Yu-Gi-Oh! Fan Fiction ❯ Ryou Bakura: Game Master! ❯ Down the L33t River we go! ( Chapter 7 )

DISCLAIMER: I don't own Yu-Gi-Oh or Final Fantasy 6. Takahashi owns Yu-Gi-Oh, and he wants to see Ryou roast a squid. SquareSoft owns FF6, and they oppose the roasting of squid.

 

“So you think Falnika has Aeon with her?” Yugi asked, as he and Sith worked to get what looked like a wooden raft off of a rack and into a pool of water below. Ryou and Malik were taking their time following behind, but for Sith, that was more or less a good thing. She wasn't in the mood for Ryou to argue with her over Aeon. She looked at the smaller boy and nodded, finally succeeding in ripping the raft off the wall. It slammed into the opposite wall and crashed onto the floor. Sith blushed in embarrassment.

 

“It wouldn't surprise me,” she replied, running and trying to pull the raft back up on its side, “At the very least, she's holding him somewhere she can control. I just hope she doesn't kill him. If he dies…” She didn't finish. She looked ahead distantly. If he died, she would be stranded by herself with no way to understand who she was or what happened. And she would lose the one person she could confide in, explicitly. She shook her head. No, she couldn't think like that. Yugi frowned, realizing she wasn't going to speak again.

 

“What is Aeon?” he decided to ask, “You said you had a team of specialists from the ESB, but what does Aeon do? Is he a magician?”

 

“A Time Guardian,” she corrected absently, finally pulling the raft up, “He guards the flow of time and makes sure nothing interferes that could destroy the fabrics of space-time.” Yugi blinked, wishing he studied more on physics and the concepts of space and time. As it was, he had no idea how anyone could `disrupt' time. He bit his lip, looking toward where they came from. Damn it, where were those two!?

 

“So, why send him to you?” he asked, fidgeting with his leather cape, “I mean, you have a swordsman, a scout, and a gun man. What's the point of a Time Guardian?”

 

“I'm over three thousand. I needed a Time Guardian to protect me,” she told him grimly, “Long ago, before I was sent here in the guise of a little girl, I met Aeon in Valachia, some six hundred years ago. That much, I do remember. We became friends because we were seeking a common enemy.” Yugi could guess the rest. But six hundred years ago? It still sounded wrong for him to hear it. Most humans didn't live beyond ninety. Sith lived far above that. He watched her drag the raft to a cliff. The waters sounded calm below.

 

“So he stayed with you after that?” he asked, and Sith nodded, “But we didn't meet him until a few months ago. Why hide?” Sith stopped suddenly, blinking. There was a lot she hadn't explained to them, despite what she did say. She swore she wouldn't explain, either. But Yugi was safe enough. Her shoulders relaxed. She could trust him.

 

“When I was forced back into this world, Aeon and the blonde man would hear nothing of it. They were angry, confused, hurt, and terrified,” she began quietly, and Yugi saw a glistening tear, “Aeon said… that it was wrong. He said it was wrong to force me to come back here, to save what couldn't be saved. To atone for something I had no control over. Bahamut refused to listen. He banned Aeon from helping me.” She looked at Yugi sharply now. He understood. She had come back as a little girl, had aged as a normal human until… until she met Ryou.

 

“Aeon would've turned back time for you,” he concluded. Sith nodded again, and looked away.

 

“Aeon would've done anything,” she replied just as silently as before, “Aeon… and the blonde man… they wanted to help Katt and I. They knew… this wasn't our fault, but they could do nothing about it. Nothing that would cause attention, that would force them away again.” Yugi caught the shakiness in her voice, saw her shoulders tremble as she spoke. Few things went past her normally controlled exterior… but Aeon did it. Yugi touched her forearm gently, trying to ground her before she collapsed.

