Halloween

Authors Note- Hey guys, just thought i'd make a little note here first. This is a fic that I started writing over a year ago...and it kinda trailed off my list of important things around summer time. But, I still like the idea, so if this first part comes off as a hit (ignoring gramatical errors in the plenty), i'll probably be inspired to finish it off. So, please, i'd love you all to death if you took that extra minute to drop in a word of opinion, whether it be to cut this project at the roots or to struggle through to its completion. But please, anytihng would help make this author very very happy ^^


Halloween
by- Syra

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Halloween
Today was probably the worst day of the year, save maybe Valentines Day. The day meant for lovers (and to taunt those alone), had always left him by himself. He was too feminine; soft hair the color of fresh snow, warm chocolate eyes, and pale skin. All he was missing was the cleavage. So, besides that day, October 31st was the worst day of the year.

All of the children running around were not the problem. They were having fun, and their shouts could be heart down the streets. But other factors did their job in ruining the day. There was the simple fact that it had become all about the candy, completely commercialized. You had to buy the best costume or provide the tastiest of treats. At least in high school you weren’t ridiculed for refusing to dress up. Wasn’t this day supposed to be about the dead?

But perhaps the worst part of Halloween was the pranks. Teenagers with nothing better to do than toilet paper a house or steal some kids candy. And because they were dressed up in those five-dollar masks found at any drugstore, there was no way to identify them. It had been a fear when he was younger; he was even weaker back then. Fortunately there was always one group or another for him to hide in. That, or rely on Bakura, the spirit inside the millenium ring certainly proved an intimidating Yami.

Bakura could not protect him this year though. As soon as the Yami had gained control of his own body, he was too busy enjoying his second chance at life to stay with Ryou. Occasionally he came back to the house in Domino, but lately that was happening less and less. And the Spirit was less than willing to divulge information of his where about s to Ryou. So earlier that morning, while the storm clouds were still in the distance, Ryou had experienced the beginning of his torment.

In between washing his hair and packing his bag for another dreary day of school, the phone had begun to ring. Though rare, occasionally Yugi or someone else from the friendship gang would call to see if he wanted to head to school with them. Since all of the Duel Monster fiasco nonsense had faded off during their senior year, the group had almost disbanded. But Yugi, or his Yami, actually made an effort to keep in touch as often as possible. So as he picked up the phone, letting off a hello that had forced morning joy behind it, that was whom he was expecting.

He had not expected to hear nothing but silence.

At least, at first it sounded like silence. But after he had called out to the person on the other end of the line a few more times (an act of habit), he had heard it. The soft rustling of paper, and the scrape of a pencil. Whoever it was, they were writing something down. Feeling the hairs on the back of his neck rise up, he had slammed down the phone with no friendly goodbye.

Sure, he had been known to be a bit paranoid in the past. But one simple phone call, despite how weird it had been, was not enough to freak him out. It –was- Halloween. Unfortunately, it was not just one phone call. By the time Ryou had left the house, he had answered five more calls, and left another three to ring unanswered. And every time he had picked up silence had reigned until some small sign of life on the other end had come through. Breathing, the sound of feet shuffling, and finally the sound of a zipper being done up had greeted him. That was what caused him to lose his nerve.

School had been a relief for him. Despite how on edge he felt as he walked to school, the fact that nothing else occurred was one of the reasons he allowed the memory to fade. Classes were not light, and taking purely academic subjects meant that he was loaded down with homework. AT least today the teachers were taking the holiday into consideration and only gave him one worksheet each. Oh joy. Maybe they were looking forwards to the dance the school was holding later on as much as the students. Or was it the lack of marking the next day.

Combined with lunch, well, a lunch like that could make you forget anything. It seemed that over the period of time that Yugi had been sharing a body with Yami, something had begun to develop. An emotion. Yeah, the two boys, both similar with their wild hair that gave a peacock shame, were in love. That would have been not much of a surprise if that were the only thing they had to share. Everyone had guessed, going on the care they showed each other and the casual touches that passed between them. But of course not, that day was full of more information that Ryou was expecting.

“Malik is here.”

It was a wonder how much of a reaction three little words could stir up. All of those lounging in front of the school seemed to react the same way; surprise mixed with fear. Sure, it had been a while since everyone had seen him. No one had been sure where he headed off to after Battle City. But it did not matter what had happened, that name still sent a shiver down Ryou’s spine.

