Yu-Gi-Oh! Fan Fiction ❯ Ryou Bakura: Time Master! ❯ "I'm better than you, Ryou!!" ( Chapter 27 )

DISCLAIMER: I don't own Yu-Gi-Oh or anyone else here. Takahashi owns Yu-Gi-Oh, and he laughed when I told him my plan to crush Ryou's dream.

 

An hour. That was all Bahamut had given them to decide on what Sith would be doing, now that Mello had done his own deeds. It was a pitiful move, really. It felt like an hour simply by getting to the table and sitting down. Ryou looked at Sith carefully. This was the same woman who'd saved his life four years ago, albeit accidentally. The same woman who saved his world again and again, for no true reason other than the fact that she hated Rath. It all felt so unreal to him now. He'd gotten so comfortable with the fact that she'd be in his world forever. He had nearly forgotten she wasn't truly part of it. But Mello had played on that brutally. Ryou glanced over at the blonde, who was kicking his boots onto the glass table. It would've been nice to just stab the idiot right then.

 

“So, how're we going to do this, babe?” Mello asked Sith, “How're you going to decide?” Ryou's lips thinned. He didn't want to hear this. But the knowledge that Sith wasn't actually the one to decide marrying him was burning in him, too. If he'd known that, he wouldn't have proposed. She sensed this. She looked directly at him.

 

“That, I don't know yet,” she replied quietly, “Before I do, let me just say I never truly expected marriage to end up like this. Ryou, tell me this happens a lot.” Ryou wanted to laugh. The truth was, divorce was common now. But it never happened this way before. Mello really had done this spectacularly. Ryou did have to credit him for that.

 

“Not really, but divorce isn't unusual,” Ryou told her gently. Sith just nodded, but didn't speak again. The silence dragged on, minutes ticking away slowly. Finally, Ryou asked, “…Katt, why did you convince Sith to go out with me? I think… before we settle this, we need to know why. It was her decision, wasn't it?” Katt nodded, her eyes dimming a little. It'd happened over four years ago, but she knew exactly what he wanted to know. Sith had never truly forgiven her for it, either; she had made it pretty clear she wanted Sith to have no part of her own memories, and Sith took her words to heart.

 

“I didn't think it'd be good to have Mello in your world,” she replied, “Ryou, you don't know Mello, so you don't know the kind of things he does. He… wasn't a good person.”

 

“So that gave you the right to choose for Sith? Because you didn't want her choosing me?” Mello asked seriously, crossing his arms, “Wow, what a way to go. No wonder she kicked your ass three thousand years ago. You deserved it.” Ryou stared flatly at him. That might've been true, but Katt was still more of a friend than Mello was. Likewise, Sith just frowned. Katt simply flushed crimson with the accusation, and then she nodded.

 

“If your sister chose a criminal who had a knack for using guns, what would you have done?” Katt retorted softly, “Aside from that, you used people. How was I going to know if you were using her, too? Mello, you did some terrible things in your own world.” Ryou looked from Katt, to Mello. He was sure he'd find himself pissed as all hell, but he was getting curious now. Maybe it was because it'd show him a bit of Sith before she came to his world, in his own time. But she said nothing. Mello just smiled weakly.

 

“Which Sith chose to overlook,” he commented, “Now, we could get into an argument over who's better than who, but we don't have that time, and no one's going to agree here. Besides, we're already ignoring our key factor here: Sith. We haven't even asked what went through her own head.” At that, Ryou smiled. Mello was actually right. They hadn't asked Sith what she wanted. All three of them turned to her. But she looked as exhausted as ever. Clearly, this was beginning to tax her. She'd pushed it aside for years. Ryou wondered if she would've ever addressed it. He guessed not; not after she took his ring.

 

“Sith, what were you thinking?” he asked her, and added, “I want the truth, too.”