 

“So they hid and waited until you were old enough to understand,” he said, to which she nodded again, “…Sith… did you… are you and Aeon…?” Just then, he saw that Malik and Ryou both entered the room, and he shut up abruptly. Sith turned away further; if Ryou saw her crying, he'd question why. And while she normally answered anything he asked, she had no want to lie that day. Yugi vowed silently to keep the truth from Ryou. It'd only make things worse for Sith.

 

“We ready, Captain Crunch?” Malik asked, walking over and clapping Sith on the back, “Sorry we're so late, Sith. Ryou and I wanted to loot Bannon's study.” Sith snorted softly. She highly doubted that, but she wasn't going to call him on it. She cleared her throat and threw the raft off the cliff, into the water below. Then she turned and smiled at her friends.

 

“We're ready on this end,” she replied simply, and turned back toward the cliff. For once, she left Malik completely bewildered. He had expected some snappy remark or shrill retort, but she hadn't said a thing. And her smile looked so damned fake. He frowned, looking at Yugi. The small boy paled nervously, and shifted away. Which meant he knew something.

 

“Good to hear, Sith,” Malik murmured to the older woman, but she wasn't paying attention. When Ryou walked toward her, leaving Malik and Yugi relatively alone, the blonde quickly spun on the smaller boy and asked, “What the hell happened?”

 

“W-what?” Yugi stammered, eyes widening, “What makes you think anything…”

 

“…whatever it is, I'm sure we won't want to know. But if Sith starts acting funny…” Malik let the threat hang. Yugi understood it completely. If Sith started getting depressed, Malik would know he knew about it. And he'd tell Ryou. He wanted to warn Sith, but a knock in the `real' world alerted them to the fact that Sith had left Ryou's door unlocked. Any old nobody could walk in and see them.

 

“…who do you think that is?” Yugi asked, glad for a quick change of subject. Malik didn't particularly appreciate it, but he didn't question it. Some things were considered simply divine timing. Sith herself looked up, having heard the faint click of the doorknob. Her ears lowered.

 

“Sith?” That voice was from Riz, the girl who worked at Psycho Gamers, “Hey, I got a frantic call from Sephira and I wanted to make sure you were all right. She was speaking way too fast but…” As she looked around, Riz noticed no one else was in the room, “…Sith? Where did you go?” Sith's look went flat. Why couldn't this day just get easier? Just a little?

 

“In here,” came the flat reply. Riz blinked, looking around everywhere, and when Sith coughed, Riz looked right at the television. She saw Sith. Or what would be Sith's equivalent in a super Nintendo game. Her eyes widened. Maybe what Sephira said wasn't a pile of bullcrap.

 

“…Sith!?” she hissed in disbelief, “How did you get in there!?”

 

“Some drunk of a damned sage did it,” Sith replied, crossing her arms, “Heavens knows why, though. Apparently, everyone in this world seems to think I'm going to save them.” Ryou glanced at her warily. Normally, she'd have been all over saving other people, especially when it put her in danger. What was making her so hesitant now? He wasn't the only one to notice, either. Malik had blinked profusely at her answer; he cut in before Ryou could.

 

“Okay, okay, past incidents and technicalities aside, we have a raging river rapid to get through, remember?” he reminded her, and looked up at Riz, “Speaking of incident, any word with whatever's going on outside? Sith seems to be concerned this world affects ours.” Riz blinked this time, not sure if she should've taken any of them seriously. This was looking more like a freak show than anything Sephira should've been worried about. Except that she was interacting with what should've been video game sprites. So, she cooperated.

 

“Nothing I've heard of yet,” she said, shrugging. Sith grinned.

 

“That's… reassuring, for now,” the older woman said slyly, “We can't see what's happening, so you're going to have to be our eyes and ears for our world.” Riz's brow rose at that. For all she knew, she could be hallucinating right then. She had had a beer or two after her shift.

 

“Uh… okay, but wouldn't I be more use if I read you the guide?” Riz asked. Sith gave her a flat glance, but didn't say anything. If it kept the girl happy, she had no complaints. Riz took her silence for an affirmative, and as Malik and Ryou walked toward the cliff, she brought up the status menu to see where they were in terms of levels. When they saw Sith's, Malik's jaw dropped. It was, unsurprisingly, very high.

