Well it's after 4am here... I'm so tempted to read the next part to your series but I'm soooo tired! This story has kept me on the edge of my seat for quite some time... I cannot wait to read more later today! :)

I've been wondering this for a while now, I might have missed it, but what does Mot and Set(I think that was the other ones name...) look like? I can't picture them in my heads. They sound like they're demons but when you wrote that Mot was walking around I imagined him as a human. Was he actually walking around Japan in his own body? Or was he in Ryou's? .. That part wasn't really clear to me. ; (But I'm sure I'm the only person who had that go over their head! lol.)

My smile grew when I read that Jounichi went to go kick that guys ass! :D Amazing chapter!

[Shudders] I just looked up Hirutani... ugh, not someone I can see Ryou settling for. :/ But I understand he's lonely to the point of being desperate.

I STILL cannot picture Ryou going through so many boyfriends. (Other than him being lonely and needy, it just doesn't seem to fit his personality to be that promiscuous. :/ Poor Bakura... I figured that was coming. (I love Anzu in this, and how she watches out for Ryou! :) She's definitely my favorite out of the group of friends, other than Malik.)

This chapter was so sad, especially since Ryou was very lonely, it makes sense that he'd become dependent on that guy. But something bugged me- I couldn't picture Ryou sleeping with someone that easily, especially on a first date. I mean, isn't he a virgin? That'd be all the more reason that he wouldn't hand out sex immediately. It just didn't fit with his personality to me.

I'm so glad you've kept the other characters in this story as well, without them being pointless additions. (I mentioned this in my other reviews.) And the way you're writing Malik is amazing, I'm already becoming attached to his character because of his personality. He comes off so rude though- and I'm sure that has to do with the language barrier and him being just that kind of guy- (Due to his troubled past and all around social awkwardness.)

Malik better come rescue Ryou soon... I'm so into this story that I actually imagined myself kicking that guy's ass for Ryou. LOL.

I can't get over how much I love your comments at the end! :P

I'm getting so frustrated with how stupid Yugi and his gang are being though. Ryou is OBVIOUSLY lonely... he lives by HIMSELF for God sakes! They're such shitty friends in the most obvious ways... -.- (Grumbles.) But at least they took him out...

and I have a bad feeling about that guy... maybe because the angsty stuff always seems to happen to Ryou.

I really liked the dialog between Ryou and that guy though- how he felt compelled to let the guy know he was a male! D: lol poor Ryou for having to do that- (Since I'm sure it happens a lot.)

YES, Pharaoh got REJECTED :D This makes me happy.

And FINALLY, Malik gets to talk without being interrupted.

YAY it's the tattoo, the tattoo is going to make Ryou remember :D It's all coming together now.

'"Bakhura," he said, looking into the mirror, at the blank space on his chest. Which suddenly became not so blank, crisp, black lines bleeding into the image on the mirror out of nowhere...

And then the universe exploded.'

Oh hell yeah. That was just...YEEEAH :D

And woah, I LOVE the way it just blends seamlessly back into canon! The church scene! I love that scene *-*

I am insanely happy that it's Mot who possesses Ryou this time around and not Bakhura. I was kind of worried Sek and Mot were going to twist Bakhura completely and he'd go all evil and stuff. But it's ok, it's Mot! And it still makes sense!

'"Oh, Ryou's not home right now, honey, but you can play with me!" Mot said, grinning so wide it was painful. "You look like you need a hug!"'

-isn't sure she wants to know Hirutani's fate- Mot is delightfully batshit insane :D

Also, a hug? xD Abridged shout-out there?

And I'm just going to shove my review for Chapter 7 in here because Chapter 7 is an evil cliffhanger of evil.

'The day after tomorrow he was getting on an airplane and flying halfway around the world to destroy it. The world, that is. It was a good bet that next week, either the world as he knew it would be gone, or he would. Either way, it didn't really matter anymore. Nothing did.'

Suuuch a good ending!

