- always bruised and bloodied, whether that be from a fight, an admirer, or a father. He never caught the boy’s name, and that was where the frustration lay. He could find just about anyone if he had a name, especially with this little miracle device of Ryo’s- unfortunately he never caught the human’s silly little label. If he had half of Ryo’s talent he could have drawn up some sketches to get himself started, but alas- his prowess with a pencil was left at the level of chicken scratch. The ghost grimaced and leaned back in the desk chair, crossing his legs haphazardly with little avoidance of the chair’s arms- something Ryo would have chided him for should he have been present. His glare narrowed enough to make his eyes hurt.He found plenty of pictures of Hirutani, and even of his other gang members… but the scruffy brown eyed blond was always either missing, or hardly visible- and never labeled in the caption. What he did find was a distinct scar on the back of his neck, almost always covered by the lengths of hair at the back of his shaggy mullet. It was too clean of a cut to be a complete accident. The ghost rested an elbow on his knee and pressed his second knuckles to his lips in thought. “Interesting. Hellish home life hmm puppy?” He said, scrunching his face. He leaned forward to save the picture, then opened it in a digital painting software. The phantom then zoomed in on the picture to the point of increasing pixelation. The scar tissue tugged at space intervals where perpendicular scrunched scars, much less clean cut than the main scar, pulled at the slash. “Bathroom surgery?” he murmured. “You certainly are a survivor. It had to be hard to do your own sutures, much less at the back of your own neck.” His right eye twitched, and he clenched his fist to avoid reaching towards Ryo’s cheek where he knew the skin would be distraughtfully and wrongfully smooth. “It must be a contributing factor as to why dear Hirutani likes you so much hmm? Hard to kill? Like a roach- can’t say I find it unrelatable. The damned love their indestructible life lines, those who bend and stretch- but never break… never die, never leave- you clearly fit that bill. ” mused the phantom. “In a kinder timeline we could have been friends perhaps. It would have been nice to be beside someone who got it way back when. I am no stranger to bathroom surgery.” He murmured, getting quieter and quieter towards the end.The edges of the boy’s neck wound were discolored… denoting infection, one that he had to be gritting his teeth through. The ghost’s eye twitched again. Luckily in Ryo’s body he had proper vision in both eyes, so he did not have to dwell on that memory too much.  He leaned back in his chair again with a scoff, moving so abruptly that the chair squeaked and rolled back a foot. “Be a friend and tell me your god damned name.” He grumbled, upset as a yawn took over his voice. “Dammit…”  The ghost schlumped out of the desk chair, and gave a deep cat-like stretch before slamming the laptop closed. “I’ll be back for you in the morning, puppy. I need to set up this dogfight properly.” He grumbled before dragging his sorry ass to his host’s soft warm bed. The ghost fell into the cushioned slab and screwed his eyes shut. Bad memories… as tired as he was he really doubted he could sleep- still, it was nice to just lay in the dark quiet. Safe, warm and surrounded by sights and smells of someone familiar. As loath as he was to admit it, it was always easier to fall asleep here- in Ryo’s vessel and bed- than it was in his own spirit and room. He rolled onto his side to hide his face into Ryo’s pillow, picking idly at a stray white hair that lay shed on the pillow case. He stared blankly at the weave of the fabric, until the individual threads became all to clear, then all to blurry in rapid disfocus. This blond boy was very clearly Hirutani’s Ryo… if anyone did to him and his host what he was planning for those two bruised sorry boys he would likely let the demon in all over again. Perhaps even through all decorum to the wind in order to embrace the dis-elegance of complete destruction over proper revenge and closure. Oh well. Casualties were always inevitable, so long as it was not one of his people who passed away. Again. And, with only one name on that list it was an easy outcome to avoid.He closed his eyes, only to find his eyelids beating with the pumps of his heart. Why? Breaking a promise to Ryo had never bothered him before… so, why was he anxious now? Hirutani was a threat, and Ryo did not even know this blond stray, so he wouldn’t miss either of them when they were gone now would he?The ghost winced.But, would Ryo still talk to him like he did on the balcony that day if he went through with this? If found out two more people died? It filled him with self disgust, but the spirit knew that incident with Rina would not be the last time he relapsed into despair. It was pathetic, but if he wanted his revenge he would need someone in his corner to keep him strong. Ryo was the only person that he could keep at a safe distance, and still rely on to peel him from the floor when he melted in agony like flesh in molten gold.It didn’t mean anything. Ryo just fit the job description better than he could ask from anyone else. His skin prickled, like the cold chill of an encroaching thunderstorm in the ass crack of summer… and with that, the ghost manually cleared his head for his own sanity.___Jounouchi Katsuya was not a very common name. Nor was it one that the boy felt fit him. Sure, if you asked him about it he would outwardly own it with pride- inwardly though? I just felt like another wound from his father. Katsuya never really felt like he could win anything. He was the unluckiest prick on the planet. So why should he even bother right? He crumpled this week’s note without even reading it, then he threw it against the wall with as much force as one could put behind crumpled paper. It made a pretty substantial thunk against the thin drywall, loud enough that he was thankful his old man was too zonked and hungover to hear. He couldn’t help it though. The guy was now just… sending letters away, no doubt laced with threats, and slowly killing every tree in Japan with the wasted paper. The guy just couldn’t take the hint. Jou even broke his back to get into a hoity toity school that Hirutani had no hope getting into, sure that would end things. That was very naive, even for Jou. He should have saved the tuition money, Domino high wasn’t doing him any favors. The blond sank against the wall to sit on the littered floor, hunched over and gritting his teeth. He lost another one today. His paper route, as little as it paid, it was at least something to tie up the loose ends. No one wanted a battered boy showing up at their house with the morning news though… The complaints finally drove the old lady to let him go that afternoon. There was no point in running. His pops would put together why the pantries were more empty than normal pretty quick. That was the last thing he could really cut and still keep up appearances- food. He would have to leave the majority for his dad. Going back to the baggy clothes to hide the gaps, and hope he didn’t pass out on his feet. He would survive so long as they met up once or twice a month, he hated relying on him though... wasn't healthy. But it wasn’t like he wasn’t used to it. It was all a cycle. The full moon brought plenty, but the full moon was only one night of light out of the whole month. That is how the cash flow felt, especially now that Kashiwagi debt guy knew that his target had a son he could pluck the money from. Oh well… better him than Shizuka or... him...Katsuya licked the traces of blood from his teeth, then wiped the sweat from his brow. Some girl died in a train accident near the old terf a few days back, and an old rival gang assumed Hirutani’s boys had something to do with it. Trying to explain to them that he wasn’t with the prick anymore was like trying to explain physics to a goldfish. Fuck his face hurt like hell, but he won in the end. Just like he usually did. It’s just… it had been one hell of a day. Katsuya peeled himself from the floor now that he had calmed down, and opened a cabinet he knew was much more rich with dust than food. He could practically hear his old man telling him to just call Honda again for more money. He couldn’t do that. He hated doing that. It was reserved for the absolute worst breaking points. Jou had to claw his way out of this pit on his own. It was going to be okay though, he was used to it. He shut the cabinet as carefully as he could, then pat himself down for any cash he could have missed. He didn’t have time to make dinner. Take out was expensive as hell, but the rage his dad would give him at a late meal was worse than the wound to his wallet. It would cost less if he just picked it up. In his overworked and bruised head this justified the reckless spending. It was less pathetic than calling this his birthday meal. He had just gotten home too… Oh well. Katsuya turned towards the door, and thrust himself back out into the cold to go pick up whatever the hell was the cheapest, hottest and most filling. If he remembered correctly there should be a good chinese place down the street. Lo mein could knock them both out and fill his dad up enough to keep him from drinking too much tonight- double win. He hurried down the shaky steps of his apartment building, nearly slipping in the ice. Jou catapulted himself over the railing when he reached the last couple steps, narrowly avoiding a woman who cursed him under her breath. He couldn’t waste money on the bus, so running it was- it would keep him warm too, so, bonus. Katsuya took off at a good pace, weaving through the crowds of people walking home from their nice, cushy and well paid jobs. The sight struck him in the head like a javelin. Katsuya knew that what they had was what he was supposed to be aiming for but… it felt like putting clothes on a monkey honestly. He smirked to himself, picking up his pace as he did so. No. No feeling sorry for himself. He never fit in anywhere, so why lament being displaced from society now? The options left to him were gritty, but he was good at them. Body guard- that was the most appealing post high school path to him. Fighting was like air, so he might as well get paid to do it- besides... he could really use a body guard. Bouncer- that was a fall back plan, and Honda would probably join him too. But maybe… if he was lucky… he could be a chef. Now that did make him pause. He stopped short at the cross walk just in time to avoid the red light. He liked making things. He liked bright celebratory atmospheres too. Going out to eat… he remembered every time he ever got to eat out at a nice place (it happened so seldom after all)... both the good times and the bad. Being a chef in one of those glossy restaurants… now that sounded genuinely nice. Hard. He would likely get yelled at by whoever the head rat was, but he would be good at chefin’ too, just like fighting. When he had the things to cook he made some pretty good stuff- fuck, the dishes he could make if he had actual nice ingredients to work with. A nice kitchen too. Plenty of space, and plenty to cook. Plenty to eat. Everyone left restaurants like that stuffed, and the chefs always looked like they had a good meal too. Yeah right. That would require culinary school. He could barely afford to go to highschool. Jou watched the cars zip by, knowing the whole time he would not likely ever have a car of his own- adding insult to injury. The funny thing is- if he didn’t have to support his ass of a father he would have a neat sum saved up by now… The light dinged, then the little crosswalk figure turned from red to green. He shook the thought from his head. The blond took the first step forward into the crosswalk and stared at the passing asphalt under his feet, no longer having the energy to run. “I need to stop thinking things like that… he’s still in there somewhere.” He muttered to himself, missing the red light-ignoring moped. ___ Yami Bakura flicked on the news out of habit, nothing more. It was sheer dumb luck that he caught a mop of blond flash across the screen as he was making breakfast. Under the image of the moderately injured boy was the caption; 16 year old Jounouchi Katsuya, hit by a distracted moped driver at 8 pm last night. Broken arm and a concussion, but no other major injuries. The woman on the news went on to elaborate. Jounoushi had fought with the response team when they tried to take him to the hospital, yelling that he was fine before passing out. He was taken to the hospital, arriving at around 8:39 pm. His father was called, but he did not pick up the phone nor show up. The boy’s medical bills are yet to be paid. He is stable and fine, but still in the hospital. Yami Bakura clicked his tongue. “There you are, and prepackaged for me too- how convenient.” He set aside the food he wasn’t all that enthusiastic about, and rested his elbows on the counter to cradle his chin in thought. “If I knew it would be this easy I would not have been so stressed last night- and I didn’t even have to raise a hand to you, so I am in the clear with Ryo as well.” he chuckled. “Perhaps this is destiny. Now all I have to do is get to you before Hirutani.”