 

“Holy Howling Horus! Does that seriously say level fifty!?” Malik yelled in both awe and envy, “Holy shit, Falnika's going to die when you fight her!” Sith's face blanched. She didn't want be to forty-some-odd levels stronger than them. But obviously, someone somewhere hated her.

 

“It's like some kind of cheat code from heaven!” Yugi piped in, and Ryou just laughed. That was technically true; Sith came from an entirely different world. Sith, of course, wasn't as flattered as Malik expected. Her look went flat again, her wings ruffling in irritation.

 

“A cheat code with nothing but a sword to her name,” she grumbled bitterly, looking away, “And a nearly dead friend, too.” Ryou's lips went thin. He'd nearly forgotten Aeon was still in trouble. Only Riz had no idea who Aeon was. But that didn't stop her from having compassion, either. She smiled weakly at Sith.

 

“Cheer up, Sith. I'm sure your friend's just fine!” she exclaimed, trying to keep Sith's spirit from plummeting further. It did nothing. Sith stiffened, and walked toward the cliff. She bent down, examining it. But whether it was to see how to land safely or how to kill herself, no one knew. Malik snuck her a worried glance. He certainly wouldn't put it past her to kill herself. She looked miserable enough, after all.

 

“Are we seriously jumping, Sith?” he asked her calmly, raising an interested brow. Sith blinked slowly. She seemed so distant again. She looked back at him after a moment, and nodded, then returned her gaze to the water.

 

“Yes,” she replied, and in a weak attempt to be funny said, “No worries. If you miss, the worst that'll happen is that you die. No biggie.” Malik blinked profusely, and watched in complete bewilderment as Sith then jumped right off the cliff. He watched her fall a few feet before the mist bubbling up from the rapids hid the rest of her descent. Then he looked at Ryou.

 

“Either she needs to take a Zoloft, or she needs to read the human definition of `assurance,” he said, and Ryou snorted. That was true, but then again, Sith wasn't herself. She hadn't been for a while. Ryou's mirth ended there; Sith hadn't been herself for too long now, and though he feigned unassumption, Ryou wasn't stupid. He knew why that was. Aeon only added to it. Clenching his fists, Ryou dove after Sith. Everything added to it, he knew.

 

When she saw everyone joined her on the raft, Sith pushed it off, and the current carried it down the path. The rapids were just that; rapid, and the raft was particularly difficult to control. Even Sith, with her abnormal strength, had difficulty steering the raft out of the way of the giant rocks that occasionally sprouted up under the water. She grunted from the effort, and finally, the oar snapped in two. Yugi glanced back, and laughed.

 

“Come on, Sith. Enjoy the view for once,” he said to her, but her response was to let out a howl of rage and throw both ends of the oar into a cliff wall. Subsequently, that cliff wall crumbled a bit. She stalked over and sat, glaring in the water.

 

“Enjoy the view?” she repeated bitterly, “Let me see, Yugi… my best friend has been kidnapped, I have no magic, I'm stuck in a backwater world, and I'm going to be married. What the hell is there to enjoy right now?” Yugi promptly shut up at that and looked out over the horizon. He had nothing to say on that note. Malik, however, did. He coughed pointedly, watching the oar splash back into the water, along with a chunk of rock.

 

“At least you're not dead,” he reminded her bluntly, crossing his arms, “At least Aeon has a little bit of a chance to make it. He's a fucking time traveler, isn't he?”

 

“He's mortal to an extent,” Sith replied quietly, “He can be killed. For instance, a dinosaur could kill him.” Malik blinked, wondering where the hell dinosaurs came to play. Then, he saw Sith point in some random direction, as if knowing he had no idea what she was saying. He looked. And his mouth dropped. In the distance swooped what looked like a pterodactyl. A very stony-looking pterodactyl.

