The Return

Disclaimer: Yu-Gi-Oh! belongs to Kazuki Takahashi.

I timed Yami Bakura's internal monologue/soul transfer to the Puzzle piece thing in the second half of these episodes--two minutes and forty-six seconds. You really didn't want to read that, did you? I didn't think so. Hence, that part is in Ryou's clueless POV.

For Sailor Comet, resident Bakura junkie, as she and her theories are the only reason this chapter was finally fleshed out.
~~~~~~~~~~~~

Ryou chewed idly on his tongue as he headed for school. He quit a moment later and stepped out of someone's way, not fully paying attention to his surroundings.

He was busy planning the meal he was going to make that evening. His father was coming home around seven, and it had to be a dinndinner since the man was still concerned that Ryou was losing weight. He was hoping that if he cooked enough food, he could deflect his father's attention. The only problem was that he'd left the house too quickly and forgotten to check if they had any cans of chicken broth still in the pantry. If they didn't, he'd have to go home, get some money, then walk back to the store. It would have been a lot quicker if he had just remembered, so he could have brought the money with him and gone after school. Ryou really hoped there was a can left.

Oh! They were out of milk! Great, he'd have to go to the store now, anyway--his father would be so upset if he knew Ryou'd skipped drinking milk, even if it was just for a day. The man was always telling him to get enough calcium, since several people in his mother's side of the family had osteoporosis.

Well...if he didn't eat lunch, he would have enough money to go by the grocery and get the milk. He might as well picka caa can of broth, too, just in ca--Téa!

"Téa!" he called, speeding up slightly. "What's the rush?"

She turned and faced him, looking nervous and out of breath. "Oh, Bakura! Someone stole Yugi's Millennium Puzzle!"

"No," he said as his smile slipped away. "Where is Yugi?"

Téa pointed behind him. "In the alley. We split up to catch the guy," she explained.

He nodded quickly. "Well then, don't let me detain you. Keep looking and I'll get some help."

"Right!" Téa turned and began running down the sidewalk again. "Thanks, Bakura!" she called over her shoulder.

Ryou wasn't really surprised when he was pushed into houl oul room. While the link was still open, he asked, Why do you keep doing this? It's pointless.

[No one shall have the Millennium Puzzle but me,] the spirit answered, before speaking out loud. "I want its power."

~~~~~
"And I'll track it with my Millennium Ring!" He stripped open Bakura's coat and held out the Ring in the direction Téa had pointed. "Show me the way. Trace the Item's mystical energies. Lead me to the Millennium Puzzle," he ordered the Ring. The pointers wobbled for a moment, before focusing in one direction.

[But why?]

"If I control all the Millennium Items, I will control power unimaginable. And I will make certain that nobody stands in my way." He narrowed his eyes. Not even you.

The boy's reply wnly nly a tired, frustrated sigh, so he cut off the link and began jogging in the direction the Ring had given, Bakura's schoolbag forgotten.

He could have found the alley itself even without the Ring--the overturned table and shards of a cheap crystal ball made the spot rather conspicuous. Glass crackled under his shoes as he stepped into the mouth of the alley.

Hmm. He frowned at the two separate paths that the alley split into, and lifted the Ring again.

Which way, Ring? The pointers waved about, seeking the unique energy of the Millennium Puzzle, and soon indicated the direction it which it was traveling. A smirk played across his mouth as he strolled into the alley. Ah. Yugi and his Millennium Puzzle are very close. Very close.

He paused when he came to a large sign pasted on the wall, then flipped it so the arrow faced the other direction. Sorry, Téa, but I can’t have you or your sniveling friends interfering with my destiny.

He followed the signs, flipping them backwards, sideways, placing them on opposite walls--whatever seemed most likely to throw Yugi's court off his track.

He finished slapping one on a wall cattycorner to the path he was following when he spotted a man in a cape walking towards him. What caught his attention, however, was the Horus-eye on the hood and the pile of signs the man had tucked in his arm.

Interesting....With a smirk, he reached for the deck he had trained Bakura to keep on him at all times. He brought it out of his pocket, flipped through the cards until he found a Morphing Jar, and opened the alley corner to the Shadow Realm.

"Where ie Mie Millennium Puzzle?" he demanded. "Tell me, and I may spare your miserable life." He gave the man a disturbing grin.

The man blinked at him, and something in his blank gaze and slack features was familiar. After receiving no answer but silence, he bared his teeth and glared. "I said, where's the Puzzle!"