 

“I wanted to know who Mello was, because I knew somehow, I knew who he was and that I cared about him. But I didn't know why,” she said, and an eerie hush seemed to fill the room at her words, “I wanted… to remember him.” She looked directly at Katt now. Katt couldn't even meet her gaze. Ryou looked from both of them, to Mello. The man seemed so damn arrogant. But now he was dead serious. This was the most important thing in his life, judging by the sheer look in his eyes. And by the fact that his hand was on the butt of his gun. Ryou was half-wondering if Mello would shoot someone if he didn't get his way.

 

“Katt made you forget him?” Ryou asked Sith. She nodded slowly.

 

“She told me it was best, and that it was time to move on,” she replied, sounding oddly detached, “I said I'd try. And it worked.” Ryou just snorted softly, and finally stood up. Sith's tone was definite to him.

 

“No it didn't,” he told her gently, “If it did, we wouldn't be sitting here, Sith. It still hurts you. I know it does. And I don't want that. Neither does Katt, or Mello. So let's just see what we can do to help you.”

 

“And how will you do this?” Mello asked skeptically. Ryou froze then. He didn't actually have a plan for that, he just wanted to cheer Sith up. Slowly, he sat back down. How could he do that? How could he physically go back in time and tell her to choose what she wanted? He couldn't. At least, not anymore. But he could do something.

 

“Well… let's assume we're not married,” Ryou suggested calmly, “And let's assume you're right back at that moment. Sith, you're allowed free reign now. What will you choose?” Sith gave Ryou a very, very critical look. She wasn't going for this idea at all. But Mello was grinning a mile wide, at least. He nodded vigorously.

 

“I'm loving this idea,” he commented slyly, turning to Sith, “Okay, babe. What will you choose?” Sith turned a flat look to him, as did Ryou. But he merely grinned more. The choice seemed so easy to him, because if he were in Sith's position, he'd choose himself, too. But Sith wasn't like that. And Ryou was grateful for that. The older woman rapped her fingers on the table, her lips thin in contemplation.

 

“It's not as easy as `choose who you love' because I happen to love you both very much,” she replied, “Now that I have my memory and I remember everything, it's not as easy as this. I can't just break one heart. I need… more time.” Ryou frowned. As much as he loved Sith, they didn't have a lot of time. She had maybe forty five minutes at the most. As cold as that was, Bahamut wouldn't give her any time after that. They had a ceremony to attend, or the entire Esper world would go up in a ruckus. And neither Ryou nor Mello wanted to be the cause of it. They looked at each other. Working something out wouldn't do, because they both loved her, too, but they had to do something. They had to help her decide. But the problem was, they didn't trust each other in the least. Ryou trusted Mello to shoot him, and likewise, Mello trusted Ryou to stab him.

 

“Thanks to Scaly-ass out there, we don't have it, Sith,” Mello reminded her, “I'm not good at this shit, because to me, this decision's pretty damn simple: weigh my pros with Ryou's, and if I'm better, then just choose me. But obviously, you've got a bigger heart than that. Kind of sucks for me, but I just want you happy at this point. So, anyone else got a better idea?” Ryou shook his head, as did Katt. They couldn't think of anything that wouldn't undermine Sith's decision on this, and Katt knew that if she did, Sith would never forgive her a second time for it.

 

“…Why don't you tell us about the two of you?” Ryou suggested to Sith, “And we'll see how it goes from there. If you were truly happy, then the decision should be clear, right?” Sith blinked slowly. That was true enough. But she wouldn't like her answer, and neither would Ryou. She looked at Mello, but he seemed to agree with the idea. Katt, however, looked pale. She wanted no part of anything that'd send Sith back to a dangerous hit man. She shook her head.

 

“No. We're not doing that,” she stated firmly. Ryou sighed in frustration. He realized that Mello wasn't the problem here. Katt was. Katt was the reason Mello was so angry. Katt was the reason Sith had lost her memory at all. But Katt was also the reason Sith married Ryou. Even with that, though… Katt had done a bit more damage to both Sith and Mello than good. Ryou was about to speak, but Mello finally stood up. His normally cocky expression was wiped away; in it's place, he looked strangely emotionless. Blank, almost. He looked at Katt intently, his good eye burning with something Ryou couldn't yet grasp.

