Harry Potter Yu-Gi-Oh crossover – Disclaimer: I own neither
/Ryou and Bakura mind link/
Koe – Voice (What Ryou calls the spirit of the ring)
Yadonushi – Landlord (What the spirit calls Ryou)
0
A young teenager clapped his hands together, ridding them of those last few pesky dust particles.
"There. All finished." He said with pride. Funny, he never felt good about cleaning before, but Ryou managed to make the tasks somewhat enjoyable. Harry glanced to his side where Ryou was standing, wearing the same satisfied grin on his face as he looked up at the only window in the house that wasn't broken in some way or another. It sparkled now that it was grime free. Harry bit back a soft laugh. Most of the suds that had been used to clean the window and the floors had gotten all over Ryou. For some odd reason they thought it would be a good idea to pass the bucket of soapy water up to Harry so he could get the top of the window clean. The bucket ended up on the white haired boy's head, soaking him through. Ryou had laughed it off, saying there were easier ways to tell him he needed to bathe.
Ryou turned to Harry and dip his head in an appreciative bow.
"Thank you for helping me today. It would have taken forever if I was working alone" He said with a truly grateful tone. Ryou was thankful for more than just Harry's help with the housework.
"Like I said, it really was no problem. And please, you don't have to bow." Harry felt strange being bowed to, especially by a muggle. Sure his celebrity status in the magical world made people treat him a little differently, but he was too used to being treated like dirt in the non-magical world.
Ryou blushed and straightened up, scratching the back of his hair in what Harry guessed was a nervous habit. Despite only knowing Ryou for two days, the kid always seemed to scratch his hair when he was embarrassed. This time though, Harry couldn't hold back his chuckle. He motioned to Ryou's hand and the boy pulled his hand down to find it covered in suds. His hair was sporting a new collection of bubbles. He joined in the light laughter, running his hand through his hair and shaking it free of the foam.
Ryou deposited the remaining cleaning supplies in the bathroom and smiled fondly at the now live-able house he was standing in. He started heading towards the steps, motioning for Harry to follow. He was talking happily about making tea or maybe a quick snack. Harry nodded and began following after his new acquaintance but he stopped at the one door they hadn't entered to clean.
"Ryou, what about this room?" He asked. He looked at the door, only opened when he himself had entered to change the light bulb within. He had forgotten to ask Ryou about this particular room earlier, too distracted by other thoughts. He glanced back towards Ryou, wondering why he was being so quiet. Ryou was staring at the door, all the happiness he had been radiating gone. He took a deep breath and a sad smile graced his lips.
"I'll take care of that one myself. You've already helped me so much and I don't want to keep you from your family any longer than I already have. I need to shower anyway." He said in a soft voice. Even though he was looking directly at Harry, he couldn't help but feel like Ryou wasn't really seeing him. He was tempted to say his family wouldn't care if he didn't come home, but he wasn't stupid enough to see the subtle clue that Ryou wanted him to leave. He glanced back at the door before heading downstairs. Ryou was quiet, though constantly smiling, as he led Harry to the front door and wished him a good evening. Harry said his own good bye and headed back towards Privet Drive.
0
Ryou waited, watching Harry until he vanished from his street. He sighed and leaned his back against the front door. He forced a smile on his face though there was no one left to show the façade.
"Harry is nice. I bet that other kid really did force him to break in last time." Ryou said aloud. He received no answer, but that didn't deter him from continuing.
"He even managed to put up with you for a while there. I was afraid you were going to scare him off. You know, you're kinda bossy Koe." Ryou's hand was on the banister now, foot on the first step. He waited and still received no answer. Still he continued to talk. He needed to.
"Oh yes, Koe, I was wondering why you invited him over like that all of a sudden. And ya know, you could've helped clean a little bit after forcing Harry to." Ryou continued to ramble on as he made his way up the steps.
/Are you still lonely? /
Ryou missed the next step and tumbled down the few stairs he had managed to climb. He blinked and just sat at the bottom of the steps with a dumbfounded look on his face.
/The potter brat will make you stop bothering me right? And now that he's done some of the cleaning, you don't have to and the body will be less tired. Now stop falling down or you'll injure the body. /
Ryou raised a hand to his chest and felt the ring warm against his skin. He couldn't identify the tone the spirit had used first, but now the tone was definitely irritated. Ryou agreed the continuous housework combined with the jet lag made his limbs feel heavy when he woke up, but was that really a good excuse?