Sure, Anzu, Jou, and a few other people had gone though a bit of pain thanks to the blonde Egyptian. Ryou just figured he had endured a tad more. That whole thing with Bakura. No, it was not worth thinking about. Yet the feeling of unease was still there.

“Are ya sure, Yami?”

Coming from Jou, by the sound of his voice it was obvious he harbored resentment towards the man. The clenched fists hanging at his side just proved that fact. He was not to be told in a carefree voice that ‘ha, ha, bad joke.” No, all Yugi did was nod his head from where he was seated between Yami’s legs.

“We haven’t seen him personally. But there have been rumors. And Seto claims that he had seen someone lurking around the Kaiba mansion. It’s not very conclusive, but we are sure that he’s back. We can just be thankful that he no longer holds the millenium rod. At least that way we don’t have to worry about …him.”

Marik. He wasn’t quite a Yami, but t seemed that he was close enough to suit himself. Malik’s darker half was definitely the unstable one of the three spirits. But what else could you say about someone who was created simply because an overpowering amount of anger that a child was finally able to release with the millenium rod. Yeah, it pretty much summed up it self, didn’t it? And if he managed to somehow get the rod back from Seto, the chances that each of them would be a target for the best kind of revenge; revenge without mercy.

There wasn’t much to say; though by the gaping mouths you’d think that there had to be something to add. Yet the rest of the lunch break was filled with silence and continuos scans of thew crowd. It was like they actually feared Malik would jump out at them, swinging around the millenium rod and using shadow magic to turn the school into a gravesite.

Hey, you never knew.

Despite all efforts to push that disturbing thought from his mind, the afternoon classes went in one ear and out the other. There had been too much difficulty for whim when Malik was around. It was all partly his Yami’s doing, but he wouldn’t have stabbed his hosts’ body in the arm without reason. And thoughts of destroying the 'Pharaoh’ had been enough of a catalyst to get that partnership up and running. Either way, Ryou had been fairly sick and tired of having his body used as merely a vessel and a chip they could use in their schemes.

By the time the final bell rang for the day, he had gone through fear, anger, regret, and surprisingly, excitement. Domino just wasn’t the same when you weren’t dealing with Ancient Spirits. Yami and Yugi thought Bakura to be dead considering how long he had been gone. Yet they were never really informed of the fact that Bakura had gained his own body, and freed his spirit from the ring. The only guess to why he stayed away was Ryou believed that Bakura was afraid that Yami would find out about his new body.

As Ryou removed the few books from his locker that he was going to need for his small pile of homework, glad that it was Friday, Yugi casually walked over to him. The shorter boy, one of the few who could understand the problem of a Yami, had earned his trust a long time ago. Even Bakura’s hatred did not stop him from being friendly.

“Yugi, I thought you would be off already?”

“Naw, Yami had to do some work in the library after class, so I told him I’d wait.” Even though he probably wanted to be with Yami at that moment, he was not being fake with the friendly smile on his face and the cheer in his voice.

Ryou couldn’t help but chuckle at that. Yeah, those two were fairly perfect for each other. Even the subtle arrogance and proud way in which Yami conducted himself, traces left over from when he was Pharaoh, seemed to disappear around the cherub like boy. Yugi lived up to the name of Hikari; and he was already obviously ecstatic at being with his Dark.

“Oh, well that’s awfully kind of you. Though I’d have figured that you’d rather help him finish so you could get home early. You always go all out for Halloween, and with the dance tonight I figured you’d need all the time you could get to prepare yourself.” Taking a small jab at the others enjoyment of the holiday that he hated was just something Ryou could not resist.

“But that’s why I’m here!”

Oh, really now?

The boy was looking even more excited after saying that, and Ryou casually leaned himself against his now closed locker, books tucked into his bag, waiting for the boy to spit it out. Arching an eyebrow when the pale teen noticed that Yugi was not continuing, he smiled softly as he asked the age-old question.

“What?”

He took the bait with no hesitation.

“The dance! We want you to come; Yami, Anzu, Honda, everyone. WE never see you anymore outside of school. It would be fun to go out and do something together, right?”