 

“Why are you so opposed to me?” he asked her quietly, “What did I ever do to you? What did I do to Sith?” That was actually a pretty good question. Ryou wanted to know just what caused such havoc in Mello, if he was willing to ruin Ryou's life to get his revenge. Ryou saw Sith's ears quiver. She must've wanted to know this, too. He took her hand, just to try and steady her. She was shaking. Silently, he sighed. She was always shaking at this point. He was worried if it didn't stop, she'd never be quite as calm as before.

 

“…you think kidnapping people, then blowing yourself apart, and then getting your ass killed is nothing?” Katt whispered harshly, “Do you have any idea what Sith went through when she heard you'd blown up? And then I find you hiding in someone else's apartment, not calling her or anything? And then, I go to your world sixteen years later, and you're already dead!? Do you have any idea how fucked up that is? You think I want my sister dealing with that?” Mello looked down. If anything could've made the man feel ashamed, that was it. Ryou risked a glance at Sith. Her eyes had watered as she stared at Mello. He'd been killed! Which meant…

 

“You're… undead?” she whispered, her voice cracking, “Mihael?”

 

“…I don't know how to explain this one, babe,” he replied, “I don't know how long it's been since I've been to my own world, but I thought it'd been only a year. In my world, I did die. So I came to this one. Imagine my ecstasy when I found I was actually alive here.” Sith's eyes didn't dry. Dead! Mello had been dead. How his spirit managed to escape death and find Oblivion, she didn't know. But he'd been dead before. Ryou looked at Mello, and then at Sith. Something obviously brought him back from the dead.

 

“How can you be alive here, and dead in your world?” he asked incredulously, and to Sith, asked, “Can that happen?” She nodded.

 

“Yes. Oftentimes, it does,” she explained calmly, “It's what we call `energetic recycling.' When a person with an extreme amount of power passes, sometimes they've accumulated enough of that power to escape into a tiny tear into Oblivion and begin a new life in a new world. Normally, that person has to be a damned good warrior, but it's happened very often in many different worlds.” Ryou's mouth dropped. Mello hadn't proved to be a warrior, but he'd done something to grant him that kind of power. Ryou looked at him. He didn't look overly special; there were no wings or anything to mark him as inhuman. But he survived a bombing with one scar. And he'd taken nearly six years to plan his revenge out. Just who the hell was he?

 

“So… what happens if he heads back to his world?” Ryou asked Sith. She bit her lip and looked down.

 

“…he'll be alive, but no one will see him. They won't hear him, or feel his presence. He can't interact with anyone…” she hesitated for a second, and looked at Mello suspiciously, “Which begs my question… how did Matt get here? Is he dead as well?” Mello nodded. Ryou looked down. Her only friends in that other world died while she was here. And she hadn't even known of it. He wondered if Mello ever planned on explaining that. Especially if she happened to ever go there and ask for him.

 

“Let me see if I follow this correctly,” Ryou said gently, and Mello turned to him, “You died a few months…”

 

“Weeks, actually,” Mello corrected, “Doubt it was more than two months.” Ryou glared flatly at him.

 

“Right. Weeks… you died a few weeks after Sith left,” he began again, and Mello nodded, “You blew yourself up, managed to somehow survive, didn't call her, ended up dying, and then you came here just to make me miserable? I don't understand, Mello. Why're you taking it out on me?” Mello just snorted and shook his head. Likewise, Sith and Katt seemed unusually disturbed by the question. Ryou already knew Sith knew nothing of this, but Katt had already admitted she'd manipulated this aspect of her sister's life. Was it possible she did something else? Ryou wanted to ask, but Mello was already answering his question.