----- CHAPTER BREAK -----

He woke up to the blaring white ceiling, and instantly felt blinded.Soft kind faces of doctors and nurses were harbingers of his death sentence.Fuck his dad… even when he wasn’t here he turned the kindness and light into pure anxiety and dread for Katsuya. The soft voice of his doctor played oddly with the beeping of his monitors, and not even her promises that everything would be okay registered fully in his brain. He had been hearing those exact words his whole life. They never amounted to anything. Things were only ever okay if he made them that way, and that meant he couldn’t just sit on his ass like a dope waiting for things to happen- but his medical crew wouldn’t let him fucking move.A concussion. He’s had them before, and he never really thought anything of them- until she mentioned how lucky he was that it was just the one. Katsuya cleared his throat and craned his neck to look at his doctor. “What happens if I have a bunch?” he asked cautiously. His doctor’s face fell, only for a second, then her gentle expression resettled on her features. “A single concussion doesn’t always yield brain damage, but some damage is near inevitable with repeated trauma.” she explained carefully. “Brain damage?” the blond snorted. Just what he needed, another reason for everyone to think he was an idiot. He’s definitely had multiple, hell some he likely didn’t even know about. Bonks to the noggin were just part of the territory of being Jounouchi Katsuya. The doctor pulled up a chair to sit beside her patient’s bed. “Do you ever have… lapses in memory? Bouts of confusion… or behaviors that don’t seem quite yourself, Katsuya?” The boy’s stomach flopped. He appreciated how gentle she was, but her tone of voice and mannerisms were… too close to home. Well, too close to his old home, before things went to shit. “Yeah. Sometimes.” He answered honestly despite himself. The doctor tensed, and nodded her head slowly. “You have a lot of bruises. And cuts, and scars.” She breathed. “Your father did not answer our calls, and he still hasn’t come for you. Is everything alright at home?” There it was, the question he had been dreading. It felt like a knife to the diaphragm. Katsuya steeled his face, and lowered his head. “You don’t have to worry about me sensei. I’m on time for my shifts and I get all my homework done. I make sure the rent is never late. I do that. Me.” The woman’s amber eyes closed slowly, and did not reopen for a long while. “Where is your mother?” “I’m 16 now. I could live alone if I wanted to, he don’t care- so it doesn't matter where she is.” He doesn’t care so long as I keep paying his rent that is- I just can’t afford two apartments.. Katsuya balled his fists into his blankets. He jumped out of his skin when he felt his doctor’s hand on his shoulder in a gesture of comfort. He clenched his jaw, and glanced at her hand through his heavy blond fringe. “Katsuya, you know I have to report your injuries right?” She murmured. There it was. “We are required to report any suspected child abuse…” She elaborated with a gentle firmness. Katsuya shrugged off her hand. “Che. I ain’t the child here Sensei. I’m the one taking care of him.  You wanna know why he didn’t show? There ya go.” he huffed. “Oh he will notice I am gone. When he gets hungry.” The blond muttered bitterly. The doctor just stared at him with those big caring amber eyes of hers. They bore into his soul, and reminded him of Shizuka. Pity. Now he didn’t need any of that. The doctor got up from her seat and placed another hand on his shoulder, only for a moment. “I have to make some calls. I will be back. Until then, you have a friend here to visit you.” she smiled bittersweetly. Katsuya felt his belly flop. A lightness at companionship, but also insurmountable embarrassment. Honda was gonna kill him. The doctor with the Shizuka eyes left him to himself, closing the door with a light click after herself. Katsuya sank into his covers the moment he was alone, and cursed his eyes for growing wet. Tears wouldn’t help him pay these damn medical bills… he never missed a rent payment before.Oh well. First time for everything right? The door lock clicked again from the outside, and the heavy wood swang open to reveal a mop of delicately shagged long cloudy white hair, and big brown doe eyes glancing into the room. The boy, definitely not Honda, stepped into the blond’s room and furrowed his brows as he closed the door behind him, leaning on it shyly in his best impression of his host. Katsuya stared back from his covers, quirking his own brow in confusion. “Uh… wrong room?” Yami Bakura drew a delicate breath, and tilted his head in expertly feigned sadness. “You don’t remember me? We went to elementary together- I, well, I saw you on the news and I… I felt I should come visit you.” He explained, lying through his teeth with such precision that even his own demon would be jealous of his skills. Jou blinked a few times, then narrowed his eyes as if trying to remember who this kid was- meaning he did not brush off the lie entirely. Jackpot. “Uh…. what’s your name?”“Bakura. Bakura Ryo.” He answered, playing with his sleeve. “If you don’t remember me it’s fine. We were in different class rooms, and we only talked a couple times- at school festivals… and the one time you drove bullies away from me when they were picking on me for my hair.” The ghost mumbled, playing shyly with a lock of said long cloudy hair. He spoke up again immediately, cutting Jou off. “ The news said you couldn’t pay your medical bills.” Katsuya sat up bolt straight- and immediately regretted it. His head spun, and he clutched it in desperate agony. Yami Bakura descended on him immediately, lightly holding his shoulders in the way he was sure Ryo would if he were there. “Careful- your doctor says you have a concussion!!” He chided with a mild tone. “Lay back, please. Don’t hurt yourself anymore, yes?” the cloudette urged, pushing lightly on his shoulders to guide the blond to lay back down. Katsuya growled… but did as his “old friend” asked. “I don’t remember any Bakura- and you have no right to rag on me for my finances.”Yami Bakura made himself wince. “It wasn’t a judgement- besides they are paid now.” He murmured. Jou blinked. The only reason he didn’t bolt again was because the other was still holding him… It made sense though… doc hadn’t asked about the bills during her last visit. The cloudette smiled mildly. “Consider it a thank you for protecting me all those years ago.” He said, tilting his head with closed serene eyes- mimicking Ryo’s infamous disarming look. The blonde looked to him like a stray dog just given a blanket and a plate of food- wary and suspicious, but also thankful beyond words. “You- you paid my medical bills?” Bakura withdrew his hands from the blond, sure he was disarmed enough to stay still this time. He wrung his hands a couple times, then withdrew them into his sleeves shyly. “Yes. I have always wanted to thank you for helping me- it feels silly now that I know you don’t even remember it… I guess it was just a normal Tuesday for you, yes? It meant the world to me though- I had just lost my mother and sister… growing my hair out? It helped me feel closer to them. You can judge me if you want, but Amane always liked to play with hair. I’d let her braid mine when we were little, so I want to keep it long in her memory. The idea of those boys trying to cut it… if you hadn’t pulled them off of me I would have been broken that day. So thank you.” Meaningful false memories were easy for the spirit to write, especially when overly sentimental Ryo already set up all the dominoes for him to knock down. The ghost looked to the human boy, taking full advantage of his host’s big brown doe eyes. The blond’s face softened out, melting like pudding. This sap really was too easy. Katsuya coughed into his fist and looked away. “Why would I think that’s stupid? I got a little sister too. I get it, we’d do anything for our girls, any man that wouldn’t isn’t really a man is he?” He mumbled. “You don’t gotta thank me for something like that. Still..” Jou shifted uncomfortably, and the ghost gave a small light little laugh. “I’ll find a way to pay you back.” the blond said finally.