In summation: you're awesome, this series is awesome, and I'm sorry for spamming you xD

'"But you hate being alone, Bakura-kun," he said quietly.'

Yeeeeah, and whose fault is that, Yuugi? Hm? Hm?

Ah, there we go. Hirutani has crossed the line into 'complete douche' territory.

YES JONOUCHI. KILL HIM. YAAAAY.

...Damnit, Ryou! D: Stockholm Syndrome, much?

'"MURDERER!" the accusation slipped past Ryou's lips without conscious decision. He couldn't have said why he chose it, but some part of him knew it was the right word.'

HOORAY for suppressed memories leaking through! It's totally progress. Of a sort.

'"What, because he almost remembered that he hates you?" Jonouchi growled.'

BOOM. I love Jou. He's a moron but he's a moron with a sense of honour.

And now he's going to kick Hirutani's ass, hooray! (And YAY for baseball bat-related violence! SNAP! :D)

'Katsuya narrowed his eyes. "You shoulda invested in aluminum, ass-hole!" he declared.'

HELL YEAH, that rocks so hard xD Kind of reminds me of 'Kick-Ass', weirdly enough.

And Pharaoh FINALLY uses his mind-crushing powers on someone who deserves it. It doesn't redeem him but I guess it's a start.

Honestly, this is just so insanely readable. And all the dialogue is a hundred percent spot-on. We really get a feel for each of the characters based on their speech patterns and choice of words. Especially Jou and his epic death-threats and Hirutani with his general ass-holery.

Ohai Hirutani. I know this is my second reading, but even the first time, I got the strong feeling he WASN'T going to be a protagonist.

Aw Ryou ): He's getting seriously desperate now. And it hurts to see him get emotionally manipulated so easily.

Ohmigod, is there even a shipping name for Ryou x Hirutani? If not, you should name it xD

Small piece of concrit: I've noticed a few times you've written 'loose' when it should actually be 'lose'. (E.g. in this chapter - 'Hirutani seemed to loose patience...') It's minor but it's the sort of thing I find distracting.

Yes, I just grammar-checked a sort-of sex scene.

Ryou really hit rock-bottom here, huh? ): Up until now, I figured Bakhura was in the worse situation, but now I think they're probably equally screwed.

Yet another chapter made of awesome~

Bitter!Ryou needs a hug :(

Yuugi deserves every bit of that guilt-trip he's on. I like that he's sort of under Pharaoh's thumb in this series. It's interesting to think that their relationship might not have been as 'equal' as it always seemed to be.

YAY MORE MALIK.

'"... No..." he answered quietly. What would he do that for? So Ryou could talk to him like a total stranger some more? In the too-polite kind of voice that asks 'Would you like fries with that?' The kind of voice that signs letters with 'sincerely.' No, Malik really didn't need another dose of that.'

That's an amazing way of summing up how impersonal Ryou and Malik's relationship has become, and how much it's hurting Malik. Love it.

(I like that we're reading each other's stories and basically bombarding each other with angst xD)

Ugh, Pharaoh cutting in on the phone-call is so typical. It's incredible how annoying he can be, even when I know he's just trying to do what he perceives as 'best for everyone'.

LOL Ryou sure does attract a lot of people xD

'"Vultures!" Anzu snarled. "What, can they smell the rebound on him?"'

I love Anzu in this, she rocks. And I love how your sad scenes are so HEART-BREAKINGLY SAD, and then the more humorous scenes are actually laugh-out-loud funny.

"Oh, you mean he's gay!" Rebecca said brightly and Anzu looked a little relieved. "My Aunt Miriam is a lesbian!"

ROFL xDDD

OH here's where the tattoo comes into play! That must be really confusing for Ryou if he can't see it anymore o.O And woah, is that Mot? He's the reason Ryou's getting laid with every guy who lays eyes on him? :O

Ok I guess it is since Mot is now using the Ryou pronz to torture Bakhura. Bad times.