Yugi looked so hopeful, practically begging his friend as the large amethyst eyes welled up as if they could sprout forth a river of tears at any moment. Sighing slightly, Ryou’s mind flew over some thoughts as he tried to eliminate any reason why he could not go with Yugi. He knew there was a ‘no out fit, no entrance’ policy this year, so his main concern was finding something to wear. Without his father around, he did not really have to worry about permission.

“I wish you’d have said something sooner Yugi. There is no time for me to get anything together before the dance…”

Ryou didn’t have a chance to say anything else, as a bag was suddenly pushed against his chest. He hadn’t seen Yugi carrying that. Glancing down at the boy, the gleam in the others eyes told Ryou that he had this planned from the start.

“We’re going as a group! We have the perfect costume for you. Now you can’t say no. It would be like leaving the filling out of a pie. All that work for nothing.”

Again with the pleading eyes.

“Alright Yugi, you win. I’ll come as…what am I anyway?” Tilting his eyes downwards, as he peaked inside the bag, Yugi shot out his hand and closed it on him.

“You’ll see later. Just come, kay? In fact, we’ll pick you up. They say a storm is coming, and I don’t want you getting wet. It could ruin the costume. So we’ll pick you up at seven, no sooner, no later. Just be ready.”

Waving, the smaller boy took off as suddenly as he had come, except this time his step was more hurried as he rushed to get back to Yami. Raising his own hand in a sign of farewell, it was left unnoticed as Yugi disappeared around a corner. Fools in love. Chuckling at the thought, Ryou stuffed the bag inside of his backpack. He’d wait till he got home to see; not sure if he’d like whatever he got stuck with. And if he didn’t, perhaps his reaction would be best saved for when he was in private.

Now that he was alone again, Ryou was able to head home in peace. As he stepped outside of the school, he was able to see why Yugi had commented on rain. The clouds he had seen in the morning were now looming overhead, their inky darkness blocking out the sun. Ryou did not want to be caught outside when those things unleashed their fury, so he quickened his step, making it home in record time.

As he dashed the steps to his door, the rain already falling by now, it seemed that some form of fate wanted to keep him from the shelter of his home. While his house key was being transferred from his picked to the door, a loud crash rang out above the sound of rain hitting the roof of his house. Jumping in surprise, the thin piece of metal flew from his fingers, bouncing off the steps for a moment before disappearing though a thin crack next to the wall. Crying out in frustration his hands fisted in his snowy main, trying to control the urge to make his frustration more loudly known.

Drawing in a deep breath as Ryou finally got his nerves under control, he figured he might as well see what had made that noise on his way to the back. There was always a spare key hidden in the shutters of one of the back windows, and he needed it now. He would never be able to get his key back from that crack.

So as he shuffled his way through the small distance between his house and the chain link fence of the alleyway, stepping over random items he kept his eyes open to see what on earth could have made that noise. Nothing looked out of the ordinary, till he noticed something. Just beyond the part of the fence he was next to was the large green garbage disposal. Rou always chucked his weekly trash in there to be taken way. He knew what that looked like and instantly noticed the change.

The lid, one that was flipped open, now had quite a large dent in it. Sure, it was just thin, cheap metal, but there would be little that could do that. Someone would have needed to have great force in his or her movement to do that kind of damage. And the only thing that was possible would be if someone had fallen on it. Feeling a fresh wave of fear grip his stomach, like the one he had gotten when they had said Malik was back, Ryou noticed that the only place someone could have fallen from was his roof.

Shuddering, Rou pushed the thought aside as the rain picked up. He needed to get inside, or his immunity would not be able to fight off a cold. Pushing drenched bangs out of his face, he continued along the small path till he reached the back stoop, stepping under the slight ledge and protecting himself from most of the rain.

Reaching to the side, his thin fingers probed along one of the sides boards, reaching under the edge till he came across what he was looking for. A key was dangling from a nail, further secured on by a chain. His father had put it there claiming that he would then always know there was a way inside. Unfortunately, the chain was now stuck and barely reached the lock. Struggling to make it fit, he let out a sigh as he heard the lock slide open. Finally, he was able to get inside. Placing the key back in place, his happy little whistle was drowned out by the sound of a motorcycle rushing down the alleyway. He wasn’t the only one who was looking for safety.