‘Ryo’ shook his head. “Don’t, I don’t want you to. We are even now.” He said with a smile, sitting on the edge of the boy’s bed. Katsuya crossed his arms in embarrassment, face going full peachy pink. “I pay what I owe.” He countered.“So do I. That’s why this makes us even.” The cloudette giggled, watching the other go pinker. You are weirdly endearing… he grumbled inwardly. “Are you hungry?” He asked a moment later. “Let me get us some lunch?” The blond exhaled heavily through his nose, the big puppy eyes making a return even if they were hidden by blond fringe. The cloudette pulled himself from his seat on the bed with an elegance entirely purposeful under the blond’s gaze, looking at him through his fluffy bangs as he stood to his host’s full height. “I won’t be long. Any requests?” Katsuya scrunched himself into his covers. “I like curry.” He sighed, feeling like he was falling into another debt- right after they were even too. “I’ll pay you back.”“Enough of that.” the Ryo-playing ghost chided lightly. “See you soon.” He said, waving as he passed through the door. The heavy wood clicked behind him, shutting his prey away in his little cage. He had to raise a hand to his cheek in a gesture outwardly endearing to any possible audience, to keep himself from grinning in a way entirely un-Ryo. The ghost hardly took three steps before a crash startled the inhabitants of the waiting room one floor below. He clicked his tongue, and walked through the groups of people retreating past him up the stairs.From the landing of the steps he gazed out into the crowded waiting room, finding Hirutani pushing against some new boy with a much too sharp pompadour. The ghost snickered inwardly, making sure to memorize this new boy’s face. The gruffer of the two swang the brunette around, trying to shake him in vain. This new boy was ever so slightly smaller, shorter and not as muscular as Hirutani- but he also did not budge. He grit his teeth and pushed Hirutani right back, grating some harsh words into his face. Hirutani yelled back for him to move- Honda, this boy’s name was Honda- and tried to trip the boy to the ground. Unfortunately for both of them, a couple of larger men, no doubt hired to carry bed ridden patients out of their beds and the like, seized both boys- effectively revoking their rights to visit Jounouchi. It really was all too easy. Bakura smoothed out his smile back into one that Ryo would wear, then eased himself into a concerned look befitting the situation. It made him sick to do, but he skirted into the room cautiously as if afraid of both boys, instead of marching head on in like he would prefer. Just as expected, Hirutani caught him in his sights immediately. The brutish classmate’s eyes narrowed dangerously, freezing the cloudette in place. The ghost paused to return his gaze with Ryo’s signature serene expression- the very one he always wore when ready to face a danger in resignation of whatever was about to unfold before him. The cloudette clasped his hands, and lowered his head. “They won’t let you visit him if you behave like this.” He murmured, as if seeking to be helpful. “Why the hell are you here.” Hirutani asked slowly. Both the men holding him and Honda, as well as Honda himself looked between the pair critically, trying to understand their connection. Yami Bakura heaved a sigh. “After our talk it hit me like… well like a train.” He said, knowing full well how his words would be read by the classmate. “He seemed familiar. I looked through my old school books- and found that we once briefly shared an elementary school. He looks rather different now, but there is no mistaking it.” he smiled to himself. “He saved me once, from a gaggle of bullies. So I came to pay my thanks to him.”Hirutani grit his teeth, then yanked his arm from one of the men when his guard was down. “You know Jounouchi.” He stated more so than asked. Bakura nodded, squeezing his hands together. “I thought I would thank him by paying his medical bills. So, he is all set now. All he has to do is recover.” The cloudette hummed.He then turned his doe eyes unto Hirutani to stun him. “Please don’t exasperate him. If you really are his friend, you would be kind to him- at least right now when he is hurt.” With that the ghost turned to leave, stopped abruptly by the bigger boy’s hand seizing his arm. “Let’s get one thing straight, I wasn’t going to hurt him.” the classmate intensely muttered. Bakura took a deep breath, and made a point to be still in the other’s grip- something that made the new boy seem uncomfortable. One cursory glance would reveal a change in Honda’s stance- the beginning of a lunge as if he intended to save Bakura. Cute. “Then stop being so violent. It won’t help you get any closer to him.” The cloudette murmured, giving Hirutani a knowing look. Oh, this is too much fun.  He chuckled inwardly. Hirutani’s eyes wavered. His grip tightened, then released. He looked incredibly confused- just the way Bakura wanted it. Was he being a friend? A wingman? Or was this a threat? The oaf would know soon enough.Bakura pulled back his arm with a shuddering breath, and rubbed at where finger marks were sure to appear an hour or so later. “That really hurt.” he murmured. Hiruntani clenched his now free fist a few times. “... sorry.” he muttered, hardly audible. Bakura whipped his gaze up to the classmate, and wore an expression of surprise on his face toward the other’s left field apology. He examined his face for a good beat before speaking up. “That’s alright.” he spoke gently with a smile. The cloudette turned away then, fixing his jacket. “I have to go, I told him I wouldn’t be long.”“Hmm.” Hirutani sniffed.Bakura smiled at him brightly. “I told him I would get him some lunch. Curry.” he explained cheerfully. Hirutani crossed his arms, taking a deep breath which he held to keep his emotions in check. “He likes steak and shrimp.” he said finally. Bakura nodded, and ducked away towards the door.Hirutani huffed the held breath out as the two men re-seized the dueling pair to remove them from the hospital. ___Ryo huffed under his breath, trying to yank the pick free from where it was jammed in his practice lock. He cursed to himself in a way that would have his ghost cackling, and struggled to pull the damn thing loose for a good couple moments. Finally something gave, and the force he had put behind his tug sent him flying back into the floor of his soul room as soon as the pick came loose.His head thunked painfully on the wood, and he winced with latent timing. The cloudette let the pick clatter to the floor in favor of hugging his own head, rubbing at his temples to release some of the pain. This was harder than they made it seem in the movies. The boy sighed, opting to lay there to gather his thoughts. The deeper he tread into this territory the more and more it felt like a bad idea- and yet, the further he went the more and more he wanted to see that door open. He could hear slithering beyond the glossy black wood… there was a small hole in the bottom of one of his room’s walls where he could see flashes of a shiny velvety white pass back and forth on occasion if he laid on the floor to peek through the hole. Behind that white thing, there laid the deepest darkness he had ever seen. A darkness that seemed to shift about, like it was a sleeping creature.There was far more to the spirit than the ghost ever let on. It made Ryo wonder if the room across from him was a portal to hell itself. If it was…. Well, it did scare him- but it did not deter him. In a way he was already living in hell, no?The boy rolled onto his side, and stretched his arms to relieve the tension in his back. His break was over, and he didn’t have much time to pull this off. He had to count his blessings that whatever the ghost was up to kept him busy enough that he had yet to take a peek in on Ryo- but it wouldn’t last forever.

