A/N: I wrote this for the ygokinkmeme tumblr prompt, Tendershipping where Yami Bakura messes with Ryou by taking control of certain parts of his body and plays around with him. This is my first Yugioh fic and I'm really happy with how it turned out. Please leave feedback!

It was nice to know that he would always have friends to eat with. It probably seemed like a small thing to most people, but to Ryou, it was heartwarming to be able to pick up his tray and walk to the table by the third window without a thought, being welcomed each day by Yugi and the others who'd accepted him into their group. They would eat together, groaning at Jonouchi's exaggerated stories or excitedly discussing a new game from Yugi's grandfather's shop.

Ryou allowed himself to let his guard down, to take their presence for granted, but that was a mistake.

One lunch period, while Yugi and Jonouchi were trading cards, despite Anzu's comment that Jonouchi better not be careless enough to spill something on his deck- "Yeah right, Anzu, a real duelist takes care of his cards first!"- Ryou reached over and stabbed Honda's hamburger with his fork.

Everyone froze and just looked at Ryou questioningly. Ryou, in turn, looked at his hand in confusion. "Honda, I- I'm sorry, I don't know-" He had no idea what to say but Honda took pity on him.

"Hey, man, if you wanted a bite, you could have just asked," he joked, though he clearly was thrown off by the unexpected action.

Ryou mumbled an "excuse me" and left the table, dumped his tray, and walked to the nearest bathroom.

He narrowed his eyes at his reflection and tried to see the darkness that hid beneath his porcelain skin. When he was certain it was still him in control of his body, he let out his breath slowly and unconsciously brought a hand to his chest, where the Ring hung under his shirt. The damn Ring. If he ever wanted his body to be taken from him, all he had to do was display the slightest intention to remove it and suddenly he'd be locked away in his own mind.

...

Ryou didn't look at any of his friends during the afternoon classes and hurried straight home after dismissal. His apartment seemed lonelier and quieter than normal so he turned the television on for some background noise. He sat at the kitchen table and focused on his homework until suddenly the television was blaring. Cringing, Ryou moved to cover his ears, when he noticed that his left hand was holding the remote, his finger hovering over the volume button. After staring at it for a moment, he turned around and pressed the power button, cutting off the horror movie in progress.

He turned his hands palm-side up and just looked at them for awhile. "Mine," he whispered, not knowing himself if it was a question, a statement, or a plea.

...

When nothing else strange or unwanted happened that week, Ryou decided it was safe to hang out with Yugi and the rest at Kame Game Shop Saturday afternoon. Yugi had offered to duel him and since Ryou still hadn't had the chance to play Duel Monsters against any of them, he was looking forward to the opportunity.

They were midway through a close duel when Jonouchi got a sly look on his face that no one was very happy about seeing. "You know, since Anzu isn't here today," he began, "why don't we watch a video?" The way he said the word video suggested he didn't mean a Miyazaki film.

Honda rolled his eyes and muttered something about Jonouchi's one-track mind and Yugi coughed a bit but Ryou got the feeling they'd done something like this before and were waiting to gauge his reaction.

"What type of video? Bondage, lesbian, reality, softcore?" Ryou heard his voice ask. While his friends' eyes widened in surprise, Ryou registered exactly what he'd said and nearly dropped his cards. Before he could force out some excuse, his friends burst out laughing.

"Wow, Ryou, didn't expect you to be into this kind of stuff!" Jonouchi grinned.

"Looks like you've got something in common with the perverted blonde now," Honda chimed in, earning a punch from Jonouchi.

Yugi kept quiet and there was suspicion and worry in his eyes at how peculiar Ryou's voice had sounded just then. He didn't get a chance to say anything before Jonouchi took over the conversation once more.

"Me, a pervert? Who's the one who had his first kiss in elementary school?" he shot back at Honda.

"That doesn't even count!"

"Of course it does!"

Yugi intervened, "C'mon, Jonouchi, you wouldn't want him to tease you."

"What could I tease him about anyway?" Honda scoffed. "What girl would kiss him?" As Jonouchi grumbled but had no real retort to this, Honda looked at Ryou and asked, "What about you? Have you had your first kiss?"

Ryou tried hard to keep his mouth closed but his efforts were futile. "Of course, and many since."

Jonouchi and Honda actually clapped him on the back to congratulate his "way with the ladies." Ryou was beginning to feel sick, though, and asked Yugi if he could use the store's bathroom.

With several racks of merchandise and the bathroom door between him and his friends, he calmed down a a little, but he knew wasn't alone. "Stop it. Stop doing this," he hissed at the mirror. That chilling, cold laughter he recognized as his darkness rang inside his mind; at least he was answering now.

"Stop doing what? Telling the truth to your friends?"

"It's not the truth. I've never had a girlfriend."

"But I have."

Ryou stared in horror at his reflection. "You haven't-"

"It's not always revenge that's on my mind when I take control of your body, host. You're a suitable vessel for many reasons. You should be honored that I'm complimenting you like this."

Ryou clenched his muscles in protest as he felt his darkness begin to seize control of them. The darkness merely laughed and moved his hand to his face. "Look at your pretty eyes, host. And your long hair that I made sure you didn't have to cut." The hand- his hand- trailed down slowly and he found himself unbuttoning his shirt before dropping it to the floor. "You're small and weak and fragile but for some reason girls really enjoy your looks." He began to unbutton his pants.

"Stop it!" Ryou demanded as loudly as he dared.

"You listen to me, host. Not the other way around." Just as his fingers grabbed the top of his jeans and began to tug them down, there was a knock at the door.

"Ryou? Is everything okay?" Yugi's concerned voice asked.

His darkness didn't even have to force his host to reply positively; Ryou was used to hiding his pain and did so automatically.

"Okay... We're gonna order pizza, what kind would you like?"

Such a normal question seemed out of place. Ryou answered as calmly as he could, "Any topping is fine."

"Alright." He heard Yugi walk away.

"So busy with your friends, aren't you?"

The idea of asking his insane parasite to leave his friends alone occurred to Ryou but he couldn't bring himself to beg to the presence he hated.

"Then we'll finish this later. I'll see you tonight, my landlord." After one more sinister laugh, the darkness in his mind receded and Ryou fell to his knees, clutching onto his shirt and wondering how long he would have to be a bystander in his own life.