 

“…we're fighting DINOSAURS!?” he screamed in disbelief, and turned sharply to the older woman, “Sith, do something!” She stared flatly. There was nothing she could do. She had no magic, and the damn thing was so far away. But it heard Malik, and it came closer. And it promptly died once it was within Sith's range. She had no magic, but she could still leap. Using her sword, she collided with the pterodactyl and sliced its wings off; it lost its life only a second later when it crashed into the water below.

 

“There. It's dead,” she replied simply, sheathing her bloodied blade, “Now shut up.” Malik closed his mouth. With her unsightly temper, he wasn't sure anything he'd say could help her. Except maybe to give her an excuse to kill him, but he wasn't prepared for that sort of risk. He sat next to Yugi; the boy seemed equally as stunned into silence, and they both exchanged knowing glances. For a while, they left Sith alone.

 

That while was short-lived. Inevitably, Yugi found it hard to leave her alone when she alone knew the plot of the game.

 

“So, what do we do when we get to Narshe?” he asked her quietly. Sith turned to him. Her face looked gaunt, flung in the shadows cast on either side of the raft by the high cliff walls. She looked away again, seemingly sharpening her blade on the edge of the raft.

 

“Go after the Esper in the mines, no doubt,” she replied at length, almost casually, “I'd have thought there'd be a war. If not against the Empire, then against Falnika. But I suppose she's too powerful; the Returners can only take so many risks.” Malik understood that. Even in their hideout, he had only seen Bannon. He had wondered where the other members were. But he had a sick feeling they were either in Figaro, or dead. The latter seemed most likely.

 

“So, if there are Espers here, then they're in every world?” Yugi asked, when Sith didn't speak again, “What's the deal with the term `Chesier,' then? Different variation?” Sith shook her head, giving him a smile; it looked a bit sardonic, and was probably intended as such.

 

“Espers live in multiple worlds, some being powerful enough to live on multiple planes in alternate realities at the same time,” she explained calmly, “As for the term `Chesier,' my guess is that, when the war of the Espers broke out three thousand years ago was when it came into effect. But what amazes me most is that the term is used only in your world. Nowhere else has that variation within their contexts, either past or present.”

 

“Which means there's no difference except for varying strength,” Ryou concluded, and Sith nodded. But the conversation ended there. After that, no one had a way of knowing what had caused the term to come to form. And no one aside from Sith wanted to know, either.

 

The raft continued along, and as usual, word of Sith's strength reached across the water. No monster came to claim them as they floated down the rapids, and while Ryou was a bit disappointed by the lack of experience, Sith was more than pleased with it. Aside from causing death to her friends, battles only reminded her of what she had lost while trying to save a world she was quite sure she was beginning to hate. But she said nothing about that. As of now, her job was to guide them through the world they were in, and currently, she was guiding the raft to the second leg of the rapids. It had begun to slow a bit, and a cave mouth came to view. The air was cool, but humid, and smelled of wet earth. And the raft continued to slow; Sith let it do so.

 

“We're stopping?” Malik asked, with his usual ability to see the obvious. Sith nodded, and using the Zealacht, pushed the raft toward a muddy bank on a tiny outcrop of dirt. On it was another sparkling light, not unlike the one at Mt. Koltz. She jumped off the raft, walking to it as she wiped the blade on her pant leg.

 

“On the outside, these are considered `save points' to whoever plays the cartridge linking them to this world,” she said, though she appeared to be speaking to herself, “But up close, they're condensed forms of neirchagt. How interesting.” Ryou tilted his head. Sith often integrated the Esper language along with human speech, but he had never heard `neirchagt' before. Quite frankly, his tongue couldn't form the word, either.

 

“Everything all right, Sith?” he asked her. She looked at him blankly, and then nodded, turning back to the crystal. Whatever `neirchagt' was, it clearly kept her attention. He walked over to it. It gave off a luminous, white glow that warmed his face.