 

“It's not about you,” Mello told him, and then waved airily, “Though I'll admit that fucking up your wedding was fun. But this had nothing to do with you until I realized you weren't giving her up. I was so angry with Katt. Or, at that time, Sceppiro. He's the reason I never even got to say goodbye. I never even got to see how she was faring until I managed to slip through a crack and find my way here. Once I had Matt scan a piece of her hair in, it was just a matter of time until I found a nice trace of her. Who knew it'd wind up in a world as peaceful as this.” Ryou nearly laughed. A peaceful world. That was Mello's description of a world that had periodically been plagued with monsters and nearly destroyed multiple times from it. He could only imagine whatever the man had faced in his own world. Sith's eyebrows creased gently as she considered his answer to Ryou.

 

“You were going to tell me?” she asked, “About what happened?”

 

“Sith, you had no idea what was going on. I wanted to tell you, but I couldn't and not risk all three of us,” he replied calmly, “I wanted to tell you… after I won. But by then, we couldn't even find you. It was like you dropped off the face of our world, and I had no idea where else to look.” Sith looked directly at Katt. She had blamed Bahamut for forcing her to come back here, but with Mello, she solely blamed that on her sister. Katt knew this. The two sisters stared at each other for a long moment, neither saying anything. Ryou began to wonder if they'd even be able to make a decision before the hour was gone. He looked to Mello. The blonde was watching Sith carefully, trying to discern her movement and expression. But he couldn't. Ryou finally had to speak.

 

“…you still love her, even after everything you saw here,” he whispered, and Mello looked at him critically, “After what I've said, after our wedding, even after I tried stabbing you, you're not giving up.” Mello's mouth turned upwards into a cocky smirk. He nodded, tapping the butt of his gun.

 

“Isn't that the entire point of this?” the blonde retorted, “Because we're both stubborn and we both love Sith? Is there some memo I'm missing here?” Ryou just snickered. That was why they were fighting, after all. Then, he looked at Sith. She didn't look amused with Mello's statement. She looked as though she were thinking of something very distantly, trying to figure out if she should speak about it or not. Ryou glanced at Mello. He nodded, and they both sat down again. As humorous and sarcastic as Mello wanted to be, now really wasn't the place for it. He put a hand on Sith's arm, inwardly grinning when he saw Ryou twitch just slightly. Then he asked, “What is it, Sith?”

 

“…Ryou, you asked to know about me before coming to your world, right?” Sith asked, and Ryou nodded slowly, somewhat undecidedly, “Do you still want to know?”

 

“It'll be best so I can understand exactly why Mello felt a need to do all of this,” Ryou told her gently, “Like I said, Sith, I don't think you came here to right your mistake anymore. That part's over. But this clearly isn't, so let's get it done so you can move on.” Sith nodded. Then she took a deep breath. This was a long story to tell, and Ryou understood that. He glanced at the clock in the room. Somehow, time must've flowed backwards, for they now had fifty minutes left instead of forty five. He raised a brow, but no one else seemed to notice that. So, he shrugged. Sith was about to speak again.

 

“At this point, it's been some time,” she began, and Mello cut her off.

 

“Around twenty years, babe,” he said, and everyone glared at him. He just grinned and waved for her to go on, which she did hesitantly.

 

“Right. It's been some time since I've been there, but my memory's as clear as water now,” she replied, completely ignoring Mello's interruption, “Long ago, Ryou, I ran from your world. This much we all know. After that, I'd traveled between worlds, fighting here, negotiating there. Anything that the ESB deemed too small to be of concern to them, but large enough for someone to need taking care of it.” Ryou frowned just slightly. He didn't like what that meant for her. It put her in the rank of a mercenary for hire, and while that technically suited her…

 

“You did all the jobs no one else wanted to do,” he said flatly. She nodded.

 

“Yes. Bahamut wasn't happy that I'd gotten away, and without actually registering properly, he couldn't actually find me, either,” she explained further, this time a sly grin forming on her face, her tone coloring with mischief, “So imagine my relief when I found this out. Unfortunately, I'm not skilled navigating Oblivion. To make how I met Mello very, very short, I literally took a wrong turn.” Ryou raised a brow. He had followed her until she mentioned Oblivion. How could she navigate it? How could anyone, if it was literally a large void? Mello spoke up now, and he clearly seemed amused with the memory.