Toeing off his sopping shoes as he walking in the back door, his mind was solely focused on getting the chill out of his bones. Dripping the rest of his things in his room, he left his clothing lying on the floor in a head as he streaked his way across the hall to the bathroom. Even though his father was out in Egypt, Ryou still refused to stay in the room with the joint bath. Besides, he thought as he turned on the taps, walking across the hall was not a big deal. Not like anyone could see him.

As he mindlessly went though the task of cleaning himself off, his mind wandered. While the hot water pounded against his back, the sound of the phone ringing that morning echoed through his head. Soap bubbles formed as he lathered the shampoo in his hair while the news that Malik showed up again tickled his memory. The smooth caress of the wash cloth was not able to rid him of the memory of the sudden crash as he was about to enter his home.

All in all, the shower wasn’t as comforting as it usually was.

As he stepped out of the shower, the room now like a steam bath, he made a quick grab for one of the towels that hung next to the tub. Toweling his hair dry, he was just tying the cloth around his waist when he heard the tell tale ring of the phone. Nearly cursing as he realized he might not make it, he was flying out the door and down the hall before the machine had the chance to ring twice.

Grabbing the phone off the hook before the answering machine kicked in, he managed to spit out a hello amidst the heavy panting.

“Moshi moshi.” (1)

Again, he hated Halloween. He was met with the same silence that had haunted the many calls he had received that morning. And as it persisted with little sign of letting up, the teenager felt a strong wave of anger well up inside of him.

“Excuse me, but will you say something or stop wasting my time with your inability to spit out things we normal people call words! I have things to do, and…”

Ryou broke off from his little outburst; something he realized he was quite capable of doing with Bakura’s influence, when he did in fact hear something from the other end of the line. It was not a slow and steady breathing or even the random sound of a sipper.

He was laughing.

It was obvious the second Ryou picked up the slight rumbling sound that it was the beginning of a laugh. The deep, coarse tone that accompanied it was male. There was power behind something as simple as a light chuckle. But it seemed to swell with intensity as the mans mirth increased. Soon he was nearly radiating a powerful aura over the line as a deep laugh came to Ryou’s ear. And he found that he couldn’t pull the phone away.

But it didn’t seem like he would have to will up the energy to slam the phone back down on the cradle. As he was gripped with a chill that had come with the laugh, it all ended as quickly. Another moment of silence before the telltale noise that the line was dead started up.

Placing the phone back onto its hold, he stumbled back a few steps before running into the couch and flopping down. He didn’t care that his skin was still damp and soaking the seat. Not did he take heed of the battle happening outside between thunder and lightning. Ryou couldn’t even take his eyes off the phone for a moment, until the Goosebumps breaking out over his unprotected flesh urged him into action.

Returning to his room, he let his body go on autopilot, still freaked out by that phone call. Sure, it was probably just another prank, but still. That laugh was still reverberating in his head. Somewhere in his subconscious he knew that he had heard it before, but placing it to someone was another story all together. So as he slipped on a pair of boxer shorts and headed back to the bathroom, distant memories went under a steady evaluation.

Whoever called him had met Ryou before.

For once he did not mind the noise created by the blow drier, something he found incredibly useful considering the length of his hair. With the thing turned on high, the sound of warm air being pushed out to dry his tousled hair drowned out any further thoughts that could entered his head. Besides, the warmth that was spreading through his was a comfort in itself. Besides, he needed to get these thoughts out of the way so he could get ready for the dance. According to his watch, he had two hours left. Along with supper, he may be able to get everything together in time. He still wasn’t even sure what the costume Yugi picked out for him was.


Still, duty came before fun. Though he had all weekend to complete his homework, he did not want to leave it simply lying where he put it. Shuffling his papers around and placing the rest of his belongings into their proper place, he even managed to get his wet clothes into the wash. Other duties like fixing him self a meal and some personal hygiene took up a bit more time. By the time he was once again looking at the bag Yugi had given him, he had just over an hour left.

As he opened the bag, finding it wrapped in some tissue paper as if it had been bought at some high-end boutique, a look of sudden realization hit him. The accessories that were set at the top gave him enough on an impression to guess what they were forcing him to go as.

