Yu-Gi-Oh! Fan Fiction ❯ Honda, Bakura, and the Three Trolls ❯ Part 1 of 3 ( Chapter 1 )

[ T - Teen: Not suitable for readers under 13 ]

Title: Honda, Bakura, and the Three Trolls
Author: Tsutsuji

Fandom: Yugioh!

Rating: G (unnoticable hints of Bakura/Ryou in this story, and later some Honda/Ryou UST)

Summary: Bothered by school bullies, Ryou discovers he has more than one protector.

Disclaimers: Yu-gi-oh! and the characters of Ryou, Bakura, and Honda are owned by Kazuki Takahashi. The Hobbit, quoted below, belongs to J.R.R.Tolkien. Any resmeblance between the bullies in this story and actual bullies is coincidental.

Author's Notes: Takes place after Duelist Kingdom and before Battle City. The background for this story is a mix of manga and anime canon, meaning certain conflicting versions of events at Duelist Kingdom are referred to, and the Shadow Game Bakura played with Yugi and friends was Monster World, not Duel Monsters.
I have no idea if Japanese high school students have classes like "Western Literature," but if they do, this is one author they ought to be reading, especially Ryou. I assume he's reading the Japanese translations of Tolkien, not reading it in English; for info on the Japanese editions check out <http://pblancho.free.fr/ja1/html/image001.html> and The Annotated Hobbit.

****
/*/ Part One /*/
He was desperate. He must get away, out of this horrible darkness, while he had any strength left. He must fight. He must stab the foul thing, put its eyes out, kill it. It meant to kill him. No, not a fair fight. Gollum had no sword. Gollum had not actually threatened to kill him, or tried to yet. And he was miserable, alone, lost. A sudden understanding, a pity mixed with horror, welled up in Bilbo's heart: a glimpse of endless unmarked days without light or hope of betterment, hard stone, cold fish, sneaking and whispering.
----
Ryou Bakura shuddered, suddenly feeling a chill on his skin, though the sun was still warm and the day bright around him. He was sitting on a wooden bench beside a path that ran behind the school library, and birds were twittering in the bushes. In the background there was the noise of traffic on the road beyond the trees and the chatter of other students enjoying their lunch break outside. He looked up and around, a little surprised to see the day still going on around him, when for the last half hour his mind had been in a deep cavern below ground, guessing riddles by a cold dark lake.

He looked down at the book in his hands: The Hobbit by J.R.R. Tolkien. For years he'd been meaning to read it, and now that it had turned up on the reading list for his Western Literature class he was finally getting the chance. He knew little about it, except that it was a story of magic and kings and dragons set in an ancient world, and he only knew that because he'd heard that The Lord of the Rings was the basis for every role-playing game ever invented. Somehow he'd missed realizing the title of the longer book referred to magic rings, which was ironic, although the ring in this story was clearly much different than his own magic ring, the Millenium Ring which hung on its cord around his neck, hidden under his shirt. Although he was aware of the warmth of the sun again, he could feel its cold touch against his skin at that moment.

He sensed the Spirit of the Ring stirring in his consciousness. He'd had a feeling that his Other Self had been mentally reading over his shoulder.

"It does sound like a game of Monster World, doesn't it?" the voice inside his head mused. "Which character are you going to play?"

"I suppose I'd want to be Bilbo," he thought, speaking back to the spirit with his mind.

"Hmph. Well, I suppose that makes sense. He's a timid little guy until he's cornered, which describes you surprisingly well." The voice held a tinge of sarcasm, and Ryou knew it was referring to the time he'd defied the Spirit to save his newfound friends from the Shadow Game.

"Maybe..." Ryou said aloud softly. He sometimes doubted he could be that brave again. He felt more like the timid side of Bilbo who wanted to stay at home and avoid adventure. But, like the hobbit in the story, adventure seemed to want to find him, thanks to the Ring. His memories of Duelist Kingdom were a bit muddled, but mixed with some fun and exciting times he knew there had been moments when his courage had failed him, and he'd been glad to have the Spirit of the Ring to help get him and his friends out of trouble. His developing relationship with the Spirit was turning out to be quite an adventure in itself.

Ryou's hand came up to his neck in what was becoming a habitual gesture, his arm pressing the cool Ring against his chest, unconsciously hugging it to himself. "I'd like to be able to become invisible," he thought. "That could come in handy."

"But you can, Ryou-kun," the Spirit reminded him teasingly. "All you have to do is let me take over, and you can hide your eyes until the bad goblins are gone. Just like little Bilbo and his magic ring of invisibility."

"Maybe..." Ryou said again. But then, he thought in a private part of his mind, there was Gollum, alone in the dark with only his magic ring. That was more like his role in the game. Except that Gollum didn't have the Ring anymore, the timid but heroic hobbit had it now. Just as timid but heroic Yugi had succeeded once in getting rid of the Spirit of the Ring, or so they all thought. But Ryou had brought him back, somehow. He wondered if Gollum would ever get hold of the magic ring again in the story.