 

“She crash landed on our world's version of Los Angeles,” he stated almost proudly, “Matt found her and patched her up. Of course, she ran away before we checked on her, but hell, we found her.” Ryou felt his chest heave. Running from Mello? He couldn't see why Sith would run from a self-centered, arrogant jackass like him. But he didn't dare to say that. Mello still had his hand on his gun.

 

“It did me a ton of good, too,” Sith replied sarcastically, “I hid in a tavern, and who should happen to show up, but Mello himself.” Ryou did laugh now. That had to have been a bad day for Sith. He saw Mello twitch this time, and felt equally smug about it. Sith ignored them both as she continued, “I decided I wasn't going to let some jackass of a human scare me, so… well, you remember how we met, right, Ryou?” Ryou's eyes widened. That was how she met Mello!? By threatening to kill him!? Ryou looked at Mello. The man was easily stronger than her. What the hell did she threaten him with!?

 

“Having your mouth clamped and a sword at your throat is the hottest way to die, if you ask me,” Mello said, grinning again, “After all, who the hell uses swords, anyway? No one in my world, that was clear. Everyone cleared out of that tavern in five seconds. I was in love in minutes.” Ryou just rolled his eyes. As much as he wanted to hear their story, he could've done without Mello's commentary, however funny it happened to be. Likewise, Sith seemed mildly annoyed with it as well. She turned a flat stare to the man, but Ryou quickly dispersed any anger she was about to have with a question.

 

“Okay, wait a minute… You actually went through Oblivion doing god-knows-what, you literally crashed into Mello's world, he saves your life, you run, and then you attack him?” he asked in disbelief, “…are all Esper women this aggressive?” This time, both Sith and Katt laughed. No one was as aggressive as Sith, especially when she thought she was threatened. And, unfortunately for Mello, one look at him told her he was insane. Katt just sniffled as she settled down.

 

“No, just Sith,” she commented, and Sith cleared her throat loudly. It was apparent how she took that. Katt just grinned at her as she continued.

 

“As it turned out, death threats don't work on Mello,” she told Ryou, who simply raised an amused brow. He expected as much. “And instead of being smart and running like Matt did, he actually had the nerve to ask if I wanted to join the mafia.” Ryou's eyes widened. The Mafia!? He could've understood if the two had become a vigilante pair, but joining the MAFIA!? Was he actually supposed to believe that? It must've been true, though, because Mello stood up abruptly again, pointing at Sith.

 

“You said yes!” he cried in exasperation, “You said yes, and you were damn good at it, too! How many of our men were told to come back with a boss's head, and literally did it!? I've never seen necks severed so beautifully in my life.” Ryou felt his eye twitch again. Not because of Mello complimenting Sith, but because he just couldn't believe the story they were telling! Sith in the mafia, and actually killing people for money. That really just didn't seem like Sith! He stared at her as she looked up at Mello with a mixture of confidence and pride. She must've been happy during that time, for normally she would've been angered at the thought of death. It was unreal.

 

“Tell me he's joking,” Ryou begged her, gripping her hand between his, “Please, dear, for the love of our fake marriage, tell me he's joking!!” Sith looked at him sideways, and just smiled. Damn it all, Mello was actually telling the truth.

 

“To make it fair, everyone I killed was on the ESB list for attempting an illegal use of other-world travel,” she simply said, which she must've thought constituted an actual reply, “I never took the jobs that implied killing someone I had no interest in.” Ryou's mouth fell open. Sith was a murderer! That was even worse than he'd thought! Maybe he really wasn't the right one for her. He looked at Katt. She didn't seem to have a reaction just then. He looked back at Sith. She was leaning back casually, raising a questioning brow when she noticed he was watching her.

 

“So you joined the mafia?” he asked, and Mello snorted.

 

“Well… she was more like an honorary member,” he replied, and winked, “She wasn't officially on the books, and she didn't always get paid. But it made it a hell of a lot easier to hide her!” Ryou's eyes went flat as he stared at Mello. As much as he wanted to hear what Sith was like, especially since it was actually kind of funny, he wanted to hear it from Sith. For all he knew, Mello was lying. Except that Sith hadn't said he was.

