Ryou: *groans* What now?

WSJ: Did you know there's a card game called Bakura? It's not pronounced the same way as your name, but it's spelled the same.

Bakura: *rolls his eyes* And you thought this was necessary information... why?

WSJ: *shrugs* I just found it rather funny... Well, ASN is done with, and it's really short!! Only seven chapters!! And believe me, that's short, compared to what VotH was and what SoS will be... *grins* Still contemplating Ryou/Serenity. I don't own YGO.

(....) Ryou talking mentally to somebody

()()()()()

Sacrifice of Shadows

Chapter 2 -- The Cries of Their Hearts

Ryou tried to stiffle a yawn as his biology teacher droned on. So boring... He already knew most of this stuff. Two desks over he sensed Yugi's bordum as well. Grinning to himself he sent the Short One a mental picture of the teacher in a dog-suit, like the kind Duke Devlin had tried to make Joey wear.

There was a muffled burst of laughter from Yugi's direction, and Ryou smiled innocently as the teacher called Yugi sharply to order. (Sorry Yugi...) Ryou senced Yugi readying a mental reply, knowing that the white-haired boy would be able to sense it, but a sudden mental scream cut him off.

The Blind One cursed uncharacteristicly as the scream, or screams, sent waves of pain through his mind, simply through their sheer intensity. These were the screams of someone in mortal pain. He dropped his head into his hands and for several seconds he couldn't see, hear, or sense anything past the pain of the screams.

He came back to his own, rather disoriented, mind with the teacher calling his name. "Ryou? Ryou, are you all right? Do you need to go to the nurse's office?"

"Hai, sensei," he said, somehow getting his feet under him and standing up. "Maybe I'd better, I have a migraine," Of course, he had no intention of going to the nurse. He meant to find Bakura or, if need be, Yami, and see what they thought of his recent experience.

Before the teacher could appoint someone to help get him there, there was a shout from behind him. "Yugi!" Joey jumped up from his seat and caught the Holder of the Puzzle as he slipped out of his chair, completly limp.

The teacher swallowed, and Ryou could sense the slight panic coming off of her. "Joey, would you please take Yugi and Ryou to the nurse's office?"

"Hai," Joey bowed slightly, Yugi still in his arms, and made his way over to Ryou. The blind boy put a hand on Joey's arm to be led out of the room, although he could have easily found his way out himself. He was beginning to panic slightly over those screams he'd "heard", as well as Yugi's present condition. The feeling of Joey's jacket under his fingers helped reassure him emmencly.

They made their way to the door, and Ryou pulled it open with his free hand. "Ryou," Joey said suddenly, his brow furrowing. "You're tremblin' like you jus' got senteced to the Shadow Realm or somethin'. You sure it's just a migraine?"

At that moment, Ryou wished that it was anyone else beside him at the moment except Joey. Preferably someone who knew of his powers. Even Malik would have been better. "No," he said, unable to lie to his friend.

Joey seemed to accept this answer for the moment, but he couldn't help the way that his mouth turned downward at the corners in worry. "Do you 'ave any idea why Yug's suddenly a rag doll?"

Ryou paused a moment, and then sighed. "Hai,"

Before Joey could ask anything else, the sound of running feet down the corridor behind them met their ears. Ryou blinked. "Bakura?"

"'Ey," Joey asked, even more puzzled. "How'd you know-"

Bakura skidded to a stop in front of them, took one look at Yugi's limp form and the look on Ryou's face, and moaned. "This is not good..."

~~Ten minutes earlier...~~

Bakura idly doodled on his paper, wishing that this stupid French class would be over. Wasn't knowing Japanese, English, and Egyptian enough languages for two life-times? Apparently not...

Beside him he heard Yami mutter something under his breath in Egyptian, and the tomb robber snickered quietly. Since the two of them had all their classes together, and were placed next to each other in almost every one*, they'd taken to muttering any snide comments in their birth-language, so that only the other would understand.

~()~

* This is because the really stupid teachers** would place their pupals in their seats by alphabetical order. Some would go by last name, almost always putting Yami in the seat behind Bakura. Others would go by first name (or in Bakura's case, "first" name), which obviously seated them side-by-side.

** Read: all

~()~

Suddenly Yami's eyes widened, and he went slightly pale. "Bakura," he hissed. "Someone's casting a spell! They're trying to force me back into the Puzzle," the ex-pharoah was speaking hoarsly in Egyptian, so Bakura answered in like.

"Do you know who?"

A couple of other students were giving them weird looks, especially since this was a French class, but the two spirits ignored them.

"No, but Bakura, it hurts! I've got to get out of here," Yami said.

For a moment Bakura sat there stunned, amazed that Yami had actually called him by name. Then he jumped to his feet. "Sensei, I think Yami's about to be sick!" There was a rather embarrassed silence, and then Bakura realized he had spoken in Egyptian still. He flushed lightly and repeated his exclamation in standard Japanese.

The teacher looked startled. Then she saw Yami, pale, sweaty, and panting, and waved them hurridly out of the room.

Bakura pulled Yami to his feet and looped the pharoah's arm around his shoulders, half-carrying and half-dragging him out of the room. As soon as the door shut behind them, the Pharoah looked up at the tomb robber, and Bakura saw something that he hoped to never see again.

There was fear in Yami's eyes.

"D-Don't let her win!" Yami pleaded, collapsing to the ground and coughing. Then he slowly began to dissolve, as he gave in to the spell and retreated into his soulroom. As he did, he let out a pitious keening cry that almost didn't sound human. It shook Bakura down to the very core, and he shivered dispite himself.

