Chapter 12

Ryou cast up his eyes. His vision was blurred. He lay on the ground. The only thing he could see was something white and bright. He had to blink against the brightness.

As his vision got clearer he could see that a person bend over him. The brightness strained his eyes and he shut them.

"Am... Am I dead?", Ryou muttered.

The person giggled. It was a young girl. "You're neither dead nor alive at the moment."

Ryou was slightly confused. "So... it will be decided if I die or not?", he asked.

The girl giggled again. "You could say that."

Ryou had a strange feeling. Somehow, the voice sounded familiar. He opened his eyes, sat up and saw a small girl, not older than six, with big chocolate brown eyes and a bright white mane kneeling next to him. Her skin was pale and somehow she gleamed.

Ryou's eyes widened as he saw the girl, that smiled at him.

"Amane...", he muttered and tears filled up in his eyes, "Amane... Is it really you?"

The girl giggled again. "Of course, it's me! What do you think who else looks like me, big brother?"

Tears flowed down Ryou's face and he hugged and squeezed his little sister. He sniffed in her hair. It smelled like spring flowers, like it had as she'd been alive. The last time he'd smelled the flowery scent of her hair had been over eight years ago. He'd thought he would smell the scent never again and now...

As he relieved her from his embrace, Amane took Ryou's hand and gestured him to stand up. Only now he saw the surrounding. It looked like a big parc with trees and a lake. They were the only people here.

Ryou and Amane walked around.

"You've grown, Ry", Amane said smiling. The top of her head reached only up to Ryou's chest.

"Yeah, I think so", Ryou said and laughed. "It's been a long time since we've seen each other."

Amane smiled and stroke Ryou's arm. "You might have not seen me, but I've seen you all the time..."

Ryou looked at his sister's face that now wore a sad smile.

"I've seen how lone and sad you were, Ry. I've seen everything", she told him.

"Oh...", Ryou mumbled.

"Yes, brother. But in truth, you weren't alone. I were with you. I protected you as well as I could, but I'm afraid that it often was not enough", Amane said, sorrowful, and lifted Ryou's shirt so that his back was revealed. "I'm awfully sorry", she whispered.

"No, no. It's not your fault, Amane! It's not your job to protect me! I should have looked out for myself...", Ryou told her. Amane shook her head.

"No, Ry! It IS my job to protect you, just like it is mom's to protect dad", she explained.

"So... you mean, you're something like an... angel? Like a guardian angel?", Ryou asked.

Amane shook her head, smiling. "I'm not LIKE a guardian angel, I AM a guardian angel. Your guardian angel", she explained.

Ryou's eyes widened. His sister, his little sister... an angel? HIS angel?

"You.. You said mom, she... she protects dad", Ryou said and Amane nodded.

"Yes, mom is dad's guardian angel", Amane told him.

"Can I meet mom?", Ryou asked excited. Amane took his hands and saw him in his eyes.

"Ryou", she said, "You're neither dead nor alive at the moment. You are between two worlds. Between the spirit world and the world of the living. The only one that can speak with you at the moment is me, because I am your guardian angel."

Ryou beamed. "Then when I'm finally dead, I can see mom?!"

Amane looked appalled at her brother. "Ryou! You must not be happy about it! It's not decided yet that you will be dead! And I don't want you to be dead! You have to live!", she cried. "For me! For mom! And especially for dad! You are the only one left for him! You have to live, Ry! I've watched the past years over you, so that you didn't die, and now you wanna be dead?!"

Ryou looked ashamed to his shoes. "I just...", he muttered.

"Ry, big brother", Amane said softly, "Please, you must want to live, that's the only chance that you could possibly go back."

Ryou sighed and hold Amane tight as tears flew down her beautiful face. He wiped away her tears. "I try it. I promise", he said and Amane smiled again.

.....................

//He can't be dead...//, Yugi thought. He couldn't believe what had happened. Ryou had sacrificed himself to rescue them, but, sad to say, this hadn't helped anyone. The demon could exist without Ryou. The game went on.

"How sad. Seems like little Ryou has sacrificed himself. Needless. This game continues", the demon announced.