----- CHAPTER BREAK -----

The brunette’s smile was polite to the degree of violence, making the nurse shrink under his hollow blue eyes. Even from the cover of the cavernous hood of his white sweatshirt the heir had a commanding presence, making even the grown learned adults around him feel inferior. Seto closed his eyes and tilted his head in a gorey pantomime of endearment, the unspoken threat still clear in the glint of his pearly canines. The bundles of cash before him seemed to rot in the artificial light of the hospital, mimicking the decaying feeling the nurse shrank under. “His bills have already been paid.” The nurse repeated. “Jounouchi san will be discharged as soon as he is well. There is nothing else to take care of. “ “By who?” Seto asked with a false sweetness that not even Yami Bakura could pull off. “I told you I would be back with cash. Who paid his bills?”Cash was the only way he could pay off Katsuya’s bills without being screamed at by the blond. Gozaburo would be able to track any transactions through check or card. If he caught him… There would be more marks. Even with his neck currently bare Seto could feel the collar constricting his airway. He wasn’t a dog, neither of them were, and yet, here they were cowering in the shadows of their respective “fathers” just like mutts.
Seto was getting sick of it, and that sickness was messing with his judgement.

It had been one of their worst arguments to date too. They both bickered late into the visiting hours that first night Katsuya spent in the hospital.

Seto vowed to take care of the bills, just as he vowed to take care of the debts of the blond’s father that hung over Katsuya’s head.

Katsuya would growl that it was too dangerous. Gozaburo would find out about them, and Sagiwagi would put a hit out on Seto’s head if he knew Katsuya was involved with someone with money. It had not been the first time the unspoken question hung in the air between them :

If we really love each other we should break up… to protect one another.

Neither of them ever said it aloud, or even acknowledged that those words existed even if only in the ether. Neither of the two wanted it to come to that. However, that day would be sure to come if Seto didn’t reil his ego in…

Admittedly, taking out cash was not a perfect solution, and Seto knew that- otherwise he would have resorted to it long ago.

The cash itself was untraceable once spent, but the withdrawal would be clear as day in his adoptive “father’s” books. Under the withdrawal it would declare which Kaiba it was that had made the transaction. Yes, it was unbelievably dangerous. A simple excuse that the money was for tech development only went so far.

But even when trying his best to maintain self control Seto still had a breaking point.

His other half being run over was that very climax needed to make him damn near completely reckless.

He only saw Katsuya once in a full moon, and the full moon was only one night of light. That’s how affection felt for Seto. He’d damn himself if he let his moon go dark entirely.

He always swore, once Gozaburo was out of the picture, that he would get Katsuya out of that mess he called a life.

He would take him home to live with himself and Mokuba where he belonged. No more abusive “fathers” lording over any of the three of them, and he might even meet Shizuka one day. It would be a very broken, and re-peiced together family- but a gorgeous one, like a stained glass window. All pieces once shattered, brought together into a finally perfect, and colorful masterpiece. The sharp edges sealed off by one another, no more bruises, no more struggles.

If Kaiba Seto got to have his way, Jounouchi Katsuya would never be hungry again.

His knuckles, prematurely arthritic from overwork, clicked as he recollected the cash from the counter. The nurse turned his head away from the brunette, not budging on his stance to keep Jounouchi’s benefactor anonymous.

Seto’s stomach churned. It was not entirely out of the realm of possibility that it was Gozaburo who had butted his way into the blond’s finances. He had sent warnings like that before.

I own your world, and I own you. I can build your world up, and I can smash it and everyone within it in a second. Do not test me, Seto.

But that would require Gozaburo to have found out about them- and they were so,

so

careful.

“Is he still in the same room?” Seto asked, pocketing his money mechanically.

“Yes he is.”

The brunette set his jaw, clicking his nail on the counter. “My demands from last night still stand. No one is to know that I was here. Correct?” He said sterilly.

The nurse winced, but nodded. “Understood.”

The brunette turned from the counter, readjusting his hood to hide his face. He wanted, so dearly, to make his way up those steps again. To walk through that door like any normal teenager could, and see his boyfriend when he needed him most. To be there with him, check up on how he was feeling. To hold his hand through his recovery.

Two visits in a row though… too easy to track.

Too much wasted time too. The sooner he escaped Gozaburo, the sooner they could be together in broad daylight just the way highschool sweethearts were

supposed

to be. Most of the members of the council were starting to break. A couple sided with him full heartedly now, even if only from behind closed doors. It was the beginning of the rock slipping down the incline to crush his father, but once the ball started rolling acceleration was inevitable. Seto would be victorious over Kaiba, and he would not rest until he made that happen.

The boy looked over his shoulder at the nurse. His face had fallen from the false polite smile into an unreadable and cold mask, and yet his blue eyes looked shiny for once. “Tell him you saw the dark side of the moon in the sky today. He will know what it means.” He demanded of the nurse.

The nurse blinked a couple times, clearly bewildered by their funny little code. That was the point. Something only the two of them would understand. He was the dark side of the moon, and Katsuya was the light side. Together they made the full cycle, completely balanced as any partnership should be. Two sides of the same incredibly nuanced, broken but still enduring whole. Like the moon, full of craters from countless hits, and yet still in the sky far above where all the violent asteroids would inevitably fall to dust.

Seto’s gaze hardened. “Write it down and hand it to him if you must. Those exact words. ‘I saw the dark side of the moon today.’ Write it down.”

It meant that I am here, even if you cannot see me. I am always here. The dark side of the moon is not always visible, neither is the light side- but there is one constant: they will always be right beside one another, following wherever the other goes.

The nurse winced, but moved to get some paper all the same. Seto did not turn for the door until he saw that his message had been properly recorded. He flashed one singular glance at Jou’s window once he was out of the hospital, then the dark side of the moon vanished completely unto a gritty city bus that he only subjected himself to when it was for Jounouchi’s sake.

He hated this hospital. It was always

this fucking hospital

, even since the day that they met. One day neither of them would have any bruises left. They both intended to make sure of that, a promise two boys drowsy with painkillers sharing a hospital room made to each other a year ago.

Seto sat down on the bus seat like a robot, and looked at the back of the seat in front of him to let his eyes unfocus. It was a strange little stim of his, something to ground himself. It was also something that Katsuya teased him relentlessly for. He would wave his sun-tanned fight-scarred hand in front of Seto’s face to steal his attention back, laughing once the brunette’s eyes locked on him. Then he would kiss his cheek.

That is actually how his first ever kiss from Katsuya went. It wasn’t on the lips, it was on the cheek. Somehow it was more meaningful that way. A cheek kiss was pure affection instead of the heated creature comfort of a mouth kiss, so you could be sure that a cheek kiss was real. There was so little in this world Seto could be sure was real, especially in regards to people.

When it happened they both stared at each other in disbelief, analyzing what had just transpired.

They were playing a game, one that Katsuya was hopelessly bombing. The blond had recovered faster than the brunette, so he was able to crawl out of his hospital bed to sit next to Seto in his own bed on the opposite side of the shared hospital room.

Heh- and Gozaburo thought he was punishing Seto by denying him a private hospital suite. Funny how the evils of the damned tended to backfire, no?

Katsuya had several broken bones, and Seto had a concussion so bad he had been in a coma for the first couple nights. They were stuck together for over a month. When Seto first woke up he hated Katsuya. It only took a few days for the undying warmth within the boy to get to Seto. Leading to them talking. Playing games. Sharing a cheek kiss.

Sharing memories they never said aloud to anyone. Not even Mokuba. Not even Shizuka.

Seto, due to his head, was not supposed to walk around without help back then, but he did not trust the nurses- he hardly trusted anyone. He did however, much to his surprise, end up trusting the broken boy willing to help shoulder his weight despite his own injuries.