The man only continued to gape at him. He didn't have the time to waste on this. Each moment led the Item further from his hands. With a snort, he tossed out the Jar. "Very well."

The man was consumed without hice ece ever changing expression. The posters scattered on the ground.

He selected one of his more humanoid monsters and gave it an order to put the signs wherever it chose. It scuttled off, and he smirked briefly at the thought of how any mortals that came across its path would react, before he was too far away to maintain the Shadow Realm and it disappeared.

He lifted the Ring again. "How far have they traveled?" he asked.

The Ring continued to point in the direction the signs indicated, so Yugi and assaassailant couldn't have gotten too far ahead. Good....

He jogged along the path thoughtfully left out, tearing down a few of more of signs as he went, as a precaution.

~~~
The signs at last brought him to an old warehouse in one of the worser parts of town. He stepped within the gate, not bothering to remove the last sign as he gauged the building's appearance. So. My Millennium Ring has led me here. The Puzzle must be inside.

He took another step forward, then froze when a chill raised the hairs on the back of his neck. He tapped into the Ring and it made visible the cause of his unease, revealing dim, insubstantial clouds around the warehouse. "Hn. I also sense a dark presence from the Shadow Realm! Seizing control of the Millennium Puzzle might be more interesting than I thought." But I'm not here for fun and games.

He focused the Ring again, hunting for the source of the energy, and raised an eyebrow when he almost instantly ran into a webby mess. Whoever was doing this had the sense to cover their tracks--and it wasn't Yugi's puppet.

He eyed the front of the building. I know the Millennium Puzzle is beyond those doors, but my Ring is sensing stronger mystical energies than it ever sensed before--dark energies from the Shadow Realm. This is not the mere presence of Seth-Peribsen.

The Ring's power had become tangled within the dark threads, so he abandoned the cause before he was detected and began slowly walking to the side of the warehouse, searching for an entrance. The front door was a fool's way to enter--and he had no need for it, anyway. He was the king of thieves, favored by Ereshkigal; he would find a better way inside.

There was an old, rusted fire escape attached to the side of the building. He wrenched the framework harshly, and when it didn't collapse on top of him, he began to climb.

The window presented him with a problem--it was jammed. Breaking the glass wasn't an option, since he might as well have strolled in the front if he chose to be that loud.

He pried at the bottom of the sash, tearing his fingers on the metal, but at last it opened slightly. After that, he forced his hands underneath and shoved until there was enough space for him. He checked that there was something other than air on the opposite side, and squeezedoughough.

He landed quietly on his feet inside an empty office. There were a few rags and blankets in one corner, but he saw no one they could have belonged to. As there was no conceivable hiding place in the small room, he assumed the owner had been killed or driven out, stood, and walked to the office window.

The glass was too grimy to see through clearly, so he opened the door slowly, wary of the noise that rusted hinges could make. A glance outside revealed nothing, so he stepped out onto a metal catwalk running along the outside wall. He placed his back against the wall, scanning the immediate area.

When he saw no one, he used the Ring to trace the energy of the Millennium Puzzle. It did a better job at that than it had in looking for the cause of the Realm's presence, and he followed the path of the catwalk. I'm getting closer, I can feel it.

He turned right at a corner support beam, crossing under a pulley, and the view of the warehouse floor opened up. Something at the edge of his eye caught his attention. He walked forward and looked down, finding himself directly above Yugi Mutou.

What's this--a dueling arena? Does no one use boards anymore? he thought with a sneer. When he had first discovered Duel Monsters' resemblance to the Shadow games and consequently forced Bakura to learn it, he haedededed no more than the kitchen table.

A flash of gold caught his eye: the Millennium Puzzle was hanging by a hook from Yugi's podium.

The situation became obvious. The only way se tse the Millennium Items without fear of repercussion was to win them by proving yourself superior to the one who currently carried it. This generally, due to Peribsen's love of games, came about as a game of darkness; but it could be done in any form. That was why his ability to trick Yugi and seal the teenager in the Dark Magician card would have shown his worthiness and gained him the Yugi's Item, had the plan gone as it should.* i sti style='mso-bidi-font-style:normal'>They're battling for the Millennium Puzzle!

As if to validate his conclusion, Yugi spoke. "I'm placing a magic card face down and a monster card in defense mode. Now, let's see what you've got!"

He stepped back and used the Ring to pull the shadows of the warehouse around hiile ile Yugi's opponent spoke. "You'll regret those words, little Yugi. You may have gotten this far, but my patience is growing thin. It's time to end this duel and claim the power that is mine!"

"You'll never get my Millennium Puzzle!" Yugi yelled desperately.

His eyes narrowed as he watched the opponent make an awkward gesture with his wrist before holding up a card. He knew the man, he'd seen him at Duelist Kingdom....Bandit Keith, yes. He recalled being amused by the American's threat to Pegasus.

There was little reason to believe that Peribsen would be brought down by this amateur. He instead turned his mind back to the Millennium Ring, searching once more for the cause of the Shadow Realm's presence.

That was odd--he couldn't sense Peribsen's soul on the arena. Yugi was dueling alone. What would be dangerous enough to send the king of games into hiding?

And there was something about Keith's voice that nagged at him.

Pushing the thought aside, he continued to weave through the tangles of the Shadow energy, following it back to its source...the reason for all this familiar darkness....

...Was not here. A mockery, however, was. He stepped up to the edge of the railing again, gave the field a cursory glance, and stared at the blond across from Yugi. Fascinating. It seems that the Shadow magic energies I detect are within Yugi's opponent. Bandit Keith is just a puppet,er ter the control of an evil master. There was only one Item that could do that: the Millennium Rod. Had Kaiba--no. The priest had been 'chosen' as a sacrifice, alongside himself and Ishtar. And he had died before either him or the king. This person holding the Rod was just another weak-minded fool, playing with powers they could never fully understand.

He could feel the panic on his face, however, and it angered him. "Well this puppet show is over, for only I alone shall possess the Millennium Puzzle!" he announced.

He took a cue from Peribsen and withdrew slightly into his boy, as a protection from discovery. Bakura stirred. [What are--]

Ignoring the boy, he spoke. "Ring, sever the strings that bind this man! Free his mind from the Shadow Realm!" The words didn't make it out loud, but the Ring obeyed nonetheless.

"Aaaah!" Keith stumbled and braced himself on his dueling podium. "Where am I? And what on earth am arinaring?!"

No--he had still been noticed. A sudden, more focused maliciousness twined inside the swirls of dark energy. He retreated further into Bakura and concentrated on holding back the Rod's attempt to retake Keith.

[What's wrong? What happened?] the boy asked, damnably sensing his apprehension.

Get out of the shadows now, he snarled in reply, shoving Bakura's consciousness to the front.