The pharaoh clenched his fists. He was about to lose. And if he would lose, than Yugi would die as well as he himself, as he couldn't exist without his other half.

But now that he had not to worry about killing Ryou by winning anymore, Yami could exert himself to win this game. He had to win or everything would've been for nothing. Ryou'd sacrificed himself in the hope to kill the demon thereby, but it hadn't worked, but he had helped Yami nevertheless. Now that he didn't have to worry anymore, he could concentrate on the game. On the dices.

"Now, pharaoh, it's your turn", the demon said.

"I know that!", Yami snapped and took his dices. //I have to win this game. Ryou should not had to die for nothing//, he thought.

The dices rolled.

"26!", Yami exclaimed. Hopefully, the demon would dice a higher number.

Bakura threw his dices. 35.

"Shit!", he said. //I have to win! Not, because I cared about Ryou, no, he is already dead and I never cared about him... I have to win, because I must kill the pharaoh and his host! I must get my revenge!//, Bakura thought.

The bars at Ryou's cage moved closer together, making the room in the cage smaller. Ryou just lay there on the ground, still.

The next round began. Yugi cowered crying in his cage, watched them throwing the dices and hoped that his cage wouldn't get smaller. He couldn't hear what the pharaoh and the demon were saying, therefor the pharaoh told him mentally what was going on.

((My number is 13)), Yami told him. ((... his one is 44. We won that round, aibou.)) Yugi was relieved, because the bars of his cage were already really close to him.

Yugi looked to Ryou as the bars of the cage where the white-haired boy lay in moved closer together. Yugi couldn't believe that Ryou had done that. Tears kept flowing down Yugi's face while he thought about his friend. He thought about how much fun they all had together, and he thought about how the others would react if they'd know about what had happened.

Meanwhile, the game continued. Yugi didn't pay much attention to it, he just watched his friend lay on the ground. It was just so unfair!

At first, a sadistic demon possessed Ryou. Ryou, who had never done anything evil. Ryou, who had been polite and calm and nice and happy all the time. Ryou...

And then, Ryou sacrificed himself to protect his friend...

The game went on. By now, the score was eight lost rounds for Bakura and nine lost rounds for Yami. Meanwhile, Yugi's cage was really small. The length and width of the cage was still big enough for him, but the height... He had to lay down flat on the ground to not touch the bars. If the pharaoh would lose this round, Yugi's life would come to an end. He could already feel the electricity...

//Pharaoh...//, Yugi thought, //Please...//

((Yugi, I'll do what I can. I will win this game and get you out of this cage)), Yami answered.

"Come on, pharaoh. Afraid?", the demon asked mockingly.

"Never!", Yami answered.

"Well, you should be. The life of your host and yourself lies in your hands", Bakura smirked.

Yami closed his eyes. He had to win. For Yugi. For Ryou. For everyone.

He threw the dices.

//Come on, a low number please//, Yami thought.

The dices rolled... and then, they stopped. A moment of silence followed. Then, Bakura laughed.

"Hahaha! Looks like your luck ran out, huh? 41 isn't a low number. You've practically lost. And not only this game. You've also lost the life of your host and your own life", he said.

"We're not done yet! Get on with it! It's your turn!", the pharaoh told him.

"Yeah, yeah", the demon answered and threw his dices. As they stopped, his eyes widened. "Oh no! Impossible!", he said.

"Yes, it is possible!", the pharaoh told him. "65! Your number is definitely higher than mine!"

The bars of Ryou's cage were now just one inch away from his unmoving body.

Both the demon and the pharaoh had lost nine times now. Now, it was heck or nothing!

The pharaoh closed his eyes again before he threw the dices. He begged for a low number. The dices rolled and rolled. And then, they stopped.

Yugi closed his eyes. If the pharaoh would lose and the bars would come so close that he would touch them, he'd be dead and the pharaoh as well and Ryou would have died for nothing.

"16", Yami said. "Throw a lower number and you've won."

Bakura smirked, but actually he was very nervous. //Fuck!//, he thought. //This wasn't going on as how I planned it would go... I must not lose! I have to get my revenge!//

"Come on, demon", Yami urged, seeing that the demon was quite nervous. "If you wanna win this game, you have to throw a lower number."