 

“Neirchagt is the powdery substance that rubs off of our wings. It's the Esper word for `moon glow,” she said to him, answering the question he didn't ask, “Condensed in a high form, it forms a solid crystal that restores fatigue, and when Libra is cast by an Esper, it shows them all knowledge gained in its lifetime.” She spoke with such an interest that Ryou couldn't help but gaze at the crystal. It was tiny. It was hard to believe it could hold such power. And he knew he wouldn't be able to comprehend any knowledge it did have. He barely comprehended her words, for that matter.

 

“Oh?” he said, and Sith frowned at the monotonous tone.

 

“If Falnika mutated the crystals, then we may be in serious danger,” she said more seriously, more grimly, and finally looked at him, “That form of transformation takes strong power indeed.” That, Ryou could understand. Not even Sith had managed to transform anything, save for Bakura into a toad. And that was once. He looked from her, back to the crystal.

 

“Seems like every time we kill a Mystic, one twice as strong takes her place,” he murmured soberly, “This time, we'll make sure we kill them all. When we're married, I won't have you running out and fighting them.” He meant it to be partly a joke, partly the truth, but when he looked at Sith, he regretted even saying that. She stared at him, and there was a deep anger beneath those green eyes. But she looked away again.

 

“…agreed,” she said, and left it at that. Ryou blinked, wondering what he said to make her so mad as he watched her walk stiffly back to the raft. She passed Yugi and Malik. She said nothing to them, but that spoke even louder than her words would have. They both watched her go, and Malik quickly glanced at Yugi. He knew whatever Ryou just said was the cause of that.

 

“Let's go,” he whispered, and Yugi agreed. They got up and followed Sith onto the raft.

 

Malik wasn't sure why he sided with Sith on this. He rarely sided with her on anything, but when Ryou told him what he said to her, Malik couldn't help but side with her. It was clear she wasn't looking forward to the wedding, clear that she actually didn't want to go through with it. And that was where the confliction lay. Malik knew he should've sided with Ryou. But he sided with Sith. And when the raft was pushed out of the cave, heading through the rest of the rapids, he found his resolution with Sith growing. He frowned. This was just too damn hard. Why couldn't Sith be happy like every other girl?

 

“So, what do we do now?” he asked her cheerfully, trying to keep his mind off his new problem. Sith snorted, looking at the water. It was clear, crisp, cold… much like the expression on her face right then.

 

 

“Sit here and wait for me to bring back dinner,” she said simply, and Malik could only stare. That was about as cryptic as cryptic could be, but it hadn't surprised him. Not really. Sith was always ready with a cryptic answer. It had to be because of her age.

 

“Yeah, that helps,” he mumbled. Riz, however, saved him the trouble of asking her again. Riz still had the guide. And Riz had read it.

 

“She's referring to the next boss,” the girl said matter-of-factly, “It's a giant, purple squid.” Sith's grin widened when she saw Malik's mouth drop. Now he couldn't believe her. She was just waiting for that instant.

 

“You've got to be kidding me! We're dealing with a kraken now?!” he yelled, standing up, “I could deal with Mystics, I could deal with orbs, I could just about deal with kidnapping. But KRAKENS! Sith, I hate water! I'm tempted to drown myself right now because I hate this adventure so much!” If he expected sympathy, however, he didn't get it. She looked over at him blankly, and then took a breath and waved her hand.

 

“A bit counterproductive and contradicting, but if it'll make you happy, go ahead,” she said lightly, turning back to the water, “Not exactly my cup of coffee, but I can't stop a man, can I?” Malik's mouth dropped again, and when he closed it, his brows creased. That was definitely not a reaction he was expecting. A yell, he might have been okay with. A scold was acceptable. But complete apathy? She really was out of it. He opened his mouth again to retort, but Yugi stepped in. By literally stepping between the two. He held up his hands in quick surrender.

  

“So-er… where's this squid of ours, Sith!?” he asked quickly, his voice several decibels higher than necessary. The older woman's look went flat, but as she spoke, the raft crashed into something hard. She went flying, nearly being thrown off the raft herself as everyone else toppled over. Ryou coughed and staggered up; that just answered Yugi's question.