~~~~~
Ryou, surprised to be returned to control, moved jerkily away from the wall and stood behind the support beam at the side of the catwalk. He felt weird; the spirit was still inside him in a way, under his skin, though it was distracted by something.

Ryou didn't know what was going on, but he could tell that his other was uneasy, and that scared him.

He glanced down. Yugi was there, on a dueling arena, and so was Bandit Keith, and...was that the Millennium Puzzle? What on...?

[Quiet!] the spirit snapped, and Keith screamed.

Ryou watched. He unconsciously buttoned his coat back up, barely registering that his hands hurt.

"There's someone inside my head!" Bandit Keith yelled, clamping his hands over his bandanna. Then his voice changed. "Shut up and duel!"

Ryou pressed closer against the beam as Yugi spoke. "Keith?"

"Go away!!" the man screamed, shaking his head violently.

[Typical,] his other muttered dispassionately, though his voice was strained. Ryou didn't really want to know what he meant.

"Bandit Keith!" Yugi yelled, trying to be heard. "Who is it that's trying to control your mind?!"

Keith was doubled over, hands clawing at his head. "No," he cried. "Stop! Leave mene!\ne!"

God, what's happening to him? Ryou wondered. Then a feeling like being punched in the stomach made him double over. "Augh!" he cried, trying to keep his voice down. The spirit was yelling in another language. Ryou braced his arms across his torso, even though it was more a mental hurt than a physical one.

There was a thud below him, and Ryou lifted his head to see that Bandit Keith had jumped over the podium and was running across the surface of the dueling stage.

What is he--?
[What does he--?]

Ryou blinked at the echoing thoughts, and he barely caught Bandit Keith's words as he ran to Yugi's end of the stage. "Before I lose complete control, I've got to destroy it!"

[NO!] the spirit raged. [I can't put it together! Bakura, get down there and stop him!]

What--I--how?! he asked as Bandit Keith lifted the Puzzle.

"If I can't have this Puzzle, no one can!" the man yelled, voice still twisted.