They made a funny sight. Jounouchi all broken bones and bruises with Kaiba slung over his shoulder all head bandages and wounds he couldn’t- wouldn’t- explain to the nurses, hobbling around the halls like a couple of teenage zombies on a date in an american apocalypse movie.

By the end of the month of their cohabitation in the hospital room they gave each other a kiss on the lips. Katsuya was discharged the next day. Seto found him a couple months later, tracking him down to his school.

Katsuya had buried his face, refusing to acknowledge that he was crying. He had made himself accept that it ended the day he was discharged, that he would never see the boy with the shadowy blue eyes ever again. Yet there he was, all the bandages now removed, his turn to pull Katsuya up and steady him on his feet. Seto’s turn to carry Katsuya’s weight.

The first thing out of Seto’s mouth was him demanding to know how the blond somehow looked worse now than he did in the hospital. The answer was simple: he and Hirutani were growing apart, and they had a major disagreement- one that had spanned the past couple weeks.

Jou just wanted to parole the streets, and use his fists to right things he though were fucked up- blowing off steam through punches was just the bonus gift he gave himself.

Hirutani however, wanted to own the city. He wanted to dominate the town that made him and his boys into lost boys, and he wanted Katsuya to do it with him…. Specifically Katsuya.

For some reason when others left he didn’t care all that much, he would just hunt them down and make them sorry. When Katsuya tried to leave the gang… it was all out hell. He never gave the blond a reason why, just that he belonged at his side, whatever that meant. He was far more angry with Katsuya than he was anyone else, and yet… he never did deal a final blow to him/ Hirutani would only even end things with the promise to be back again later. And no matter where he would run, Hirutani would find him. He couldn’t outrun him- not on his own.

Seto had an idea. One that seemed impossible.

“Go to the same high school as me. There is no conceivable way that oaf could get into Domino High.”

Katsuya sniffed, coating the facts with not a grain of sugar that yeah, he couldn’t get into Domino either.

That was when their first discussion over money, and how it was too dangerous for Seto to spend money on him, took place.

They found a way around it though. Seto forged recommendation letters for Kastuya to take to employers, getting him jobs he did not quite qualify for. He lost them easily, but so long as the letters were spaced out enough Seto could always forge another one. During the evenings he would tutor him for the entrance exam.

Katsuya had to tell a lot of lies to Honda back then. It was the one thing about the situation he really felt bad about, ghosting his ex best friend Hirutani not so much. Honda deserved better though.

But no one, not even dependable as rain and shine Honda Hiroto, could know about Seto and Katsuya’s secret romance. Not yet. Soon, just not then, and just not now.

They made it through a whole year. They could handle a couple more months.

Seto ghosted his fingers over his cheek, where the first kiss Katsuya ever gifted him still gave him phantom tingles if he dwelled in the memory long enough.

“Soon the world will be ours.”

After all, the gravity of the moon controls the tides of the earth.

----- CHAPTER BREAK -----

Yami Bakura strolled out of the hospital into the parking lot past a strange boy hiding in a white sweatshirt, one who was just now unboarding a gritty city bus with a pace that declared he was a man with a mission. He hardly made it past the weird kid with his mask intact, he felt it slipping by the second- so much so that he just narrowly managed to replace it in time to avoid his diabolical grin from being seen by the annoying former classmate.
Hirutani had trucked it as soon as he was released by the hospital’s ‘bouncers’ for lack of a better word. The blond took the cloudette by the arm to stop him, much like he did back in the waiting room- albeit not as forcefully.
Inwardly Yami Bakura growled at the inconvenience, outwardly he feigned mild confusion. “Yes… ?” he asked.
“I’m coming with you.” the boy said, catching his breath, eyes flicking once towards the boy in the white hood- unknowingly telling Yami Bakura to take note of the boy now entering the hospital. The ghost took a moment to memorize what he could of the strange new comer. Clothes so plain that it had to be on purpose. Strangely tall for his age, but not in the same way as Hirutani. Lankier, like he was yet to fill out- or like he was scrawny from hunger or exhaustion.  Another poor little casualty to add to his collection of souls. For a brief moment the ghost wondered how he was connected to all of this. What little he saw of his face looked like Shikabane Kiri… funny.

Bakura raised a brow, turning to face Hirutani. “They won’t let you back into the hospital. Not after the fight you just had.”
“They might.” the boy grumbled. “If I go with you.” The gangster admitted with great effort, placing ill-gotten trust into the phantom.

Heh.
The ghost tilted his host’s head and crossed his arms. Hirutani let go of his arm to allow him to do just that. “Can I ask you something?” He hummed.
Hirutani sucked his teeth. “Fine.”
“You flirt with me a lot, but the moment you had an opening to run towards Jounouchi you took it without hesitation. Am I your contingency plan? In case he rejects you again or any other such factor?” he asked, batting his brown eyes and long lashes accusingly.

The gangster stared at him dumbfounded, as if shocked he could possibly be called out. “Uh-”
“Because if so, you have no hope- no hope with anyone.” The cloudette said with a firmness juxtaposing his host’s normally soft spoken tone. “I don’t appreciate it, and I doubt Jounouchi would either. That said, it’s obvious that I am just a condolence prize- so no more flirting with me. Got it?”

The taller boy hunched his back a few degrees, still processing being clocked so brutally. “... Yeah… good plan Bakura.”

In all honesty the ghost could have left it there, with the door to Ryo closed in the other’s face- but that wasn’t enough for the phantom. Hirutani had to suffer for treading on ground he didn’t have the right to even so much as kneel and bow on. And oh, would he pay oh so dearly for trespassing in the ghost’s home.

“Good. Now- you said you wanted to come along?” Bakura hummed, turning on a dime.

Like putty. Love digests the strong into goop. Pathetic.

He sneered inwardly.

The ghost heard the other boy’s heavy footsteps fall in beat with his own. “So tell me Hirutani, you fell in love with Jounouchi? Why?” He asked innocently.

The bleached blond grit his teeth. “He saved me.” He admitted with great effort.

“Oh? How so?”

Hirutani crossed his arms over his necklaced chest. “You already know he was in my gang. He always had my back. He was always my best friend. Best friends fall in love all the time- for fuck’s sake it is a trope. You fall for whoever you are closest to, it’s not rocket science Bakura.”

Not all of us fall

, the ghost inwardly grated in denial. “Come now, there has to be some more to it. Tell me, I adore love stories, and it is nice to find camaraderie with another gay boy.”

Besides, isn’t Emi your best friend? Is she really so forgettable? Sorry- that was my fault. Heh.

“Bi actually.” Hirutani sighed, rubbing his face. “He would kill me if I told you everything.”

Bakura climbed atop a railing to walk as if on a tightrope, well aware it was an endearing little habit- one he intended to weaponize. The softening of the other’s brow let him know it was working well. Bakura pulled sparkly little lilac d20 from his pocket- Emi- and tossed her in the air in a one item juggle lazily- a cruel fate sure, but not one cruel enough for the man walking at his side. “Then tell me the parts that are okay to share.”

Hirutani licked his teeth in thought. “He… I was gonna leave.” he admitted quietly.

“Leave?” Bakura asked.

“Leave.” The blond nodded. “Runaway, likely get killed on the way- not that I really cared. I didn’t have much of a home- but neither did he. He understood it. He convinced me to stay. To keep trying, even if I lived only outta spite. Anything, just don’t let the bastards win. Stay alive.” The bleached blond said, stumbling over new found vulnerability. “My mom had just died. When she was gone there was nothing to stop him from being the fuckin’ devil. Kat and I had that in common. He understood. He got me. And he had my back. Heh- we were plannin’-” The boy stopped short.

Bakura stopped his little acrobatics on the railing, and looked down at his host’s classmate. “Planning? Planning what? You can tell me.”

Hirutani nearly choked on the frog in his throat. “To live together.” he said, his voice cracking. “In high school. As soon as we could get away from our ass fathers, we were gonna find an apartment. It wouldnt’ah been a great one, probably tiny, but it woulda been ours. But” He said, struggling to get air. “He said I changed- I didn’t change!” he growled out. “I thought we were on the same page- change this fucking hell hole of a city so there are no more lost boys! I thought he was with me on that!” he growled.