"I know that myself!", Bakura snapped and threw the dices. They rolled and stopped.

Yugi's heart nearly jumped out of his chest. He was frightened. Frightened about that everything could be over in just a second.

"NO!!!", Bakura screamed all of a sudden. "32?!"

"You have lost", Yami told him. ((Yugi, don't be afraid anymore! We've won!)), the pharaoh told his other half.

Yugi sighed in relief. He looked sidewards to Ryou's cage. The bars moved together and touched Ryou's body, sending electricity through it. Again. The body twitched and Yugi had to look away. He just couldn't watch the body of his dead friend twitching. Again, tears flowed down his face.

...............

Ryou and Amane sat in the grass.

"Amane... when do I know if I'm dead or not?", Ryou asked his little sister.

"You'll just know... It's an undescribable feeling. It is neither a good feeling nor a bad one. It is a feeling and at the same time it isn't one. It's rather confusing", Amane explained.

"Yeah", Ryou agreed.

Suddenly, he had a strange feeling. His head began to hurt and he felt dizzy. He hold fast onto Amane's arm and gave her a questioning look.

"Amane...", he whispered and looked into the eyes of his sister. Her eyes widened and then, she smiled.

"Ry...", she said and took his hand. "Everything's gonna be okay. Your time hasn't come yet. They send you back. Please", she said and hugged him. "Please promise that we won't meet again soon. I want you to live and to be happy. Don't worry about me or mom. We're fine. And now, return to your world. I'll keep an eye on you, brother", she whispered into his ear.

Ryou's vision blurred. He saw the face of his sister growing hazy and slowly, everything faded.

"Amane...", he whispered.

And then, he felt like falling into a deep black hole, but at the same time he felt like breaking the water surface from underwater and getting back to the air.

.......................

"Now that you've lost, demon", Yami said, "it is time that I do what I said before the game started. I said, if I'd win, I'd send you somewhere where you can't do mischief."

The demon glared at him. There was only one place which he could mean...

"And now, I'm going to do what I've said! I'll send you to the shadow realm!", Yami announced. His Millenium puzzle started to glow and stream of light came out of it. The stream of light came upon the demon's chest. Slowly, the demon vanished more and more in the darkness.

"But remember...", Bakura said before he was completely vanished, "The darkness never dies. The darkness always finds a way back. And I AM the darkness..." He laughed a psychotically laugher and then, he was gone. The darkness vanished as well.

The pharaoh fell on his knees, exhausted.

The cage around Yugi vanished, the one around Ryou, too. Yugi stood up and ran to Ryou immediately. He felt his pulse.

"Pharaoh!", Yugi yelled. "Pharaoh! Ryou... He has a pulse! He's alive! He's not dead!"

Yami stood up and went to Ryou as well. He checked his pulse to see if Yugi was right. And indeed, he could felt Ryou's pulse. He was alive!

"The second electric shock must have reanimated him", Yami explained and Yugi nodded.

"We should bring him to the hospital. I think that would be best for him now", Yugi suggested.

Yami agreed and with a glow of the Millenium puzzle, Yami disappeared in Yugi and gave the boy the control over his body back.

Just as Yugi wanted to pull Ryou up to carry him to the hospital, the white-haired boy coughed and his eyes fluttered up.

Slightly confused, Ryou looked around. Where was he? Hadn't he just been with his sister? And now he was... back?

"Ryou! I'm so glad you're alive!", Yugi said and embraced his friend. "Are you okay?", he asked.

Ryou looked at him for a moment. "I think so", he answered. His head ached just a bit and he had a prickling in his whole body, but other than that, he was okay. He stood up and staggered a bit.

"C-Can you walk?", Yugi asked.

Ryou nodded. "Yugi...", he began.

"What is it?", the tri-color haired boy asked.

"I... I'm sorry. For everything...", Ryou said.

"Ryou, it is not your fault. It was the demon", Yugi told him.

"But he nearly killed you! Everything is my fault...", Ryou said.

"No, Ryou, it's not your fault", Yugi said.

Ryou looked at his shoes. "So... is he... gone?", he then asked.

"Yes, he is. The pharaoh sent him to the shadow realm", Yugi explained.