Haha it's quite weird to imagine Ryou on a 'normal' date with a 'normal' person. Probably because he's meant to be with Bakura. -tendershipper logic-

'"Ah, no. I- I live alone," Ryou said, stepping in and holding the door for Kisho.

"Wow, at your age? You're a high schooler, right?" Kisho sounded impressed. "That's pretty fancy. Must be fun, huh?"

Ryou tilted his head noncommittally, closing the door. "... Actually... I think I hate it," he said quietly'

-heart breaks a little more- Aw noo, Ryou Dx IT'S TOO SAD.

Oh but now we have mood whiplash xD -dead from the lols- Poor Yuugi. Poor Ryou. AHAHAHAHA.

'"Entertaining?" Yuugi blinked, puzzled. "In your bathrobe?"'

Why yes, Yuugi. You should try it sometime. PFFFFT.

It makes me sad that Kisho seems to be a genuinely nice guy. I kind of hoped he'd be a jerk so I wouldn't feel bad when he and Ryou inevitably break up.

-dead from the lols again- And Ryou just got jet-propelled out of the closet xD

'"Huh, Kisho?" Jonouchi mused, scratching his chin thoughtfully. "That's kinda masculine..."'

I swear, I FELT the awkward silence after that xD And I love the fact that Anzu seems to be a yaoi fangirl.

Oh no, I don't know who to feel more sorry for, Ryou or Bakhura. It's really quite disturbing seeing Bakhura so...neutralised and defeated.

MALIK. OMG WE HAVE MALIK. I LOVE YOU MALIK-

Oh he's gone again D:

Yay he's back again! (Uh I'm reviewing as I read again, in case you hadn't guessed xD) I'm glad he gave Yuugi a piece of his mind. Though I guess it should really have been Pharaoh who had to hear it...

Malik is awesomely IC, btw. I like his phone-rants xD A lot.

Oh dear, Ryou's turning into a bit of a bunny-boiler.

The break-up scene is SERIOUSLY sad. I mean, we all knew it was coming, what with Ryou's increasinly neurotic neediness, but...aw. Like I said, it sucks because Kisho seems like a good guy, and if things had been a bit more normal, it might have worked out.

(But I know I'm getting tornshipping sooner or later so that helps~)

Ok, I won't lie, I got totally caught up in this and read all the way to the end without reviewing D: -is a bad person- BUT I WILL TOTALLY RE-READ NOW.

Aw, Ryou's little freak-out :( And Pharaoh is such a dork, messing with people's minds like that! Isn't that the kind of thing he told MALIK off for? Grr it gives me rage. But I like the way you write Pharaoh - he seems very IC and really thinks he's doing the right thing. He just...isn't.

And oh wow, I LIKE this interpretation of Yami Malik - that he's a completely separate entity from Malik that was manipulating him for his own purposes. I usually just take the view 'he's Malik's split personality that got beefed up by Shadow Magic', but your version is a lot more plausible. (Ok maybe plausible isn't the right word...you know what I mean. By the standards of the YGO universe, it's more plausible.) And Mot is creepy as hell. I always find the villains who flounce around and laugh more scary (and AWESOME xD) than the ones who just sit glowering evilly.

Aw Bakhura D: It's kind of a nice change (nice? That sounds a bit sadistic) to see him as such a vulnerable character instead of the usual Mr Evil Bravado.

'"I believe this is what they call good-cop-bad-cop," he said in the tongue of Sumer...'

That's an awesome line xD Too bad it doesn't mean anything good for Bakhura.

Lonely!Ryou breaks my heart :( Especially because he has no idea why he feels lonely. That's like the worst form of psychological torture ever...! D:

LOL at Ryou getting picked up xD Kisho isn't exactly subtle, is he?

Ok, ONTO CHAPTER 2. (Fear the spam. Seriously.)

God, the ANGST! So much freaking ANGST! I'm not used to handling this much angst in one sitting and I'm not even done yet! *pant* *pant* Guh, I need some happy.

A hug? ...Melvin?

Well, it makes sense, considering that Mot was Yami Malik and all that. :D Yay, abridged series!