While everyone had grown apart from dueling, Yugi had decided that he was a large fan of some retro things. Like a specific RP called Monster World (2). Over time he had become borderline obsessed with the game, forcing the others to endure countless hours of games, rants, and movies that were related. Slowly the others had come around to liking it, just not to the extent of the small boy. But Ryou always found himself a bit hesitant about liking the game.

Yugi had obviously not taken that fact into considering this outfit. It seemed as if Ryou was going to be a healer, a common place member of every party in a game of Monster World. Letting out a frustrated sigh, knowing he had promised his friend, Ryou disappeared into the bathroom to get into the silly outfit.

Fifty-nine minutes later, as he was trying to pull his shirt down for the hundredth time, the sound of a car horn broke Ryou from his stalling. Yami was here, and as he rushed down the stairs and to the car, the teen simply shut the door behind him. He wasn’t even considering walking along the side of the house later, and as he was still short a house key, he would simply take the chance of leaving it unlocked. Besides, what could be the worst that would happen?

With a wave to his friends as he sprinted the last bit of distance to the car, he was once again glad to get out of the rain. It was coming down in a steady sheet now, and his boots had already shown signs of absorption from the many puddles. But as he shook some droplets out of his hair, he caught the look that Anzu was giving him.

“W…what?” Stuttering slightly, Ryou instantly felt nervous as he noticed the girl was focusing on his outfit.

“Wow Ryou, that really suits you!”

Trying to block out her words, Ryou looked down at the outfit he was wearing. Everything about the outfit made him uncomfortable, and he thanked Yugi for adding a robe to the outfit. Though that bit of comfort was left un-joined at the side, only held on by the neck hole, it at least left most of his front and back covered. Because Ryu imaged that he would blush so much from this outfit that he’d faint due to redirected blood.

The pants were pure white, along with his shirt. And it seemed as if Yugi had bought the smallest and tightest pair of each. The pants were hugging his body close, allowing his knee high boots to slide over the material without causing and disturbance. He could live with that, but the fact that his sleeveless shirt did not reach the slanted belt across his hips was his main concern. The strip of bare flesh was what had taken him the most time to deal with. Figuring that he might as well make sure that had a point; a decal tattoo had been put on, the black lines creeping across his flat stomach.

Going with that theme, similar tattoo’s had been applied to his bare arms, along with some dark purple bands that were settled between his wrist and elbow. Though they contrasted with the white, they blended in with that was decorating his robe, along with a matching hat.

Though they were both still mostly white, across the front of both pieces was decorated with a Celtic cross. Contrasting in a soft lavender, the one that was placed along the front of his robe nearly extended towards the bottom of the material. Where the robe extended to just above his knee, the cross went to his mid thigh. The hat, almost reminding him of a floppy elf’s hat they wore in Santa’s workshop, a thin band went around the edge, going up in the front center to form a smaller version of the Celtic cross.

Finally, around his neck was a large silver necklace that looked like a thick collar that was far to big for him. Falling down and tilted thin black lines came along the edges before forming a diamond shape in the center. Amongst that was a stone that mirrored the color of his armband. (3)

All in all, Ryou felt fairly ridiculous. But upon glancing at what everyone else was wearing, he did not feel quite so bad. Yami, now driving towards the junior high (the dance was being held there as the gym was set up better for such an event), was dressed up as a gypsy. Despite an almost feminine theme, Yami pulled it off quite well. Sitting next to Yugi, their hands clasped in the front, who was dressed as a monster tamer, it almost looked like the two were an odd master and harem boy couple. Holding back a laugh at the thought, he glanced over at the others.

Squished into the front beside Yugi was Jou, looking as if he was completely in tune with the warrior character he was dressed as. The swords and shield set on his lap were being held in such a way as to suggest power. Ryou doubted they would need protecting, but he didn’t want to ruin the satisfied look the boy was wearing.

Next to him in the back were Anzu and Honda, whom both currently had their attention directed towards him. As Anzu had made the comment about his looks, he looked towards the male for his opinion.

The laughter present in his face was not a welcoming thought. Besides, at first glance the boy looked as if he was dressed up as a bee, not a ‘magical gunman’, or whatever that ridiculous character was supposed to be. Ryou resisted the urge to stick his tongue out at Honda, but he did pull off a slight pout.

