Bakura: *majorly scowling and trying to glare a hole through SJ* What are you so happy about onna?

WSJ: *pauses* I'm not happy, exactly... But I turned my paper in! So now I have a bit less stress. And besides, PMS always makes me bouncy. *shrugs*

Bakura: *shudders* PMSing onna... Help...

WSJ: *giggles childishly* New episodes tomorrow! And guess what, I've desided what to do after SoS ends!

Elyssa: *perks up* Really? People have been asking about that, you know...

WSJ: Yes, I do know. Wait, hold on, I need tea. *heads out of the room to brew some tea, since her dad insensitively drank the last of it at dinner. Ten minutes later she returns, a wine glass full of tea in one hand*

Fiore: *looks at her strangely* {You drink tea out of a goblet?}

WSJ: *shrugs and takes a sip* Why not?

Ying-Yang: *idly twirling her hair with her fingers* So are ya' gonna tell us about the next stories?

WSJ: *grins* I will, I will... I'm in the midst of planning out not one, not two, but four more fics to take place after SoS.

Everyone: *oogles*

Ryou: *hesitantly* Four? Whatever about?

WSJ: What else? College! You blokes are being shipped off to Tokyo U! One fic for each year. ^-^ I can't wait to start!

Alex: You have to finish SoS first.

WSJ: *waves him off* I know, I know... So let's get to it, eh? ^_^ SoS should run roughly three or four more chapters, this one included. You'll love the end, I can guarentee it.

Elyssa: No own YGO. Duh!

()()()()()

Sacrifice of Shadows

Chapter 11 -- The Days After

"Ryou? Ryou, do you want any dinner?" Shen Bakura poked his head cautiosly into his son's room, only to see the telepath curled up on his bed, in the exact same possition he'd been left in three hours ago. The Blind One gave a mumbled reply that he wasn't hungry, and shut the door in Shen's face with a small nudge of psycic energy.

Shen sighed sadly as he turned to head back downstairs. Ryou had been like this for the past three days, ever since coming back from the Shadow Realm. Shen was beginning to despair of ever seeing his son happy again.

"Oh Angeline..." he murmered as he trudged down the stairs. "I've bungled again... First I buy that blasted Ring, then I can't even protect our son from that bloody spirit, and now I can't even bloody well cheer him up!"

Shen knew none of the things he was saying were true, or his fault, but he felt better trying to lay blame somewhere. The idea that this entire thing might be out of his hands was just too hard for him to completely grasp. "What do I do?" he moaned aloud.

"Just what you have been doing."

Shen whirled around to see Yami and Ishtar standing behind him. "What are you two doing here?"

The two spirits exchanged glances. "We have some... Business to attend to with Bakura. The front door was open anyway, so we just came in," Ishtar said. Shen was silent, and the two Egyptians gave him sympathetic smiles. "You really are doing all you can. He needs to come out of this on his own. There's no way that you'll be able to forse him to be happy again Bakura-san."

Shen nodded finally and sighed again. "I suppose you are right. Go on upstairs, Bakura hasn't moved."

Yami and Ishtar looked startled, and gave him weird looks before accending the stairs. Business indeed. It was time to turn some clocks. Back, that is.

Ryou heard the quiet footfalls that neared and then passed his room, and he breifly reached out to touch the comforting presences of Yami and Ishtar. Ryou didn't know why they were there, but somehow he felt safer with other yamis around. He didn't think the Shadow Realm was through with him yet, especially after he and Bakura had killed two of their top agents.

There was a stab of pain in Ryou's heart as he thought of Bakura. A breif sob shuddered through him, but he had no more tears to cry. He slid out of bed and padded over to the window, letting his forehead rest against the cool glass. He slid his eyes closed out of habit and let his sences drift.

He could feel Ishtar's brassen orange and Yami's tarnished silver auras in the next room, and Bakura's empty shell. His father's nervous violet aura was pacing back and forth downstairs. Socrates, Ryou's cat, was curled up under the kitchen table, the tail of her mint green aura twitching lazily.

Ryou pushed his senses fursther, scanning outward. He wanted to get away from this house, this room, which held so many memories. Beatings, reconciliations, long late-night talks, some about mortality, some not. He had to get away from Bakura. The only way Ryou knew how was to flee with his mind, since his father most definately wouldn't allow him to flee with his feet.

He felt the neighbors on either side, the warmth of their auras comforting him. Still he pushed farther. He could feel Yugi and Granpa Moto in the Game Shop, just closing up for the night. He could feel Joey and Serenity, just sitting down to dinner at a nearby resturant.

Ryou pushed still harder, until he began to sweat from the sheer exhersion. He could sense the closely orbiting twin-auras that were Seto and Mokuba Kaiba in Kaiba Corp, still working. He could feel Tristan and Tea, surprisingly together, taking a walk through the park. Malik and Isis, who were fighting again about some trivial thing. And other minds, many, many others that he didn't know and never would.

And then suddenly, it was like a dam breaking. Ryou's conciousness suddenly covered the entire globe. Every mind, every aura, all spread out before him in a magnificant kalideiscope of color and shade. Every single person on this Earth... All he had to do was just reach down and touch them, just a few, bend them to his will. Why, he could rule the world if he wanted!

Some of the souls were connected by thin red strings, the symbol of true soulmates. And it wasn't always between lovers either. In America, Ryou could feel two women who had been friends ever since childhood and would do anything for the other. Their string was one of the strongest. Ryou noticed suddenly that a red string ran from his own heart. Against his better judgement, he followed it, although he already knew where it would lead. And he was right. It led only to an empty shell.

With a soft cry Ryou jerked himself back into his body, his heart racing and his breath coming in gasps. His hands were shaking, and he was on his knees, clutching at the windowsill to keep from collapsing full-length along the floor. So much power... He'd had millions of people literally at his fingertips...

It hurt too much to think about, so Ryou climbed laborously into his bed and let the blessed oblivian of sleep claim him.

"Are you sure this'll work Yami?"

"It'd better. Ryou's depending on it."

"Huh? He doesn't even know what we're doing."

"Hai, but think about it. If Malik died, and you were still around, wouldn't you want to die too?"

"By Ra! Of course I would!" Ishtar stopped. "You mean-?"

Yami didn't answer him, and instead concentrated on the Puzzle, which slowly rose to point at Bakura. "Here's hoping this works..." he murmered.

()()()()()

WSJ: Yeah, I know, sort of a short chapter. ;_; I'm sorry!

Ryou: * blinks at the chapter* What did I do?

WSJ: *scratches her head* Ya' know Ry-chan, I'm not exactly sure about that myself...

Chapter 12: Bakura, while hanging in limbo, has an intresting conversation with the Lady Fate. She gives him a warning, but he is called away before she can complete it. What does it mean?

God bless minna-san!