Hirutani carded his hands through his hair, pulling at his own scalp cruelly to calm down. “I didn’t change, he changed. He’s the one who changed on me!” he mumbled through clenched teeth.

Bakura sat on the railing, then slipped to his feet daintilly just the way Ryo would have. He put Emi back in her jean pocket tomb, then, he approached the suffering giant. Bakura placed both hands on the wrist Hirutani used to tug on his own hair. Hirutani opened his eyes to lock them with the big gentle brown ones, searching for a lifeline to replace the one that he had lost in Jounouchi. “I didn’t change.” he repeated pathetically. “I always said I’d fix this city. It’s so fucked that kids just get thrown to hell like this- I didn’t change, and I aint wrong! For fuck’s sake his dad beat him with in an inch of his life! He was in the hospital for a month! How could I be wrong when shit like that happens?? I gotta take over the city, so that shit can’t happen anymore!” He belted out, voice raising until he was yelling right into the cloudette’s face. Bakura, forgetting his act, did not waver. He just met the emotionally explosive boy eye for eye.

Then bakura closed his eyes, remembering to put on a mask of Ryo-esque empathy, taking a moment to settle into itas if it were his own skin. He gingerly pulled the seething giant’s hand out of his over processed hair, and clasped his large hand in both of his host’s warm pink palms in a pantomime of compassion. “Maybe he is tired of the violence. It just makes you like the fathers that hurt you, no?”

Even as he said the words they made the ghost’s stomach curdle. He didn’t believe the advice he was giving, he was just playing a role. After all, the Thief King was all for fighting fire with fire, finished off with a rain of kerosene courtesy of his demon.

Hirutani tensed under the advice, clearly angered that this new supposed friend of his would also find him to be in the wrong. He whipped his wrist to free his hand, before grabbing one of Bakura’s wrists viciously.

So brutally there would surely be a bruise. It made the ghost insurmountably angry.

He almost broke character to finish off the brute then and there.

They were in broad daylight though. Finishing Hirutani here would only put Ryo behind bars. So, with great struggle, he kept the mask on. Lucky for him his wavering only looked like a pained wince to the classmate.

“You are too violent.” he whispered, in Ryo’s soft as rain voice. It worked, he felt the other’s grip loosen slightly with remorse. “That is where the problem lays.” he said, flashing him the disarming big browns. “Not in your intentions, but your execution, and how you react. I really do think he is just tired of all the blood. Who wouldn’t be at this point?”

Hirutani stared at the cloudette as if he could peel away all Ryo’s layers to find every answer he has ever wanted. The ghost’s gaze stayed strong, and that made Hirutani feel like he really just made a friend who would tell him how it was even when it was terrifying to do so.

“Easy for a haunted boy to say.” The blond shuddered.

“Again with this Onryo thing…” he sighed outwardly, and growled inwardly.

“I’m just saying, you probably see more fucked up shit than us, so it would make sense that you get tired sooner.” The blond said, ripping his hand away from the cloudette.

“Or, it is valid that Jounouchi is tired, and if you loved him you would meet him where he feels safe.” The cloudette said firmly, rubbing his bruised wrist.

Hirutani watched the boy nurse his new injury, and heaved a heavy exhale. He set his jaw, and turned to keep walking. “... Sorry about your wrist.”

“See?” Bakura chimed.

“See what?” Hirutani huffed.

“You can be gentle. A lesser man wouldn’t have apologized for bruising me- that energy. That is what you need to embrace. Compassion over fists.” the ghost said, making himself feel sick even as he smiled through the words. “Stuff like that. Like the you who offered to protect me before you came to your Onryo theory. The you who came to my apartment to check on me after I lost my friend…. And lastly, the you who asked me to stay away from everyone so they wouldn't get hurt by my “onryo”. There is a good man in you, Hirutani. Let him out more, let Jounouchi meet him.” The spirit said as sincerely as he could manage, cackling inside his head with the knowledge that Hiruntani would lose the battle regardless.

Hirutani looked over his shoulder at the shorter boy, brow quirked. “You are telling me to become a fluff ball.” He muttered.

“Is being a fluffball so horrible?” Bakura asked, flashing Ryo’s signature disarming smiled.

“... We’ll see.” Hirutani huffed.

___

The poor nurse flinched, almost missing Kaiba if the options were between him and the gangster across from him blocked off by a thin wall of Bakura.

The gangster held the bag of take out, almost like a threat, eyes glaring daggers as if to dare him to tell Hirutani that he had to leave again. The nurse flicked his attention back to the one who seemed the most harmless out of the two of them, silently pleading Bakura to keep Hirutani in line.

The nurse conceded finally, handing over two visitor passes. He really wished that people who got escorted out stayed banned, it would make his job so much easier…

Bakura took both passes, and unfurled the lanyard of one to put it on before doing the same with the other one. He held it out towards Hirutani, and the boy ducked his head through the lanyard to get the pass on despite his full arms. With that the pair made their way to the stairwell to drop in on Jounouchi with the promised lunch.

When Bakura opened the door he was greeted with the sight of a bundle of blankets peacefully breathing, the mop of blond hair at one end of the cocoon swaying ever so slightly under the draft. The next sight that greeted him was the one boy from earlier- Honda was his name- sitting in a chair nearby, arms crossed and asleep as well. Bakura frowned, looking over his shoulder at Hirutani before stepping into the room to let him through the doorway. The gangster cursed under his breath. “They let that guy back in here?”

Bakura smirked. “They let you back in here too.”

Hirutani sucked his teeth, and let himself into the room as if he owned the place. He stared at the mop of blond longer than anyone would have deemed healthy- even Bakura. He did tear his eyes away from Katsuya eventually, looking to the small unmarked envelope on the bedside table next to the blond. Hirutani, no boundaries whatsoever, set down the bag of curry on the table before stealing the envelope away. Bakura watched with mild curiosity as Hirutani broke the pillars of privacy to open it, forgetting his Ryo act for a moment.

The classmate pulled a small note from the envelope, written on the hospital’s official stationary in a handwriting he did not recognize:

I saw the dark side of the moon in the sky today.

Hirutani grimaced, crushing the note in his fist. His fist shook for a moment, then he unfurled it to resize the note- opting to tear it to shreds instead.

Bakura tilted his head curiously. “What did it say? Something bad?”

“Yeah. Something bad.” Hirutani said lowly, unwilling to elaborate.

“Something from his father?” Bakura tried.

“Nah, dunno for

sure

who it’s from.” Hirutani managed to say quietly, not without great effort.

The gangster turned towards the door slowly, and Bakura quirked a brow at his impending departure. “You're leaving? I thought you wanted to visit him.”

Hirutani paused in the doorway. “He’s sleeping.” He said simply, making his leave.

The ghost furrowed his brow, this time in genuine confusion. Maybe destroying them wouldn’t be as easy as it initially seemed.

___

Ryo rubbed his wrist between turns and jimmies, trying not to dwell too long on wondering where this phantom pain was coming from. Finger marks were making their way into his skin, like an apparition.

Breaking his concentration-

Wavering the trust in his spirit that he … honestly… wanted to cling to.

It would be selfish to hold onto the undeserved trust, especially as the evidence was declaring itself upon his very skin, but he was tired. So very tired of fighting with the one constant in his life.

Ryo pulled his sleeve back down over the marks with a heavily emotional wince, the force of the gesture shaking his pick holding hand- making something give.

His eyes widened, and he slowly pulled away from the lock as if afraid it might react like an animal and run away from sudden movements.

He set aside his pick, and cautiously reached towards the door handle.

It gave instantly.

The joy he felt when the door lazily swayed open was overwhelming.

___

“Who’s this from?” Honda mumbled, lifting the brown paper bag off of the bedside table. Jounouchi watched him with hollow amber brown eyes.

“Oh that. Some kid I used to go to school with named Bakura. He said he would bring us lunch.” The blond said, sitting up slowly. He pulled the blanket up and around himself, to shut the world out. “He must have gotten tired of waiting for me to wake up and left. He was a respectable looking guy- probably just had other things he had to do.” The blonde shrugged off half heartedly.

Hiroto turned, studying his friend’s face carefully.

“The same guy that paid my bills. Nice guy. The food’s safe.” Jou mumbled.