Glancing back at Anzu for a moment, he softly commented on how her outfit suited her as well. But, considering the fact that his patience had been growing thinner with the girl over the years, the magician costume that she was wearing could probably be better suited if it was for a witch. She was poisoning them all wit those friendship rants, anyway.

Normally Ryou was able to keep from thinking such things about those who he should be calling friends. But without Bakura’s own icy comments in his head, Ryou had sometimes taken to looking at things in a less than Friendly way. And seeing as he was playing the blame game, the poor weather and creepy phone calls could also account for such things. Yet things were all still in his head, so he did not spare much more thought on it as he turned his attention out the window.

Comfortable silence prevailed for a while, a sign of their longstanding friendship, before someone out side the car manage to invoke something amongst everyone. Travelling at a speed not even safe for a car in this weather, a motorcycle sped past the car on the right shoulder, praying a sheet of water up onto Yami’s car, managing to momentarily blind their driver. (4)

Instantly all five of the passengers let out either complaints and curses for the driver of the motorcycle, or worried shouts to the sudden swerve that Yami pulled out of surprise. The noise momentarily overpowered the storm outside, but not the thoughts inside Ryou’s head. While everyone was complaining about the discourtesy, all he could think about was the fact that he’d seen that bike before.

Lost in his thoughts, Ryou was oblivious to time passing, and when he finally snapped back to attention, they were pulling into their parking spot A glance at the others told him they had stopped their protests, and were instead thinking about what was inside the nearing building. He knew them all to have a bit of a part spirit within them, while he would rather sit down with a book. To each their own, but Ryou never dragged Yugi to a reading party.

After paying the small entrance fee and getting their hands stamped, they slowly wandered into the gym that all of them remembered. But not quite. For once they had put more effort into things than some streamers and balloons.

Someone had brought in a collection of cast iron replica of old street lamps. Except, at least these ones had light bulbs instead of candles. The lights in them had been switched to bulbs that cast off an orange glow, and with the main gym lights turned off, this created a strange effect, leaving a lot of the room in shadows.

Near the stage, where someone had set up a DJ booth, was a large smoke machine that had by now covered the ground in a thick mist. It was probably the best he’d ever seen, and after a brief moment of appreciation he followed his friends in. (5)

Finding a table set up against the wall, everyone dumped their stuff in place before they all eventually disappeared out onto the dance floor. All but Ryou, who volunteered to sit at the table to watch their stuff. The booth wasn’t open for them to deposit things like Anzu’s purse. As he watched Yami and Yugi moving awfully close together as they danced together, the pale boy was left to go over the thoughts about that weird phone call he had received until.

“Seto, Mokuba!”

Spotting the tall boy easily in the crowd, along with Mokuba, Ryou waved them over with a smile. He was surprised to see Mokuba here because he was still too young to attend their high school. But considering Seto’s nature, his appearance was completely shocking. With a successful company to run, Ryou could practically hear the boy rambling on about better things he had to do with his time.

Watching, he saw Mokuba grab a hold of his brother and drag him over to the small corner. One would probably be unable to tell those two were related; a charming smile on Mokuba’s face while Seto merely scowled.

“Hey Ryou! It’s been a while. I haven’t seen you around Kaiba Land like the others.”

Smiling at the two boys as they got closer, Ryou merely shrugged at hi absence from dueling.

“I guess I’ve just had other things on my mind lately. School, planning for college, saving up some money. I just don’t get a chance to have fun that often, or to see the others. Especially you Mokuba. I thought you’d still be too young to get into a High School dance, even with Kaiba as your brother.”

Both ignored the scoff the mentioned brother gave off, as his cell phone rang before a further comment could be made. Ignoring the static man who had now stepped away, both fell back into conversation.

“Naw, I really am not here to enjoy myself. I volunteered to set things up here and it took longer than we thought. Since I go to school here, I figured that maybe Seto would stick around to enjoy himself when he came to get me. But it seems as if he wants to get home as soon as possible. He’s been fairly paranoid lately, more so than usual.” Waving a hand in dismissal at his brother’s behavior, it was fairly evident that Mokuba was fairly tired of staying at home.

“I really don’t see any reason for Kaiba to be paranoid. You guys have the best security in Domino, if not Japan. Nothing could get close to you, Kaiba’s work, or anything within the grounds.” The chuckle at Kaiba’s over protection of the two of them died on his lips though when he looked over at the taller boy. The scowl on his face was definitely worse than before he answered his phone.