At that particular moment, every person in that building, be it student or facuty, felt a shiver go up their spine for unexplainable reasons. It was also at that moment that Ryou was doubled over in pain, for he was hearing that same keening cry, only intensly magnified and joined by several other voices.

Bakura stood dumbly outside the classroom for a moment, staring down at where Yami had been. Then his brain caught up with him, and his eyes widened. "Yugi! Ryou!" He took off down the hall toward their biology class, his booted feet slipping slightly on the tiled floor. As he barreled around the last corner, he almost slid into the lockers on the opposite wall before he could regain control of his momentum.

Ahead of him he saw Ryou and Joey, their backs to him. At the sound of him approaching, the two turned, reveiling Yugi laying in Joey's arms, knocked out and way too pale. Bakura skidded to a halt and moaned slightly. "This is not good..."

"Wha' do ya' mean?" Joey demanded. "Of course it's not good! Come on, we gotta get 'im to the nurse,"

Slowly Bakura shook his head. "It would do no good. She would find nothing wrong. This is not a mortal disease, but one of the soul. Look,"

Joey looked where he was pointing and gasped. The Puzzle was glowing, but instead of casting its normal golden sheen, it had a sickening greenish cast to it.

Without warning the Ring appeared through Ryou's shirt, casting off the same greenish light. "Aibou?" Bakura asked, horrified.

Ryou's face was contorted slightly in pain, and one hand was pressed flat to his chest, right over his heart. "I'm fine," he wheezed. "It'll pass," And his prediction was true. Within moments the glow around the Ring faded, although the light from the Puzzle stayed.

"What was it?" Joey asked, horrified.

"A spell," Bakura answered, letting Ryou lean supportivly against him. "Could you sense what it was Ryou?"

Ryou nodded, still breathing heavily. "Hai. It was centered on all Millenium Items, but strongest on the ones that hold yamis. It was trying to lock me in a soulroom that is no longer there. I think I managed to shunt away the worst of it from the Eye and Ring, and I did my best for the Puzzle, but..." He looked saddly at Yugi and shook his head. "I doubt I suceeded,"

Joey blinked, a couple question marks dancing over his head. "Wha'? A spell? You can sense it? And why protect Pegasus?"

Ryou winced and dropped his head, and Bakura smacked himself on the forehead. "You're forgetting, Joseph," Bakura said through clenched teeth. "That the Eye was stolen from Pegasus,"

Joey blinked at the two of them, and then the connection clicked and he gasped, almost dropping Yugi in the process. "You-"

"Him," Ryou corrected with a wry chuckle, pointing at his other. "I had nothing to do with it,"

Bakura shook his head and crossed his arms over his chest. "Enough about that aibou, now what was the spell designed to do? Who cast it?"

Ryou opened his mouth to answer, and then his ears pricked up. "The bell's going to ring in about three minutes. Maybe we should continue this discussion else-where," The other two quickly agreed, and they left the school, heading for Joey's house, which was closest. His dad was away presently, which was lucky, but they agreed that as soon as Yugi seemed stable enough to move, they'd have to relocate to the Bakura house.

"I think," Ryou said slowly, once Yugi was settled on the couch and the three of them were seated in chairs opposite it, "That the spell was meant to lock all yamis and their hikaris into their soulrooms, and impare the powers of all the other Items,"

"So you're saying," Joey said. "That even if Yug' wasn't locked in his own mind, he wouldn't be able to use the Puzzle?"

Ryou nodded. "I can't get the Ring to respond to me at all, and-" Suddenly he gasped and nearly fell out of the chair. "By Ra, we're all so stupid! What about Malik?"

Almost as if on cue (not really), the phone rang, causing them all to jump. After a moment of staring at each other and collecting their nerves, Joey picked it up. "'Ello, Wheeler residence, Joey speaking," He paused, and his eyes widened. "What? She what!? I'll be right there!" He slammed the phone back into the craddle and looked wide-eyed at the other two. "That was Serenity's school. She just collapsed, and they don't know why. I'm gonna have to go get her. Why don't you guys take Yugi to your house, and I'll find out what's wrong with Serenity and meet you there afterwards," He started to go, but Ryou grabbed his arm.

"Don't take Serenity to the hospital, or even to the doctors'," the Blind One said, a funny look on his face. "Bring her strait to our house. Onegai Joey, just listen to me!"

Joey blinked and gave Ryou a long look. Then he nodded slowly. "Okay Ryou, see ya' there," With that he was out the door.

Bakura stood up and hoisted Yugi into his arms, then turned to Ryou, who was still sitting and "staring" at the door. "Hikari?"

"I think," Ryou said slowly. "That Serenity may be in a lot of trouble..."

()()()()()

WSJ: *bouncing around on a gingerbread-and-iced-tea-induced sugar-high* Yay Ryou! You rock!

Ryou & Bakura: *sweatdrop*

WSJ: *falls over giggling, acting rather like she's drunk* Hurrah for computer people! Internet go bye-bye, now internet come back! *weaves back and forth for a moment before falling over completly* Gingerbread goooood...

Ryou: *double sweatdrop* Don't mind her... She's just, well, rather insane at the moment... The over-sweetened iced tea didn't help matters either...

Bakura: *sighs and rubs his temples* Reviews please! They are the only things that can restore sanity!!!

Chapter 3: Joey, Bakura, and Ryou try to get things sorted out as best they can. Joey heads for the Game Shop to retreive the Tauk from Yugi's desk, Bakura heads for the Ishtars to see what's become of Malik, and Ryou stays with Yugi and Serenity. While alone, Ryou tries something that Bakura wouldn't have liked; he's going to try to get in touch with Shaadi mentally, to ask about the state of the Scales and Ankh.

God bless minna-san!