"It's not like I mean to fall down" Ryou muttered as he forced himself back to his feet and headed to the upstairs bathroom. He quickly stripped off his clothes and pulled open the shower curtain. Hesitantly he ran a finger along the gold ring. He pulled it over his head and laid it gently on the small vanity before stepping into the tub and tugging the curtain closed. The warm water felt good against his sore muscles and for a moment he just stood there, letting the stream pelt his chest and face. He let the water streak down his cheeks.
0
Harry sighed as he flipped over on his bed. It was two full days ago when he had helped Ryou clean his house and he hadn't seen the boy since. He glanced at the window of his room, watching the cloudless sky. No sign of anything – no clouds, no planes, no wind, no birds. No birds. He sighed and rolled out of bed to greet the day. Well, the evening. He already missed the morning part of the day. He walked over to a large cage perched in the corner of his room. The white bird glared at him from under her wing and Harry tried to give her a sympathetic look.
"I know. I'm sorry. I know how it feels to be cooped up inside all day." He said apologetically as he slipped in food for his dear friend. She didn't even give a hoot of recognition and Harry decided he'd try to sneak her out for a bit of fresh air next time the Dursleys went out on a family excursion. He slipped into a pair of jeans and picked up a shirt from the ground. He looked at it a moment and smelled it before shrugging and slipping it on. Socks and shoes were next and soon he was heading downstairs.
"Where are you off to?" called a voice from the couch as Harry was reaching for the door. He turned to his cousin with a raised eyebrow.
"Why do you care?" He snapped back before he pushed open the door and headed outside. He took a deep breath. It was always refreshing to get out of that house. After a moment he started heading down the street. He really had no destination in mind, but wandering around aimlessly was better than sitting in his room without anything better to do. It wasn't like he had any letters to read, not that he was bitter or anything. The town was pretty quiet. It was a relatively small place where the neighbors grew quite close. If anything, it was to share gossip but that was common place in many suburban areas.
"Good morning Mrs. Figg" Harry said with a wave as he passed a familiar looking woman coming home from the market. She chuckled at him and returned the wave.
"It's a little late to be morning" She replied as she passed and went on her way. Harry shrugged and continued his wandering. Street after street went by, him stopping every now and again to step into a store and browse or to admire the scenery. There really wasn't much else to do. It was while he was window shopping at a random novelty store that he caught a flash of white hair. He looked up to see the pale haired boy stepping out of a flower shop with a small bundle of pure white Forget-Me-Nots in his hands. The boy looked up and caught Harry's gaze. He smiled.
"Hello Harry" He greeted politely with a dip of his head. Harry still felt weird being bowed to, but he returned the smile and walked over to him.
"Hey Ryou. How've you been settling in?" He asked. It felt good to have another kid his age not look at him with utter disgust in their eyes and Ryou was fairly easy to talk to. Usually.
"Pretty well. It's strange, I saw a few ladies staring at my house the other day, talking in a little circle. When I went outside they all walked away in a hurry." He was honestly cheery today. Harry was glad the smile wasn't fake anymore. He wasn't sure what he did the other day that caused Ryou to get so quiet, but apparently he was over it. He also wasn't all that surprised when Ryou told him about the gaggle of gossipers. It didn't matter how trivial your story, anything and everything became fresh fodder for conversation in Little Whinging. Harry blinked as he noticed Ryou was bowing his head again.
"Sorry I can't stay and talk, but I promised someone I'd visit them today" He said, looking fondly at the flowers in his hands. Harry raised an eyebrow and gave Ryou a one-sided smirk, but the boy wasn't paying attention and missed the gesture.
"Anyway, I'll see you later" He added a hasty wave and was on his way.
"Yeah sure." Harry replied quickly, throwing in a wave of his own as he watched Ryou's retreating back. For a split second, a part of him thought about following after Ryou to see who he was meeting, but it was the part of him that was bored out of his mind and the sane half of his brain was telling him that would be a completely absurd stalker thing to do. He went back to wandering and eventually the pavement turned to grass.
He always ended up back at the park, sitting on the swing with his eyes turned skyward. He leaned his face against the metal chain of the swing, letting the cool iron chill his cheek. At last he took his eyes away from the sky and gently let himself sway back and forth on the swing set. His mind, with nothing better to do, starting thinking about his new neighbor. Maybe he'd go over and see if Ryou needed help cleaning up his front yard. It had been completely littered with glass and garbage last time he was there. He shook his head. He couldn't believe he was really debating about going over to clean someone's yard. He hadn't been aware there was such a deep level of boredom a person could reach.