“You think so? Well then maybe you could explain to me how, with all of that security, someone just managed to get into my mansion undetected and leave with a very important item.”

Getting a mixed reaction of shocked stares and exclamations of surprise, the taller Kaiba was forced to plug his ears to block out the noise they made. Only after a moment of rushed sentences was Kaiba able to calm the other two, who had now been joined by the rest of the gang.

“What was taken, big brother?” Mokuba had been protesting the loudest, and now that everyone had calmed a bit, he was able to get his own two sense in. Standing besides his brother, the worried look on his face was much more evident that the look in his eyes.

Ignoring his Brother as his eyes swept around the group, his cobalt eyes locked on that of Yamis. Untangling Mokuba’s grip on his arm, Seto turned to walk away again before he paused. Turning back towards the spirit, Kaiba wordlessly summoned the other to follow him; Kaiba’s words had done enough to make none of them comment on Yami silently following the command. Only once the two were out of earshot did they continue to talk among themselves.

Ryou, however, remained silent. Slinking back down into his chair, a sickening feeling mad its presence know within his stomach. The fact that someone had the skills and knowledge to get over Kaiba’s security precautions was almost bone chilling. If someone could get through that, then Ryou definitely wouldn’t be safe in his own home should someone try to break in. Luckily, the pale boy knew there was nothing of value within his humble home to attract that kind of unwanted attention.

Before long the rivals had returned, Kaiba grabbing his brother and dragging him off without a word. Yami was just as silent, staring at the group with a detached look as they all waited for an answer. What they got was not what they expected.

“Lets go.”

Hoping to get some form of explanation, the troupe silently followed Yami out of the gym, the decorations and throbbing music not catching their attention anymore. Even though they had barely spent half an hour enjoying them selves, fear can cause all other things to become obsolete.

Unfortunately for them, it seemed like Yami was keeping his own counsel. Driving in silence, no amount of prodding could get the ancient spirit to reveal what the problem was. It was clear that the issue went beyond a simple break in. Yami never bothered much when something simple happened. And compared to their life, a robbery was fairly mundane.

Left completely unnerved by the aura given off by all of them by the end of the ride, Ryou was loath to leave the presence of the others. Despite the oppressive silence, there was at least the comfort of having his friends with him, Even as they pulled up to the house that he had come to love, a chill seemed to grasp his insides. It took a great amount of will for him to exit the car.

Before he could wave them off, Yami’s window slowly rolled down. The crimson orbs he looked into betrayed the fact that an inner struggle was going on in his mind. Flinching slightly, as what he saw there, all he could do was listen as Yami spoke up.

“Lock your doors when you get inside. It may not be much…but it will at least give me peace of mind. You are the only one that will be home alone. I shall be calling later, to ensure that you’re alright.”

Unsure of whether he should be touched or worried about the other worrying about him, Ryou simply stared after the car as it pulled away. Now he was alone, and getting drenched by the rain.

Wrapping arms around his midriff, he escaped back to the house to avoid becoming completely soaked by the rain. The sky still cast a dark picture, even thought the rain had slowed to a steady drizzle. Thanking who ever was listening for his foresight to leave the front door open, Ryou slipped inside with ease. It was not comforting to step inside a dark house, but at least he could take time to sort out his thoughts now.

Flicking on the lights, the young man continued through the house, taking comfort in the familiarity. There were more than enough good memories within this house that is was a comforting place to him, and even with the storm raging outside, he felt content. Hurrying towards the stairs with the full intent to change out of his ridiculous costume, Ryou was about to reach for a tissue when he noticed something.

Flashing at him from across the room, his answering machine told him in an obnoxious manner that it had recorded a missed call. Deciding to get the chore out of the way, Ryou rushed over, hitting the play button to hear what was in store for him.

One, two, ten, twenty-five. Thirty messages, each filled with an eerie silence. Ryou knew that dinner time was often the perfect time for telimarketers to strike, but to have thirty messages in the short period of time that he was gone was ridiculous. Feeling the ball of nerves in his stomach tighten, his finger pushed down the delete button, hoping to rid the thought from his mind in the process...


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All right folks, that's all i have so far. So please, R&R and i'll be sure to mention you all in my next update if its a hit!