Baku, Ra, to Ringu: UnCut

KT: Sorry I was gone so long, but I'm back!

Sorry to say, this chapter is a bit on the short side, but I'll try not to take so long with the updates! So enjoy!

He felt like his body was being stretched; like his soul was being pulled out of his body. When he screamed, his voice sounded like the wailing of someone damned.

"Aaaaghh!!"

Ryou wished the pain would end. He wondered if this was what Hell was like-- just endless, pointless suffering.

Please...! I wish I could just DIE ALREADY!!

He layed Ryou down beside his darkness, crowding them onto the gurney, sniffling and swiping at his nose.

"Enough. This is enough already. I don't want any more death."

"Check his pockets", murmurred Fluffy.

"I'm not finding anything."

"I know Ryou had it on him. He used it to light the hallway earlier."

"But it's not here now." Sighing, he gave up. "What if she got it first?"

Then it occurred to him that maybe the tiny piece of gold had slipped out of Ryou's pocket at some point. He decided to retrace Ryou and Bakura's steps.

Outside, it looked like evening. The enclosure was gloomy and gray, and there was a light drizzle, but it was dying down. Stepping out, Malik made sure to stand on the sidewalk cutting through the middle of the enclosure, then surveyed the area.

Shoots of grass poked up out of the standing rainwater, hinting at the ground beneath. Malik walked closer to where he and Fluffy had found the two and knelt by the water, looking for a glint of gold. He saw nothing.

He sighed roughly. Am I really about to wallow in the mud?

Fluffy gave him a mental jab. Don't be so damn dainty. This is Bakura's life we're fighting for. Do you think he'd ever mind getting muddy for us?

"You're right." He got on all fours, sifting his fingers through the mud.

He wasn't finding it.

"I don't think it's here. Where would they have been before they were here? What direction would they have come from?"

"There!" Fluffy said sharply.

Malik looked up at a group of bushes and trees nestled in a corner not far away. The bushes were moving, indicating that someone or something was hiding within.

Malik sweatdropped. Oh, crap.

He walked over, at a snail's pace.

Fluffy told him, Why the hell are you walking so slow? You're just extending your anxiety. ...Want me to come out instead?

It's okay. I can do this.

He went between the bushes and found a small clearing. There was a person there, on all fours in the mud, as he had been. Though Malik could not see his face, he recognized the pink hair.

"Shuichi?"

Shuichi sat back on his haunches. As he lifted his head, Malik was filled with the horrible feeling that something would be wrong with his face-- maybe his eyes would be empty, bloody holes or perhaps his face would have melted away like Katy's and Noa's from The Ring.

Malik felt great relief when he saw Shuichi's bright blue eyes and smiling face. His relief quickly fled, however, when he realized that the expression was all wrong. There was nothing wrong with Shuichi's face, and yet, Malik could tell this was not ShuChan. Malik was terrified of this person who gazed at him with perfect, irrational happiness.

"Who are you?"

The fake Shuichi smiled wider-- literally ear to ear-- and held something up over his right eye. It was the last piece of the Millennium Puzzle, retrieved from the mud. Before Malik could think up what to do, Shuichi had popped the last piece into his mouth.

Malik SCREAMED-- "NOO!!" and lunged at Shuichi, meaning to do whatever it took to make him spit it out.

His feet slipped in the mud and he wound up on his knees before Shuichi. Shuichi grabbed Malik's face in both his hands, an almost tender gesture.

Shuichi's hands were hot, getting hotter.

Sssss--

Malik cried out as he was burned. He could not pull away. The fire spread throughout his body. His skin turned ashen white and within seconds he collapsed, dust to the wind.

KT: Before I go, I'd like to thank everyone for leaving such nice reviews, especially my latest reviewers, Crimson2006, JackieOh, and PotionsPet! See ya next time!