0
By midday the next day, Harry found himself walking down the streets again. He stopped and glanced to his left. The wrought iron fence was only a little bit higher than waist height so it didn't block any of his vision. He was stunned.
It was spotless, completely and utterly spotless.
You would never have been able to tell it was the same broken down crumbling building that sat there just days earlier. The only thing left of the wreck it had once been were the covered windows.
"I know. It's stunning when it's fixed up ain't it?" Harry jumped and spun around, suddenly meeting two brown eyes and a crooked smirk.
"Ryou!" He exclaimed, still skittish from the other's sudden appearance. He hadn't even heard him approaching. "I was just passing by, ya know. Nothing really to do in this town" He said quickly. Why was he making excuses for walking down a street? Ryou seemed amused by his antics.
"Oh that's not true. There's plenty to do, it just depends on what you consider 'fun' " Ryou said with a deep chuckle as he passed Harry and headed towards his house. He had an accomplished grin on his face and his hands were resting in his pockets. He stopped at the door, hesitating a moment, and turned around.
"Did you want to come in? I mean, if you don't have anything else to do of course. I don't want to interrupt you if you were doing something." He said, looking at Harry a moment then looking away and leaning a hand on the half opened door. Harry smiled.
"Sure," was all he could manage to get out of his mouth. He walked down the path, still a little more than impressed that it was so clean. Even the grass seemed perkier if that was even possible. He stepped into the house and once again looked around. The living room looked pretty much the same, except for a few little decorations here and there that Ryou must have set up to personalize the place a bit. Ryou insisted he would make some tea and that Harry should make himself at home. While Ryou busied himself in the kitchen, Harry walked over to the entertainment center and glanced at the picture frames that had been placed on some of the shelves. The first frame held a picture of a man with dark blue hair wearing a beige hat and outfit. It looked like the pyramids were behind him. Harry thought back to that photo he saw online. It looked like the same man that had held Ryou as a kid, but he couldn't be positive. The next picture proved his suspicions. The same man was standing beside Ryou, smiling at the camera while Ryou was holding something gold in his hands and staring at it in awe. Ryou was still young in that picture; maybe around seven give or take a year. Harry's eyes drifted to the next picture, this one clearly more recent as the Ryou in this scene was a teenager and surrounded by other people his age. One of them was that kid with the crazy hair from that dueling tournament. There was no way more than one person had that hairdo not to mention the giant triangle necklace. Harry looked up at the sound of his host's footsteps to find Ryou standing beside him, smiling at the picture.
"Those are my friends from Japan." He said, his face beaming as he thought about them.
"You moved here from Japan? Your English is perfect" Harry noted, glancing at the photograph one last time before giving Ryou his attention.
"Well I was born here in England, so English is my first language" Ryou explained as he walked over to the coffee table in front of the couch and put down the tray he held in his hands. Along with the tea he had brought out a platter of small cookies. Ryou took a seat on the first couch as Harry walked over to the shorter second, which sat perpendicular to the first.
"That's pretty cool. I can only speak one language myself." He said, though that wasn't completely true. He doubted Ryou would accept Parseltongue as an acceptable other language though.
"So what brought you back to England? The lovely British weather?" Harry asked with a joking smile.
"Oh yes, I just missed the cold icy rain so very much" Ryou replied with similar mirth. It had already rained three times in the few days he had been there.
"Really though I came here to spend time with my father. His job kinda keeps him on the road a lot, so it's tough for him to see me in Japan." He said as he lifted a cup of tea to his lips and took a sip.
"Ah I see. Is your dad here now?" Harry thought the question was innocent enough but Ryou's eyes darkened considerably. Harry hesitated with his own teacup, a shred of concern edging its way into him, but Ryou just closed his eyes and sighed.
"Not yet. He's been…delayed. He'll be coming later though" Ryou replied calmly as he sipped his tea again. His father had called him earlier in the week, apologizing and trying to explain about a promising lead to a lost tomb or something. He said he would come as soon as they finished checking to see if the rumors held any truth to them.
"So Harry, tell me about the town! I used to live here a long time ago, but it's been so long I'm sure it's changed a lot" Ryou chirped, his face smiling and warm as he noticeable changed the topic.
"Actually, it really hasn't changed. It's still a quiet, sleepy little place. Honestly, you're the talk of the town right now." Ryou blinked at that information.
"Really? Why?" He seemed truly baffled.