[Grab the rope!]

Ryou stared at the distance to the ground. If he slipped....

Yugi was trying to lean over the podium to reach his Item. "No! Keith, wait! Don't!"

Bandit Keith smashed the Millennium Puzzle, and the spirit made a frustrated screaming noise in his mind, similar to the pained cry from Yugi.

[Idiot!]

It's too far!

Keith had grabbed his head and was yelling again.

[Stop him before he does any more damage!]

No!

Below him, Keith straightened. There was a feral growl in Ryou's head, and then he felt a surging sensation inside his mind and body. His hands grabbed the rope from the pulley above him, and suddenly he was swinging down through the air. "That's quite enough of that!"

He hadn't jumped. He wasn't saying this. What...what the devil was--?!

Ryou slammed sideways into Bandit Keith with a grunt, and he stumbled as the man flailed backwards and fell off the dueling arena. There was a pained noise, and then Keith finally fell silent.

Yugi jumped down. "Where'd you come from?!"

Ryou turned and straightened without moving. He could feel his mouth shape the words, but he wasn't doing it. "Hi, Yugi. Tea told me what happened."

Could the spirit really sound that much like him? No wonder his friends had been fooled so often.

Ryou wanted to scream.

Yugi looked relieved. "Oh, great! Thanks!"

His head shook. "No problem."

Yugi glanced down, and dropped his shoulders. He sighed and began picking up puzzle pieces.

Well? Help him, the spirit ordered.

Ryou hesitated, then bent a knee. His fingers were shaking as he reached for a gold piece, but once he realized he was in control, he calmed enough to keep his hands steady. That feeling was still there, though--he felt heavier, like there was more mass under his skin, or something.

What've you done? he whispered.

No answer.

Ryou continued to pick up pieces. He noticed that his fingertips were bloody and a little raw, and one of the nails was cracked almost to the center. Oh, so that was why they hurt.

Once his hands were full, he stood up. "Hm." Wait, there was a last one. He shifted the pieces into mostly one palm and picked it up. "Oh my." Ryou put on a smile and held the small pile of gold out to Yugi. "Keith really did a number on your Millennium Puzzle, didn't he? Well, better shattered than stolen, I suppose." Without Ryou telling it to, his hand slipped one of the pieces into the crook between his thumb and first finger and squeezed it so that when he placed the rest in Yugi's hands, it didn't drop with them. Ryou stopped smiling.

Yugi gave him a half-grin. "Yeah, I guess you're right." Then he glanced at his hands disparagingly. "It took me forever to put it together the last time, but at least I have a chance to try. Who knows? Since I did it once already," Yugi looked at the chain, part of the Puzzle still attached, "maybe this time it'll be easier."

Ryou's hands dropped to his side, and the piece fell into his cupped palm. He watched for a few moments as Yugi shifted through the gold in his hand, still giving it a slightly unhappy look.

Ryou felt a smirk appear on his face, growing into a vicious sneer that he had only seen, never worn. Stop! If Yugi looks over...!

There was still no reply--the spirit wasn't listening to him, apparently. A moment later the grin lessened slightly, and Ryou felt something under his skin...shift, again. Only this time, the heavy feeling decreased. Ryou hoped the spirit was leaving, but it was only a small alteration.

Give it to him.

Ryou took a step forward. "Yugi," he said, and the teenager swung around to look at him, "you missed this one piece."

Yugi smiled. "Ah! Thank you, Bakura." Ryou set the gold bit in Yugi's hands. "The last thing I need is to lose a piece of the Millennium Puzzle!"

"Huh." His face smiled. "Yes, I know. You can't complete it without them all."

"Oh, Bakura!" Yugi said, looking up quickly. "How did you get up there and swing down like that? That was really cool."

Ryou fumbled.

"I climbed the fire exit outside," his voice answered. "I figured that was safer than trying to go in the front door. Oh! My case!" And now he was giving Yugi an apologetic smile. If Ryou hadn't felt his facial muscles move, he never would've believed his other half knew how to make an expression like that. "I left my schoolbag in the rush to get here. I'd better go." He walked over to the edge of the arena and began to lower himself down.

Yugi followed him for a few steps and smiled again. "Thanks again. You totally saved the day!"

"Sure," his voice replied.

("Suck it, Yugi," his spleen piped up. -- editor's comment)

Ryou decided to take a risk and focused on deliberately let his hands go. "Wh--" His grip on the stage slipped and he hit the ground rather ungracefully, jarring his back. "Oh!"