 

“Spoke too soon?” he asked, glancing at Sith as she ran to his side, sword in her hand.

 

“How utterly convenient,” she replied grimly, and spat, “Let's see what the hell happens now.” At that, she gave a little laugh. Ryou didn't see the humor in her words. But if she thought battle was funny, he wasn't about to stop her.

 

Only five seconds passed before the water began to gurgle. Then it rippled and exploded into a mass of rain as a giant octopus leapt out of the water. As Riz had said, it was purple, and the term `giant' didn't do the damn thing justice. It was titanic. It easily towered over them five times their height; its many tentacles caused massive waves in the already strong rapids. And its huge eyes were focused on Sith.

 

“Just hold it, Esper! I make the introductions here!” it roared, slamming two tentacles into the raft, but not quite climbing onto it, “And heeeeeeere's Ultros!” It grinned, showing off its many yellowing, rotted teeth. Ryou backed away, and Sith winced. Up, close, and personally, not even she had the stomach to fight it. She'd rather retch. Malik, who was farther behind, just let his mouth drop as he looked at the hulking creature.

 

“This constitutes a boss battle!?” he demanded, and snorted, “This thing looks about as intimidating as the fried dumplings that can be made with it.”

 

“I can smell the takoyaki already,” Yugi agreed, remembering that, if worse came to worse, he could fry their enemy up now, “Heh, must suck to be a squid right now.” This made Ultros really, really angry. His eyes went from yellow to blood red, the left one twitching as he heard the term `squid.'

 

“Squid!? SQUID!? You dare call me a squid!” Ultros roared, reeling back, “How offensive! Preposterous! Despicable! I am not a squid! I am the much better looking octopus! There's a huge difference!” Sith blinked. To her, there really wasn't one. Both had tentacles, both lived in water, and both should be killed on sight. Both had probably blinded her at one point in her life, too. She wiped her forehead on her gloved hand.

 

“Could've fooled me,” she said flatly, and twirled Zealacht over her head, “Only difference I see is that squid tastes better.” Ryou didn't see how that possibly offended Ultros even more than he already was, but it worked. The squid shivered violently, angrily, and its body turned red as the water beneath it rumbled.

 

“You horrible sacks of crap!” Ultros said furiously, “Just for that insult, I'm going to chew you all up and shit you out! Game over!” Thus, the boss battle started. To Ryou, nothing had changed at all; Ultros was just on the raft now. But to Riz, she saw a blinding flash before the battle came to view. However, both saw one similarity; Ultros was hideous in both worlds. That was just a bigger reason to blow it out of the water in a single shot.

 

“I think I'd rather see old men in sailor scout uniforms,” Malik stated, and grinned, “I can't wait to Bum Rush it!” Unfortunately, Sith went first due to her massive level difference. And she didn't hesitate. She ran over, leapt off of one of Ultros's tentacles, and then slammed him on the head with her sword. When she came back down, another spiral cut lopped off one tentacle as well. She had no idea how much pain she caused, but Riz saw the `9999' mark. Ultros felt the `9999' mark.

 

“HOLY CRAP, THAT HURT!” he screamed. Sith smirked, and watched as her friends' turns came up. Ryou shot Ultros's left eye, and Yugi kept his promise to himself and lit the octopus's ass on fire immediately; the smell of cooking seafood quickly filled the air. As did the sound of Ultros's screams of mortal agony. Thanks to Sith and the power of fire, he barely lived one turn.

 

“Stop it! You all are monsters!” Ultros cried, trying and failing to put out the flames beneath him. But if he thought the onslaught was over, he was wrong. Finally, Malik was able to fight. He'd been building up his power over the course of Sith and Ryou's moves. Now he unleashed it. He leapt toward Ultros and spun around in the speed of light, pummeling the poor creature with his fists; each hit he made did only 100 points of damage, but he managed well over thirty hits before it ended. And that was the end of Ultros. The octopus fell right back into the water, and Riz watched as everyone gained their experience. Sith, unfortunately, gained nothing. But Ryou, Yugi, and Malik all made it to level ten now; Ryou even learned Antidote, Shell, and Protect in the process. Then, they simply waited. Even if the battle was over, Ultros might still be alive.