"You're a new face who moved into the Harthrow house of all places. Not to mention you're famous" Harry smiled as Ryou turned red.
"That's… I'm not….I'm not all that famous. Really, it's my friend Yugi who deserves praise for his gaming skills, not me!" Ryou said, his hand going to his hair and scratching. Harry chuckled.
"From what I've heard you were in the finals of a pretty big tournament right?"
"The quarter-finals. I was knocked out in the first round. Literally." Ryou said quickly, though that 'literally' could be taken in two very different ways. Both of them were true.
"Still, you've got to be good to make it that far. You're not giving yourself enough credit"
"So why is me living in Harthrow house so strange anyway?" Ryou asked in another abrupt change of subject. Harry smiled and sipped his tea before replying. He was starting to wonder if Ryou didn't like being told he was famous, even over something as little as a card game. Harry could sympathize just the slightest bit.
"Well it was supposed to be haunted." He explained. Ryou really seemed to brighten at that. His eyes sparkled with interest and Harry took that as a cue to continue.
"Yeah. They said ghosts used to live here and anyone who got to close would fall under the ghosts' spell" Ryou was all ears now. The occult had always fascinated him even as a small child. That was probably why he enjoyed fantasy games so much.
"Do you know what the spell was? What happened to people who did go to close?" He asked eagerly. He was like a puppy waiting for a ball.
"They would lose themselves to the ghosts. Their spirits would join the ghosts in the house and help them steal the spirits of the future trespassers." Harry said smiling a bit at the absurdity of it all. He didn't notice that Ryou's smile had faltered, though quickly replaced itself.
"So um…. Do you know…if it every happened before? Did people really lose their S-… spirits?" He asked, tone clearly guarded and almost a bit fearful. Harry misunderstood Ryou's concern.
"Don't worry you're completely safe. They're just rumors. That kind of stuff doesn't happen in the real world." By real he meant muggle, but that was beside the point. He looked at Ryou, who didn't seem comforted by Harry's reassurance.
"You know, when I first saw you, I thought YOU were a ghost. You had my cousin completely terrified, but he'll never admit it." Now Harry was taking his turn to change the subject.
"Did I now? So. Your cousin. That was the fat boy who broke into my house with you?" Ryou's face looked amused and any worry about spells or ghosts was gone. Harry felt a bit of relief and cracked a smile when Ryou called Dudley fat. He nodded and took a drink of his tea.
"Hmmm Porky still owes me payment for the window he so carelessly broke. I should make him pay interest. I could tell by the look on his face it wasn't the first window he's smashed. Does he live with you?" Ryou asked as he lounged against the sofa with his arms spread across the back. He waited with something unreadable in his eyes.
"Yeah he does, but I do my best to avoid him. He's not the most pleasant person." Harry replied. He was getting that weird uncomfortable feeling again.
"Where do you live?"
Harry placed his cup down and glanced at Ryou. His brown eyes were trained on him and his face seemed…well…mischievous.
"4Privet Drive" He finally answered and he watched the thoughtful look that flitted across Ryou's smiling face.
"So you wouldn't mind if I stopped by for a visit sometime would you?" He asked, yet it felt like whatever Harry answered wasn't going to matter.
"I wouldn't mind personally, but I don't know if the Dursleys will be all that tolerant. Why would you want to come over my house anyway?" Ryou's arms dropped from the back of the couch onto his lap as he shrugged and looked away.
"I guess I'm just curious. I've only ever seen my house so I guess it would be nice to see what another family's house is like." He replied before turning his eyes to Harry. "Are the …Dursleys? Are they your family?" He asked. Harry gave a nod and Ryou smiled.
"How are they? Are they nice?" He asked. Harry looked away from those brown eyes, unable to keep his gaze.
"Depends. If you've got good social standing, money, or you're their kid, then yeah they're nice. If you're not, well you're better off befriending a dead rat" He said rather icily.
"Oh." Ryou didn't know what to say to that. He was guessing Harry was either close to people his family clearly disliked, or he was the one they didn't like. That couldn't happen though because normal families were close. Like Yugi and his grandfather.
"So… you like games?" Harry asked after a horribly long moment of awkward silence. Ryou seemed just as eager for something to break that silence, as he was nodding vehemently.
"Yeah. My favorite is Monster World. Duel Monsters is fun too, but nothing beats a good game of Monster World. And everyone can play instead of just watching two people dueling" Ryou's eyes lit up when he mentioned monster world. Harry had never played it, though the name sounded vaguely familiar. He decided to just ask Ryou what monster world was seeing as the other boy was clearly into the game. Ryou was more than happy to tell him all about it.