“That’s not why I am staring at you Joey.” Honda sighed, calling back to the old childhood nickname.

“Then whatcha starin for? I’m fine.”

“Bullshit lie.” Honda shook his head, unpacking the food. What came next was a whistle, and wide eyes. “This kid splurged on you. Damn.”

Jou simply shrugged.

“Really? You would normally jump me over something like this, knocking me out of the way for a look like some rabid fan at an idol concert.” Hiroto said, concern shrouding his eyes. “What the fuck is wrong? If your bills are paid then there is nothing else to worry about that

I

can think of- so clearly I don’t have the whole story.”

Katsuya smiled to himself, turning to lean back in his bed. “I told ya, I’m fine.”

“That doesn’t mean there isn’t anything going on.” The brunette asserted, plopping the take out container of steak and shrimp in the blond’s lap.

Katsuya cupped his hands around the container, and looked at it blankly. He did open the lid, eventually.

Hiroto exhaled heavily in defeat. “Something is killing you inside, I can hardly recognize you these days man. You know if you need help you can tell me, right? Is it Sagiwagi?”

Katsuya shook his head. “Pop’s debts are as regular as ever.”

“Then what?”

“Lost my paper route.” Katsuya murmured.

Honda’s eye twitched. “You lose temp jobs all the time. It never shook you before.”

“Yeah, well I needed this one.”

Honda rubbed his temples, yet to notice the note in the take out bag. “If you need money-”

“Not takin any more of ya money.” Katsuya grumbled.

Honda shook his head, and looked back to the take out bag. He blinked a couple times, and pulled out the envelope. A nice looking one, like one for a birthday card. “Does Bakura know you had a birthday recently?”

“Hmm?” Jou hummed, his attention regotten and refreshed. “He shouldn’t, we hardly know each other.”

Honda turned the envelope over in his hands before giving it to his friend. Jou took it in a look of confusion mixed with brightness. It would be absurd to think it would end up in a take out bag gifted to him by an old elementary classmate… but Seto did say he would send him word.

Despite his better judgement Katsuya perked up, smiling to himself- giving Honda some relief.

“You’re such a kid.” the brunette teased.

“Shuddup.” Jou barked, ripping the envelope open.

The first thing to fall out was a rather large bank note, but it was worn out with an off putting look about it. Jou swallowed, his smile fading instantly. This card definitely was not from Seto.

The blond opened the card, and found Hirutani’s handwriting.

He balled up the card and the bank note instantly, throwing them both across the room.

----- CHAPTER BREAK -----

Bakura cursed his host’s short legs as he weaved through the hospital after the bleached blond.
His host’s classmate has curled in on himself, like a bear standing to his full height in confrontation. He stalked the halls too, as a bear, ready to swing his claws- all progress the cloudette had made disarming him dissolving in front of his eyes.
Shit shit shit.
If he didn’t nail this then Ryo would only be in more danger. Maybe he really should have cut and run when Hirutani agreed to stop flirting with his host.
“Hirutani” he called after the other. “What was on that note?” He asked, pushing cruelly past a doctor pushing a gurney. She stumbled, and glared at him, seemingly able to recognize him. He paid that no mind, not right now.

Hirutani looked over his shoulder, eyes like shards of ice. “Stop.” he said, dark and low. “Stop following me.”
Bakura felt his nose tingle in anger, the sort born from a helplessness he swore never to feel again the moment he let the demon in. If only he knew what was on the note he could do damage control, maybe even weaponize it.
“Why?” he asked, the crack in his voice more genuine than he wanted it to be.

The bleached blond stopped in his tracks, and rolled his neck. “There are some things that can’t be solved with your fluffy ideals Kura’ kun. It’s best you not get involved in this next part. I gotta check some things.” he said, looking firmly down at the shorter boy. His voice was low and quiet, likely trying to keep his words secret given their nature.
Before Bakura could answer, the boy turned from him. “I gotta blow off some steam. Don’t follow me.” Hirutani said, before slipping into a crowded elevator that Bakura could not board in time.

Bakura watched his reflection warble in the metal doors of the elevator, cursing under his breath. He could very easily catch the other, it wasn’t a matter of ability. This wasn’t about how far and fast you could move, but where. A chessboard of broken hearted boys where only a couple would still remain on the alternating hued squares in the end.
He sucked his teeth, and turned from the elevator debating whether he should check in on Katsuya. If he did he would need a good excuse for why he left in the first place…. And he did not have one prepared. Hirutani storming off was not supposed to happen. He was supposed to stay in the room, see Bakura flirting with Jou- to which the spirit would surely deny. The oaf would then get furious, his new tender hope ripped viscera from bone by the very new “friend” that had just given it to him. Then, he would surely decide that if he couldn’t have his Katsuya then no one would. Bakura would make sure that was where his mind went.
Leading finally to the tragic murder suicide he was certain would make Shakespear roll in his grave. Katsuya didn’t even need to die, if the murder failed that would be just fine. He just needed him hurt by Hirutani’s hands, and Hirutani dead, and then everything would be said and done. No more loose ends.

But that is not how things were unfolding.

He was royally screwed if he did not find out what was on that damned note.
But it was okay, he still had an evening and six days. He had solved the shit storms whirling around Ryo in less time than that. For now… it was time to regroup. Dig up what he could and…
Check in on Ryo.
But not before he planted one last security measure.

His hand clutched around Emi’s dice viciously from within his pocket. Soon the dice would be empty again. Good thing he never left home without a disposable soul.

___

The crowd on the elevator moved around Hirutani as he navigated the space, like a school of fish avoiding a child’s hand as it waved around their tank in a pet shop.
The thunked his back loudly against the walls of the elevator carriage, and covered his eyes. His face scrunched into a grotesque grimace.

More god-dammed moon imagery. This time in a little note, hand delivered to his bedside. For so long he had deluded himself that the little drawings and lyrics in the margins of Katsuya’s things were just him being the hopeful dramatic sap he always admired. Little doodles of creasents, with the caption ‘never far behind you’ being the most common sight scratched into his homework and notebooks, at least back when they shared a classroom. For a brief time he thought…

But this was someone else’s handwriting. The bits and pieces of Katsuya’s stuff the other boys brought him after they landed different schools got increasingly more and more romantic over the last year.

It all started with Kat’s cast back when they shared a class. A new moon and a full moon drawn side by side into the plaster. Light and dark. He spent so much time on it too, stippling away with his fine liners while he blew off their teacher’s lesson. When Hirutani asked him what it meant (because every gesture of the blond meant something, he was just one of those guys) instead of some grand starry eyed explanation…. Kat, his Kat, smiled to himself and said “nothin’”.

Jou would say a lot of things were nothin’, but never anything he made.
The food he made for the gang when they could bring him fancy ingredients? His master piece.
Anything he made in art club? His baby.
The wacky voices he would do until he found one that suited him? Many made the whole gang laugh while he was on that journey- and he owned it in stride. His magnum opus.
The haircut he invented for himself when his dad finally acknowledged him as a boy, his Michelangelo’s David. All cut with broken scissors and shaggy. It had made Hirutani laugh at the time, but he liked it. There was nothing more Joey than something like that. He said he looked ridiculous and Joey said good: if it looked crazy then a girl definitely wouldn’t wear it. “So, it’s a guy’s cut then.” Joey had smirked, kicking aside the long swaths of sunflower yellow that he always hid under a hat to the side, free of them at last. Kicking his pony tail aside? That was part of the art too.

When Joey, now Katsuya, made something he poured his heart and soul into it. It was never nothin’.

Unless he didn’t want you to know about it.
A masterpiece of Katsuya’s being hidden from Hirutani felt like a punch in the gut.

A chill scraped its way through the entirety of Hirutani’s body.
He remembered when the other boy was so trapped.
In a fucking cage of his father’s bullshit… the body he was born in that he didn’t want… the girly ass name that the teachers would yell in his direction when they caught him wearing the boy’s uniform… he should have been broken to hell and back by the bruises and the gender binds, and yet he swung his fists even harder than Hirutani ever did.
Hirutani looked up to Joey, to Kat. That boy who broke his cage, and made a fucking king’s scepter from the metal bars. He showed his old man he would not roll over and bare his belly like a frightened puppy. He was there with him for that. They had no secrets back then.