 

“Sith, tell us what happened in your words,” Ryou said bluntly, grinning when he saw Mello scowl at him. Sith just nodded, apparently oblivious to Mello's reaction.

 

“I joined. I joined because… well, truthfully, I was pissed with Bahamut,” she said honestly, and Ryou just couldn't wait to hear the rest, “I figured that if enough high-grade evil died in any one world, Bahamut would catch on and decide that I was too dangerous to be recalled. I wanted peace at that point, Ryou. I was happy. I had an… interesting home, and I…” She stopped, and her eyes watered. Ryou didn't need her to finish that sentence.

 

“You finally found someone,” he concluded, and she nodded.

 

“As you can tell, Katt didn't approve,” she finished, “After that… it became too complicated for me to explain. But… for a while, I was really happy. I didn't always like actually killing people, but the mafia was fun. I got to see a lot of things I never found here.” Ryou rolled his eyes, preferring not to even ask what those things could've been. Somehow, seeing Sith just that curious seemed appropriate, though. He looked at Mello. The man had this nostalgic look on his face. He probably wished those days still existed. Deep down, Ryou found he felt bad. Mello just wanted Sith back. It really was as simple as that.

 

“But what were you two like?” Ryou asked, “I mean, that's the most important part here. That's going to decide what happens.” Sith looked up at him, and likewise, Mello turned his attention to the younger man, too.

 

“What does it matter if those days are gone?” Sith asked quietly. A hushed silence filled the room, and quietly, Ryou explained. He just smiled warmly at her.

 

“Think about it, Sith,” he said, “Like I said, pretend we're not married. Not that we are anyway, but humor me. When we… er… well, actually, we never even really dated, for that matter. You kind of moved in because you had no place else to go, and that was it.” Sith's face flushed with embarrassment. That hit their relationship on the dot; she moved in literally because she couldn't find an apartment. She just happened to be employed as a maid by Yaten sometime afterwards. Ryou glanced at Mello again. Now he seemed on the verge of laughter. Likewise, Ryou was beginning to see that his relationship with Sith was probably looking pretty childish to Mello. No wonder he thought getting her back would be easy. If they took this to court, Ryou wouldn't really have a case to work on. Technically, the fact that Sith chose him because of Katt actually worked against him.

 

“Okay, hold on, back up the fucking logic train a minute,” Mello begged, trying not to laugh at them all. He was failing miserably. “Okay, so you meet Sith in a prison, and she doesn't even give you her real name. She tells you again and again that she's not interested, then she starts giving you a chance, and you don't even question why!?” He held up his index finger as though he were counting something, “Then your world gets screwed over again, she barely mentions any feelings toward you, in fact she spent half the time pissed as hell, and you still propose to her?” He held up his middle finger as well as his index finger, “Then, and this one really made me chuckle, you get trapped in a game, can't do shit for yourself, Sith nearly calls off the damn wedding, and then you call me and have me marry you when she hasn't even recovered from her mental injuries!? And you thought this was a good relationship due to what unexplained reason!?” He held up his ring finger and ended with, “And now I find you fell in love because she was your housemaid!? Dear lord, what the hell is wrong with this picture!?” Katt actually started laughing now. Sith's face just kept getting redder. It was clear she was having some mixed feelings now. Ryou just patted her hand. Now he felt sorry for her. This must've really confused the hell out of her while it was happening.

 

“Put it that way and now I see why you destroyed the wedding,” Ryou said truthfully, “Okay, so put simply, our relationship sounds like a flop.” Sith stared at him in utter disbelief as he said this, and he held up one finger to Mello, who looked respectively triumphant at that fact, “But I've yet to hear about your relationship. Remember, I spent a total of six years with Sith. Three and a half if you don't count what Amber pulled with time magic. That's still three times what she spent with you.” Mello's confidence faded slightly at that. That was true enough, and he even said he'd been with her for only eight months. But then he grinned again. He had an actual case here, and he knew with his intelligence, he'd knock Ryou back six ways to Sunday. It was sweet to think about.