"Monster world is a tabletop RPG, a role playing game where you customize your character and fight against the dark master to try to beat whatever story the game master has created. Usually the dark master IS the game master. I use a computer to help calculate the stats of the characters, but you roll dice to attack, defend, cast magic, move…well, you roll for basically everything. The fun thing about it is each game is guaranteed to be different since you're the one that makes all the choices." Ryou continued to explain the different races and classes and Harry found himself lost in the technical terms. It still sounded rather interesting and he had a feeling Ron would be good at it.
"I don't really understand all of it, but it sounds like it'd be a blast to play. I know one of my friends would probably get really into it" Harry said once Ryou had finally stopped talking about it. Harry really didn't mind it though. Having a normal conversation with someone was a nice change of pace. Ryou suddenly looked at Harry curiously.
"What about you Harry? What's your favorite game?" He asked. Harry stared a moment. He had an answer but how was he supposed to explain it?
"Oh, it's just … it's not well known. You've probably never heard of it" He ended up saying, then mentally kicking himself for saying that. He would have been better off if he just lied.
"I know lots of games. One of my friends lived above a game shop and he always brought in the newest stuff to school" Ryou was still waiting for a real answer from Harry. Fine, he'd explain the best he could without giving away any important details.
"Alright then, it's a game where there are two teams of seven. Each team has three stationary rings that act as goals and the keeper is the member of the team that protects the goals. The chasers handle a ball about this big" He started, using hand gestures where necessary, "and they head towards the other team's goal post. If you get the ball through the hoop, you score ten points." It was the least magical version of the game he could say without bringing up questions he wouldn't be able to answer, and he realized it sounded like a rather generic sport. Maybe a twisted version of basketball. Ryou was supportive though and said one day Harry would have to show him how to play. Harry nodded but didn't say anything. Hopefully Ryou wouldn't press that matter.
As time ticked by, Ryou tried to better explain Monster World and told Harry he'd have to play it to really understand. Harry told Ryou more about the town and a little bit about his friends from school. By the time Ryou stood up to put away the tea set, it was already dark out.
"Oh I'm sorry Harry. I've kept you for so long! If I knew how late it was getting…" He started, but Harry cut him off.
"Don't worry Ryou. Besides, it's not like we could look out the window to check to see if the sun was setting." His unsuccessful attempt to make a joke about the covered windows didn't seem to appease the white haired boy.
"You won't get in trouble will you? You can blame me, it IS my fault" Harry almost laughed. He'd get in trouble no matter what time he got home. He and trouble were best friends. They went everywhere together.
"Trust me Ryou, it'll be like any other day I come back no matter what time I get in." At last Ryou nodded, though it was clear he was still upset about it, and Harry was escorted to the door.
0
Harry slipped inside the Dursley's house, trying to be sneaky and failing miserably. He barely got two steps in when he was greeted by his angry uncle. Yup. Things were just the same as usual.
"And where were you out so late at night, boy? Meeting up with your little…. freak friends?" He accused glaring daggers at his unwanted nephew. Harry immediately got defensive and locked eyes with his uncle.
"First off, my friends are NOT freaks. Second, I was just wandering the streets, not that you really care," he snapped back. He smirked as his uncle turned a dark shade of red. He never did like it when Harry talked back to him.
"You're a liar." Both Harry and Vernon turned to look at the owner of the voice. Dudley was on the couch and watching Harry with a hint of ridicule in his eyes.
"Whenever you go out, you always go to the park and sit on the swings like an angsty little girl." He baited his cousin. Harry didn't fall for it.
"Angsty? Dudley! I'm impressed you know such a long word." Harry said, his voice tinged with mock praise. This drew a nice long scowl from Dudley who huffed and turned his attention back to the television.
"Quiet boy. So you really were frolicking around with those freaks." Vernon was growling at Harry now, but the boy was acting nonchalant.
"Ryou's not a freak" Harry said darkly, never dropping his stare from his uncle's. Vernon's eyes took on the tiniest hint of surprise.
"You were with the Bakura boy?" He asked, clear disbelief in his tone.
"I can hang out with whoever I want" Harry announced, still holding his ground.
"Don't be stupid Potty. Why would he want to hang out with you?" Dudley brought himself back into the conversation and his father nodded in agreement.