 

“Think we thrashed it?” Malik asked after a moment. The octopus still hadn't surfaced yet. Sith walked to the edge of the raft and looked into the water. It was black with ink, but she couldn't see Ultros. She shrugged her shoulders.

 

“Either it's dead or it will die soon,” she said simply, and laughed, “Nice battle, friends. Looks like we'll be okay from this point onward.” Ryou wanted to say that it was only because of Sith's `9999' hit, but he didn't. If she felt what happened warranted their credit, he wasn't about to stop her. They continued to wait another moment before Malik finally pushed the raft forward again with Sith's sword; Ultros hadn't surfaced and it was clear he wouldn't be. Sitting down, Ryou watched as Yugi picked off one tentacle that happened to fall onto the raft during the fight. It writhed and drooped pathetically.

 

“Think we can eat this?” he asked Sith, holding up the purple limb. Her mouth dropped, and Ryou looked away, feeling certain that now he might retch. How Yugi even managed to find such a horrible thing was unknown to both of them.

 

“Yugi, I wouldn't,” she warned carefully, warily, “It could very well be poisoned.” Not even that slowed Yugi's appetite in any way.

 

“But can we eat it?” he asked again, as if he hadn't even heard her. When her look went flat, he exclaimed, “Come on, Sith! I missed lunch and dinner! I'm starving here!” Sith's brow rose, but she in no way agreed with him. She'd gone days without food, and even then, she wouldn't be eating roasted squid. She shook her head.

 

“You realize that you could die if you eat that,” she told him sternly, crossing her arms, “And in no way am I being unclear! Are you certain you want to risk your life for a meal? A meal that might not even taste good?” For Ryou, that sounded logical enough. But Yugi's stomach always won out on any logic he could hear. He grinned, his eye twitching. Things would be so much easier if Sith just roasted his food.

 

“YES I AM!” he cried, and chomped on the tentacle. Subsequently, he spat what he bit off right back into the river. Sith wasn't even surprised as she snatched the limb away from him.

 

“Will you let me cook the damn thing!?” she scolded angrily, sighing as she took a piece of flint and began cooking the tentacle over a small flame, “Honestly, if you want to die that badly, I really should just throw you all off the raft here. Screw ESB protocols. You humans are a damned nuisance sometimes!” Ryou blinked slowly, wondering just what was pissing Sith off so much as to warrant that little hissy fit. But if it was meant to deter Yugi, it didn't work. He waited impatiently as she cooked his meal, and the smell only made hunger claw at him even more.

 

“Ohhh, when will it be ready!?” he finally cried childishly. Sith grumbled, shaking her head as she turned the tentacle over. It was browning nicely, though personally she'd have rather tossed it over the raft, far away from herself.

 

“You're in a big hurry to die, kiddo,” she pointed out, but said nothing more. Yugi was fine with that. The food was distraction enough; he didn't need Sith giving him a lecture on just why he shouldn't be eating something he clearly wanted to eat. Ryou just hoped it wouldn't actually kill Yugi. Even if it was poisonous, there might be a chance Sith could cure that poison. A small chance…

 

Of course, Ryou also knew that Sith wasn't feeling too generous right then, either. So, he simply watched as she finally handed Yugi his dinner, gulping with anticipation. In five seconds, he'd know if his best friend would live or not. It'd all depend on Sith and how truthful she was…

 

-----------------------------(End Chapter)

 

After heading onto the Lete River and fighting the world's worst boss ever, Ryou and his group must continue on to Narshe, where the next leg of their game will be played. But will Ultros be back to plague them? Or did Sith thrash him soundly? And will Falnika be waiting with Aeon when they arrive? Find out next chapter, so click that Review button!