Yugi leaned over the arena's edge and looked down at him. "You okay?"

Ryou rubbed his side, then pushed himself up and stood. "Yes, fine." He kept a hand at the small of his back and glanced over his shoulder. "I-I've got to get back to school!" he said with a small wave.

"I'll be right behind ya, Bakura, as soon as I unhook my chain!" Yugi called. Ryou didn't reply; he was too busy trying to fight down the grin that was sliding across his face again as his eyes glanced over at Bandit Keith's still form.

That was rather fun.

That was it. Ryou slammed the door open blindly, beyond caring if Yugi noticed. Shut up! he screamed, clawing at his face in an attempt to force his features out of that hateful smirk. Stop it, stop it, stop it! Get--get out of me!!

~~~~~
He snarled and glanced at the surrounding area as best he could with Bakura's hands over his eyes. There was no time for this. He separated mentally from the boy and dragged Bakura's consciousness into the mindcorridor.

Bakura attacked him the instant they had separate forms. He shoved the boy away instinctively, stumbling backwards while Bakura fell to the floor.

"Bastard!" Bakura yelled up at him, angry tears at the corner of his eyes.

If there had been time, he would have made good use of the situation. His other's rage was a rarity to be savored--but he had no interest in staying here longer than necessary. Wherever the holder of the Millennium Rod was, they weren't going to meet face to face until he had the upper advantage.

He reached down and yanked Bakura up by the collar. "You're hysterical," he said flatly. "Fix that by the time we reach school." He pushed the boy into his soul room and slammed the door shut.

He returned to the outside world and began jogging away from the warehouse, retracing his steps through the system of alleys. He found the case near the spot where he had dropped it, only now with a footprint o fro from whoever had kicked it off the sidewalk aga against a shop wall.

He snatched the case up and stalked down the street towards Domino High. People moved out of his way.

When he reached the front doors, he thrust control back onto Bakura before realizing that the violent action might not have been wise in light of the boy's current state. He debated for a moment, then cut the link between them, leaving Bakura free to wander without his observation. He stretched out in his room.

He knew from experience that, though Bakura had grown accustomed to a detached link, the boy hated any sort of mental intimacy stronger than that. Bakura didn't know how to shield his mind the way he did, so the first time he'd taken the boy in his soul room, the resulting mental bleed-over had caused Bakura to panic badly enough that from then on he spent the extra effort it took to materialize. He had made his point that there was nowhere to escape to, after all; and an excess of cruelty to the host he was forced to rely on was not sensible. He had only used him in the room once more, to punish Bakura for trying to get rid of the Ring.

Still, considering how much his other seemed to want Yugi's life, he hadn't expected the boy to react that violently to a mental and physical connection such as Peribsen and his half shared.

Interesting.

~~~~~
Ryou had been sitting on the floor with his back against the bed and his arms around his legs, facing the door of his soul room. He blinked when he found himself outside the school. Henkednked again when he felt the link between him and the spirit close, leaving him alone inside his head.

Ryou glanced down at his case, wiped off a dusty footprint, and walked inside just as the bell rang. I guess I missed history

As he climbed the stairs to his classroom's floor, he unsnapped the case's latch and checked inside. His homework was there, good. He stepped onto the landing and took a right. He had his lunch money, so he could go by the store after school, and his favorite pen was there, so that was good, too. He was fine.

He really was such a liar.

"Bakura?"

Ryou blinked and looked behind him. "Oh, hi Laura," he said, turning around.

Laura gave hifunnfunny look. "Um, our class's here, remember?" she asked, pointing at the door she was standing in front of.

Ryou shook his head slightly, then nodded. "Ah, thank you. I'm a bit out of it."

Laura grinned and walked inside. "Well, I don't usually like to remember Algebra, either," she said over her shoulder.

Ryou tried to smile, couldn't, and followed her into the classroom.

*Why yes, this is my attempt to get around Marik's babbling about needing to win Yugi's Puzzle to get the powers of the Pharaoh and whatnot, since in chapter 3 Yami Bakura just steals the blasted thing. Just assume that since thy hey he stole it from was dead, his aliveness automatically made him superior. And regarding the whole "Ryou as shill/manslut" theme...well, scoring can be considered a game.
Don't give me that look. Half these chapters aren't written 'til I see the episodes. There are going to be inconsistencies. Just accept my half-assed explanations and don't think about it too much.