"Dudley has a point, boy. Nobody would want to be friends with you but other freaks. Get to your room you lying good for nothing child." Vernon looked as if he felt accomplished and Harry couldn't think of any reason why. He became immune to the Dursley's self-esteem attacks a long time ago. Still, he was already tired of looking at his relatives' faces so he headed upstairs without another word.
He flopped on his bed, listening to the silence. He sighed and sat up shortly after. He was back on his feet, pacing the room for a second or two. He stopped at a familiar cage in the corner. Hedwig was still ignoring him.
"Tomorrow. I promise." He said softly to the bird. Well, at least she looked at him, though her head quickly disappeared back under her wing. He smiled at her, poking his fingers through the bars and stroking her soft white feathers.
0
Ryou yawned and slipped under the covers of his bed. He had already eaten, cleaned up a bit, showered, even set aside some clothes for the next day. Now he was just lying down in bed waiting for sleep to take him. He couldn't manage to drift off. One worry was still buzzing around in his head.
"Koe? Those rumors Harry told us about the house…. They weren't about you were they?" The spirit didn't reply, as usual. Ryou sighed as his thoughts went rampant. Then one thought in particular rang through, silencing the rest. It couldn't have been the spirit. He didn't get the ring until after he moved. He decided to use that as his comfort for the night, but even then sleep was refusing to visit him. He wondered how Yugi and jounouchi were doing; if Honda and Anzu had helped Yugi and his spirit get any closer to whatever it was they were trying to do.
/Homesick already Yadonushi?/ chuckled the voice. Ryou could tell he was making fun of him. He probably saw it as a weakness, the want to be near his friends. Okay, he missed them. Was that really so pathetic?
The voice didn't reply this time and Ryou wondered if he had actually won this mental battle.
/Don't be stupid Yadonushi. I was merely thinking about your … 'companions'. The pharaoh and his cheerleaders are not our friends. They are just our tools. Pawns in a game of power./
Ryou shook his head. His voice was barely a whisper.
"They are my friends."
0
Ryou stretched and let out a heady yawn. The sun was streaming in through his window already. He scooped up his watch from his bedside table and checked the time. Eleven. That was good. Yesterday he hadn't gotten out of bed until after twelve and he hated wasting the whole morning. Eleven he could deal with. His body was finally readjusting itself and he was getting over the time difference. Maybe in a few more days, he'd be getting up early like he used to. He yawned one more time before pulling himself off the bed and getting changed. The ring had been placed directly beside his bed as close to him as possible. He picked it up and stared at the shining yellow metal. He gently touched one of the dangling spikes, letting it clink against its neighbor. It really had put him through hell, and yet he always put it back on. His friends in Japan didn't understand, and honestly he could explain himself.
He tugged the thick leather strap over his head and slipped the ring under his shirt. Seconds later he was downstairs preparing brunch.
"I'll have to buy more eggs soon….already" He only had two left by the time he finished making his food. As he ate in silence, he wondered if he should try finding a job. His father sent him money once a month, but when he was really wound up in his work, something as trivial as sending his son food money often slipped his mind. Ryou could do another commercial, but honestly he didn't want the attention. Last time he was desperate, now he had the time to save up what he earned. He also didn't need that much. Just enough for the groceries.
/We don't need to worry about money Yadonushi. /
Ryou shivered. He was still getting used to the spirit talking to him so much without taking over his body and locking Ryou's mind away in his own personal mental room. Soul room. That was what he had heard Yugi call it. Ryou suspected the change in the spirit of the ring had something to do with Battle City. The tournament was a big black splotch in his memory, but the weeks following were clear as day. The first week he had the ring back, the spirit didn't even try to take over his body. When he finally did snag control, Ryou was still aware, kind of like how Yugi and his spirit were both awake when the other was in control.
/Don't compare us to that trash/
Ryou suppressed his smile. Maybe he should learn how to block his thoughts too. He knew it was possible, or else he'd hear the spirit more often. Unless the spirit really just didn't think that much. Ryou flinched at the anger he suddenly felt race through his body.
"Sorry. Pretend I didn't think that" said Ryou with a slight shudder. His stomach knotted itself and he wasn't really hungry anymore. He stood up and scraped the half eaten omelet into the waste disposal. As the water ran across the plate, he glanced out the window. He sighed as he watched the clouds, his hands going through the motion of cleaning without a second thought. It was only when he was turning off the water that he saw it. He stared in amazement.
/It's just a bird Yadonushi/
Ryou shook his head. It wasn't just any bird. It was a snowy owl. A white snowy owl flying in the middle of the day through Little Whinging.