Ryou sighed in relief. Finally, his body was his own again. The demon was away. Forever. Ryou wouldn't have to suffer anymore. This nightmare was finally over!

But there was still one thing he had to do...

Yugi and Ryou went out of the warehouse. Outside, it was already morning. They'd spent the entire night with the dice game.

"Yugi, do you think the hospital has opened yet?", Ryou asked.

"If you are hurt you can go there all the time", Yugi answered.

"No, I mean do you think that visitors are already allowed to visit people?"

"Ah, I see. You wanna see Malik, right? Hmm...", Yugi looked at his wristwatch. It was seven am. Until they'd get to the hospital it would be half past seven. By then, the hospital certainly would have opened for visitors. "Yeah, I think visitors are allowed at this time."

Ryou nodded and they headed for the hospital.

As they arrived there, Yugi led Ryou to Malik's room on the ICU. They looked through the window. Ishizu and Odion sat already in there.

Yugi knocked at the door and as somebody said "Come in", he opened the door and he and Ryou stepped in.

Ryou had a bad feeling. He wondered if Ishizu and Odion were mad at him or if they would inform against him. Eventually nobody knew about the demon and it looked like he had done whatever the demon had done.

As Odion saw Ryou enter the room he stood up and positioned himself protectively in front of Malik's bed and Ishizu.

"What do you want? Why are you here?", Odion snapped at him.

Ryou flinched and looked help-seeking to Yugi.

Then, Yugi started to explain everything. When he had finished, Ryou apologized.

"I'm awfully sorry for everything that had happened. I didn't want that to happen and I tried to protect everyone from myself and the demon, but I failed..."

"Ryou...", Ishizu began, "Why hadn't you told anyone? We would have understood."

Ryou shrugged. He then went closer to Malik's bed, where the young Egyptian lay. Ryou reached into the trench coat he wore and pulled out something golden.

"The Millenium rod!", Yugi, Ishizu and Odion exclaimed at the same time. Ryou nodded.

"Yes. I want to give it back to its owner", he said and put the rod next to Malik on his bed.

Suddenly, the eyelids of the Egyptian fluttered. Everyone looked at him. Then, he opened his eyes and blinked. Ishizu began to sob with joy.

Malik looked at them one by one. He had a smile on his lips. But as he caught sight of Ryou, his smile faded, his eyes narrowed and he shivered. But then, as he realized that it was really Ryou, his smile came back.

"It's really you, Ryou...", Malik said. Ryou nodded. "What happened to the demon?", Malik asked.

"The pharaoh sent him to the shadow realm, so that he can't do mischief any longer", Yugi explained.

Ishizu fell around Malik's neck. "Oh, Malik! I was so concerned!", she said and tears flowed down her face.

"Oh, sister...", Malik muttered. Silence followed.

Eventually, Ryou broke the silence. "Malik, I... I'm so-"

"Stop, Ryou! I don't wanna hear that! It wasn't your fault. It was the demon, not you that attacked me, okay?", Malik interrupted.

"But-", Ryou began again, but Malik interrupted him again.

"Please, Ryou. Don't apologize...", he said.

Ryou nodded.

"Oh, by the way", Malik said, "You look awful. You should go home and sleep a while unless you wanna look like a zombie", he grinned.

Ryou smiled at him. He was glad that Malik was doing well. He would be out of the hospital soon.

Ryou had to admit that he really was very tired, so he took Malik's advice and went home to sleep awhile.

At home, he took off the trench coat and slipped into his pyjama. In doing so, he noticed that the Millenium ring dangled around his neck. He stroke over the golden surface.

The ring didn't remind him of the demon, that had tortured him, no, it reminded him of his sister, his guardian angel, who had owned this all those years ago.

With the ring around his neck and his sister in his thoughts, Ryou fell asleep...

The end

So, this was the last chapter of the story. I hope you liked it. I'm sad that it's over...

Now, how was the story as a whole? Maybe I'll make a sequel... who knows?

Please review!!! I would be really happy if more people would review (Thanks to all those who did that already). Write, what you liked best of the story and what you didn't like. I'll be really grateful if you'd tell me. : )

So, don't forget to review!!!

~Crystal of Moonlight~