Baku, Ra, to Ringu: UnCut

The phone in Yugi's room was ringing. Bakura glared at it, wishing it would stop, but it just kept ringing, and ringing. He knew he would have to answer it. Yami couldn't answer. Ryou couldn't answer, either. He was sitting just outside the door, in the hall. His sobbing had grown softer now.

It had been ringing nonstop for five minutes now. Bakura haltingly reached out, then grasped the white plastic receiver, pressed the talk button, and raised it to his ear.

He heard ragged breathing, and sniffling-- someone crying. A sharp inhale-- "Yami, is that you?" It was Yugi. "I'm still at Kaiba's.." (sniff) "...something horrible has happened... Yami? Yami, please, say something."

Bakura looked over at Yugi's bed. It was king sized. He supposed that Yami and Yugi had been sharing it, same as himself and Ryou. The large bed was set right next to the wall, so you could sit down and lean back against it.

That's the position Yami was in. His legs were splayed out, his arms dangling at his sides, his head lolling forward. He looked like a broken doll.

A broken doll covered with red paint.

And his face...

Oh, Dear Ra, his face...

"Yami, please! Speak to me!"

After a brief hesitation, he pressed the off button and set the receiver back down in its base.

o o o

Bewildered, Yugi turned off the cell phone and handed it back to Anzu. They were standing with Jouno in the hall outside the den where the corpses had been found. Yugi's grandpa had taken Mokuba to another wing of the main house, along with Kaiba's best guards and several police officers. Kaiba was a short distance away, talking to the police.

Anzu asked, "What did he say?"

"He... I don't think he answered."

"I can't believe this is happening. Duke, Honda, and Mai... they never hurt anybody."� She sniffed, and looked at Jouno. "Are you alright?"

Jou nodded, but kept his head low, his bangs concealing his eyes.

Kaiba strode up to them, accompanied by a detective.

"The police have searched the grounds, and they haven't found anything unusual."

"What about Fluffy?"

"They don't think he'll survive the night."

Anzu blinked, and fresh tears trickled down. "This is horrible... just when we'd all become friends..."

Yugi and Jou got closer and put their arms around her. Yugi's tears fell as freely as Anzu's. Kaiba tried to see Jouno's eyes, but they remained hidden. He knew-- everyone knew-- how attracted Jou had been to Mai, and Honda had been his best friend. Without realizing it, Kaiba was staring. He wanted to see Jouno's eyes.

The officer spoke then, asking for DNA samples. An investigator wearing latex gloves swabbed each of their mouths with Q-tips. Jouno had to lift his head and when he did, Kaiba caught a glimpse of one eye through the wheat blonde bangs. It was bloodshot and swollen from weeping. After a moment, Jouno's gaze met Kaiba's and Kaiba quickly turned away.

Then the investigator sprayed their hands with a solution that would indicate any traces of blood. They were all clean.

After the police had finished all their work, they left a couple of uniformed men to keep an eye on the place.

o o o

Mokuba and Yugi's grandpa were in a kitchen, where Mokuba was halfheartedly nursing a sundae. When the doors swung open and Kaiba entered, Mokuba ran and jumped into his arms.

"Big Brother!"

"Everything's all right, Mokuba. Calm down."

"Maybe you should stay at a hotel," Yugi offered.

Kaiba shook his head. "We've already made arrangements to stay at our lake house for the time being. If any of you want to accompany us, you are welcome to do so."

o o o

"Please, we have to call the police!"

"We don't have time for that. We need to get out of here."

"No!"� Ryou stood in Bakura's way. "We can't let Yugi come home and find Yami like this."

The look in his eyes saddened Bakura, so he turned back.

He picked up the phone and dialed 911, then set the receiver down beside the base. "Now, we have to leave."

He seized Ryou's arm and pulled him to the door.

"Ah! BakuChan, that hurts!"

skreee... skreeeee...

Again, Bakura felt like there was someone right behind him. He imagined that if he were to turn around, Yami would be sitting up in bed, gesturing casually as he spoke. Bakura could see it clearly in his head-- Yami's lips moved, but no words came out, and he was still covered in blood.

Unable to push this away, Bakura turned around and saw foot-tall letters burned into the wall over Yami's shoulder, words that had most definitely not been there five seconds before.