He was at their house to pick him up for the gang meeting when his old man said he could change his name to a boy’s name. The only decent gift the man got his kid since the divorce. Joey… still had the scars and bruises from his month in the hospital littering his skin, so it was a bittersweet moment.
And it came with a catch of course… his old man picked the name. Katsuya. But, it was recognition that Joey had been dreaming of since he was little, so he took it. It was one of the only times Hirutani saw Joey and his pops looking like a decent family- if he ignored the bruises and piles of empty bottles.
Hirutani was the first person he showed his new birth certificate to. He stopped calling him Joey that day, and Started calling him Katsuya. Kat if he wanted to get on the guy’s nerves.

Hirutani gave a small bittersweet laugh, remembering the way Katsuya would explode on him when he took it all the way from Kat to Kitty Kat. He got away with it for a couple weeks too, until Katsuya got wise and bought an english/japanese dictionary.

With a boy’s name and his father’s mark of approval the teachers had no ground to stand on anymore with the uniforms or the hair. Hirutani didn’t have to sneak him boy’s clothes anymore. He got a real binder too, no more dangerous tape.

Sometimes Hirutani couldn’t help but feel that that was part of it. Katsuya didn’t need Hirutani anymore, or his gang. He knew that wasn’t the whole of it…
When Katsuya screamed at him that he was becoming too fucked in the head, Hirutani could see in those amber brown eyes that he meant it.
It still stung though. To feel used, even if only subconsciously. Not being needed anymore, it just had to be part of it.

Maybe there was never any hope to begin with. Bakura was a sweet guy, but he could be reading everything totally wrong- after all he wasn’t there to see what Hirutani saw.

It all made the giant boy’s face hurt, and it made him feel small.
He wished he could go back in time, take a massive fucking magic marker and sign his name over those moon drawings to black them both out entirely.
To be fair… Hirutani didn’t know he was in love yet. He didn’t even know he liked boys back then. So… he brushed off things he wouldn’t have in hindsight.

He should have known though, he stuck his neck out for Katsuya in ways he never did for anyone else.
Hirutani was the first one to ever call him Joey, back when his dead name was the one on record. He gave him that name, bringing it up out of the blue one day like renaming a friend was a totally normal thing to do. That was Hirutani.
A young lady in the elevator broke from the clump, and leaned on the wall of the elevator between Hirutani and the group. She studied him carefully, then offered a small smile. “You have a loved one here, like the rest of us don’t you?” she asked bravely.
The hand covering Hirutani’s face parted its fingers so that he could glare at the girl from between his flanges. Is it really that fucking obvious that I’m in love with him, or do I just look that pathetic? He thought to himself.
The girl swallowed, and folded her arms behind her back against the cold metal. She was gentle, like a rabbit. All yellow ribbon and high lilac ponytail with baby bangs. Hirutani couldn’t snap at this girl. Katsuya would kill him for yelling at someone like this.

“Why is he here?” She asked, offering him another terrified, but brave smile. 
Hirutani grit his jaw, but managed to clear all cruelty from his voice before he spoke to her. His voice was still low, and terrifying, but the violence was gone. It took a lot of focus, but it was gone. “He got hit by some idiot on a moped.”
The girl’s face faltered with sympathy. “The boy on the news.” she gasped onced she put the pieces together, then her eyes lit up. “Wait- hey, the news said he was stable. Broken arm, and a concussion, but he would be okay! That’s good right?” she smiled brightly this time.
Hirutani pulled the hand from his face, and crossed his arms over his chest, finally giving her a nod. “Yeah. I’m grateful he’s okay.”

The elevator dinged and the girl pulled herself from the wall immediately. She moved to leave the carriage, then stopped as if she remembered something in her absent mindedness. She looked over her shoulder at the boy, and lightly touched his arm in a gesture of compassion. “Keep visiting your friend, he will heal in no time. I am sure he just needs a friend right now.” She chimed, withdrawing her hand back to give him a wave as she left.

Hirutani watched her, tensed from the foreign kindness of her touch. It felt different somehow from the gestures Bakura gave him lately… lighter… somehow.
“‘Needs a friend huh…” He repeated to himself.

___

The lights in the hospital room felt all the more harsh with the sun going down. Jou hardly choked down any of his food, the sneaking suspicion that Hirutani paid for it hanging over every bite like a dead goose.
Honda sighed, and tossed his friend the lid from his meal. “At least cover it so it doesn’t leak in the trash.” he huffed. “Or should I put it in the mini fridge in case you change your mind?”
“You can have it.” Katsuya muttered.
Honda winced, swallowing thickly. “Look I wasn’t going to tell you this, but-”
Katsuya looked up at him, attention divided.
Hiroto clenched his fist at his side a few times. “He was here. He wanted to see you. I got in a fight with him over it- that’s why I was late, they kicked us both out.”

Katsuya hunched his shoulders, digesting the information haphazardly. “And he sent a card to my room. In the take out, so that means he might know which room is mine.” he grumbled. “Fuck, I wanna different room.”
“Fair.” Honda murmured. “I’ll tell them at the desk when I get down there.” the brunette promised, getting up to gather the take out that had long since gone cold.
“Honda.” Jou spoke up, right before he was about to leave. “Can you see if they can let me borrow a laptop too?”

The brunette smirked, laughing through his nose and shaking his head. “Lemme guess, some weird new apocalypse game huh? I’m relieved at least, you were really scaring me there for a minute.” The paper bag crinkled in his grip as he shifted it in his arms to give him a finger gun gesture. “Yeah, I got you. Just don’t stay up playing all night long okay?”
Jounouchi returned the gesture with a small smile.

The computer came up about an hour after Honda had left. Katsuya’s hands shook as he accepted the device from the nurse, anxiety peaking. Once the nurse made his leave, muttering about difficult patients and their visitors under his breath, Katsuya opened the laptop like it was the door outside of a burning building.

He opened a messenger website, and keyed in his username and password, then he looked him up. Relief soothed him like a hot towel to the achy sick forehead of a crying baby when he saw the profile picture of Seto’s secret second account. Right after that though, came loneliness. Loneliness that was followed immediately with guilt.

Yesterday was the first time they had seen eachother since the first snowfall, Seto too consumed by his plans to overthrow Gozaburo. They had only ever talked here these days, on this website. In bouts like this, they would send something physical to keep eachother close, usually notes- and Seto promised to send one yesterday. He was yet to receive anything of the like.
When the first snow fall came, they would talk here on the chat site every night in the absence of their visits, even if it was just to wish each other goodnight. Now, it was once or twice a week. 
Katsuya knew that Seto loved him, and he loved Seto. But, he couldn’t help feeling lonely and hollow. And then guilty.

Joey rubbed the ball of his left palm into one of his eyes until he saw stars, and then he started to type.
Did you send the thing yet? I didn’t get anything?

The blond then sat back, sinking into his covers. Seto couldn’t keep the site open for the same reason he couldn’t visit Katsuya two nights in a row. It would take a few minutes for him to respond. He had a third party alert though, so it shouldn’t be long.

Katsuya had fallen asleep at some point while waiting, a fitfull rest- but when the messenger bell dinged he bolted upright, making his head swim.

I will have that nurse fired…  
That was Seto’s reply. It made Katsuya scrunch his face in a mild laugh. He clacked away his response on the keyboard, high with relief.
So you did send somethin, but they fumbled it. Good, I was scared.  Katsuya sighed, clicking send.
Why would you be scared? Dinged back.
Katsuya’s amber brown eyes wavered for a moment, despite his relieved smile. Scared you forgot about me.

That sent Seto typing for a good minute straight. He must have erased what he wrote to start over because the words on Katsuya’s screen were a simple; I will never forget about you. You grow on me like fungus. Even if I wanted to be rid of you, it is impossible now. You are in my pores.
Katsuya laughed. Charmin’.
The screen dinged immediately. Correct, I am. It is late, go to sleep.
Katsuya went a-clacking just as immediately. Wait, before you go, they are switchin my rooms. That’s gotta be hard to trace so… come back and see me again?

Seto, once again typed out something for a while before the computer dinged again. I will. When I can.
Promise me pretty boy. Katsuya punched into the keys.
I promise. Go to sleep.