He checked his watch; he had fifteen more minutes before he had to get back to class. Just enough time to finish the chapter before going inside to his locker. He opened the book and began to read again.

"Thief, thief, thief! Baggins! We hates it, we hates it, we hates it forever!" ...

Ryou was jolted back to the present with Gollum's shrill cry echoing confusedly in his mind as something knocked against him, sending the book flying out of his hands. He blinked up into the shadow that had fallen over him, trying to figure out what was going on.

"Ha! Gotcha!" A loud, harsh laugh came from the squat figure of the boy standing over him. He was dangling Ryou's book in his hand, grinning to show crooked, broken teeth, and his eyes glittered maliciously.

"Smart kid, aintcha? Always got yer nose in a book or something." He stood with his knees pressed against Ryou's, holding the book up and out of reach, obviously waiting for Ryou to make some move to get it back. Ryou didn't think reaching up for it would be wise.

"Please give that back," Ryou said, his natural politeness taking over in spite of himself. "It belongs to the library."

"Oh, really? Like I should care?"

To Ryou's alarm, the kid straddled Ryou's legs, almost sitting on his lap and clamping his knees together. Although he wasn't quite as tall as Ryou, he wsa probably almost twice his weight, his body thick with fat and muscle. He looked down on Ryou, whose eyes were level with his collar.

"Let's see, what is this anyway?" The kid looked at the book for the first time, taking a long moment to read the simple title. "Ha! This is a little kid's book, you moron! I thought you were a smart kid, but you're just a wimpy little dolt. 'Course, I already knew you were a wimp."

Ryou's view of the scene shifted suddenly, becoming small and sharp, like looking through a keyhole or the wrong end of a telescope. His other self had taken control. His mixed reaction of relief and distress was short lived, as something else happened a second later. The book went flying out of the kid's hand, and his gleefully malicious expression was replaced by one of bewilderment.

"Hey, what??"

"Kid's book, huh? I guess it's way beyond your reading level then, isn't it, punk?"

Another figure appeared behind the kid, someone tall and slim and dark haired. It took Ryou a moment to realize who it was, and by then the punk kid had gone flying backwards off Ryou's lap and was struggling to keep his feet under him with his arm twisted in an iron grip.

"Honda-kun?" Ryou thought with surprise. His other self said nothing.

"Better stick to your picture books, Kombo," Honda said, deftly pulling the book free of the kid's hand and shoving him aside at the same time, then stepping in between him and Ryou. "You'll just strain your feeble excuse for a brain trying to read this stuff!"

"Honda! You jerk," the kid snarled. He hesitated, looking like he wanted to say something really nasty, but apparently thought better of making an outright attack on the taller boy. Ryou knew Honda and Jonouchi didn't get in as many fights as they used to, but when they did, they rarely lost. Obviously Kombo knew this too. He managed to gather his dignity into a "you'll regret this" kind of grim smile before sauntering off. He didn't look back, but his shoulders were hunched up as if shielding himself from an expected blow.

Honda watched him go, and then turned to Ryou, who hadn't moved.

"You okay?" he said, holding out the book.

Ryou still looked out through his keyhole view of the world, waiting for his other self to return control to him. Instead, the other blinked up at Honda and smiled.

"I'm fine, thank you very much," he said in Ryou's mild voice. "It's a good thing you came along when you did. I'm not very good at dealing with people like that."

Ryou winced inwardly. The ironic comment was a dig meant partly for him; although his other self had bristled at the kid calling him a wimp, he knew the spirit felt the same about his lack of strength in the face of bullies. Besides, when the spirit was trying to pass himself off as Ryou-kun, he tended to lay it on a little thick.

"Well, I'm great at it, so if that kid ever bothers you again, you just let me know about it. Me and Jonouchi can take care of shit like that for you, you know."

Ryou couldn't tell if his other self wanted to laugh or snarl at that. I can take care of shit like that myself, you interfering idiot, the spirit thought, but said nothing, only giving Honda one of Ryou's most charming smiles of gratitude. Ryou could tell he was frustrated at having to keep his presence hidden, but at least it amused the spirit to deceive Ryou's friends.

"Well, I guess we'd better get back to class," Honda said.

That means it's time for you to take over, the spirit said, pulling Ryou back to full conscious control. He blinked up at Honda as he adjusted to the change, and Honda looked down at him with concern. Ryou quickly smiled to cover the blank look he realized he must have on his face. He stood up and put the book in his bag.

"Yes. And thank you, again, Honda-kun," he said, this time with his own genuine smile of gratitude as they walked toward the building.

(to be continued)




72