 

“Oh ho, don't laugh at me. I'm going to blow whatever little, pitiful relationship you had back to kingdom come,” Mello retorted confidently. Katt glanced at Sith, and nearly laughed again. Sith was already hanging her head in defeat.

 

“Tell me this isn't happening,” she said, sighing, “How the hell did it go from `You're my wife, Sith,' to `Let's see who's better than who, Mello?' Seriously, I don't understand this. Is this some new tradition in divorces and disputes I'm not aware of?” Katt just patted her back as she watched Mello and Ryou face off. The odds looked like they were in Ryou's favor. Until, of course, Mello started speaking.

 

“Okay, so you know about Sith and I meeting up, but you know nothing about romance, and the past three years I've watched you just proves it! Prepare to be absolutely flabbergasted by my story,” Mello began smugly, and Sith let out a miserable groan, “Now, at first, Sith didn't really seem to like me, but eventually, she started to realize just how kind and loving I was!” Ryou just raised a brow. He didn't believe that for a second as he crossed his arms, leaning casually in his seat.

 

“Just how were you either of those things?” he asked quizzically, “Did you let her try and run before kidnapping her? Did you lock her in a room with a nice bed so she didn't have to sleep on the floor?” Sith just snorted softly, and Mello's mouth dropped open at, what was in his mind, foul, horrible accusations. If only Ryou knew the truth!

 

“Hey! Who the fuck's talking here!?” Mello demanded, and his grin returned, “Anyway, no, I didn't kidnap her. Believe it or not, I don't need to do that shit to attract Sith. All I have to do is smile and stare at her for a while and she knew. She knew I wanted her. Hell, even Matt knew it and he was too busy staring at his Xbox. Did she ever do that with you?” Ryou frowned, not liking where Mello was going to be taking this. He was going to turn this into a contest of attraction. And Ryou would really lose that one. He had to turn this around somehow, or at least make it so Mello didn't play on his biggest weakness.

 

“What, try and kill me?” he retorted, and nodded, “Yes, she did. Twice, now that I think of it.” Unfortunately, that kind of sarcasm never worked with Mello. His grin grew. And Ryou's frown deepened. He wasn't expecting that reaction. Then again, he knew that wasn't what Mello was talking about.

 

“Ha! She nearly killed me sixty six times,” Mello bragged, “Anyway, ignoring that for now, she quickly understood that she was living with me or she'd have to deal with every single idiot on our team. At first, it started kind of badly. She was just assigned as my mission partner. Before I even knew what she was, I just assumed she was getting in way over her head. But it wasn't long before her skills came to light.” Ryou noticed that a wicked gleam seemed to color Mello's good eye, and he glanced at Sith fractionally as he spoke. Her lips thinned blandly. This wasn't amusing her, either. Mello pretended not to notice as he continued, “Most important was her ability to heal me, seeing as how most of her spells were the reason I was nearly fried, zapped, burned, poisoned, frozen, and incinerated to a crisp.”

 

“Gee, you kidnap her and force her in your mafia. I can't imagine why she'd want to kill you for it,” Ryou grumbled sarcastically. Mello just glared at him before continuing on as if he hadn't interrupted.

 

“Anyway, one fateful day, we ended up being ambushed in a warehouse by a rivaling gang. Someone leaked our location and they managed to find us. Seeing as how it was partly my fault…” He noticed Sith was staring at him warningly, and he chuckled, “Okay, seeing as how it was completely my fault, I decided I had to take the brunt of the blows. It was only fair. I told Sith to begin casting, and I protected her while she did it.” Katt looked over at him, crossing her arms stiffly.

 

“Nice to know you weren't a total bastard to her,” she said. Mello ignored her, too. His good eye swiveled back to Sith.

 

“Unfortunately, I don't have a big frame for a man. All it took was a good chop to my hip and I went down. They decided it was fun to gang up on me, and that's when Sith lost it,” he explained, and smiled warmly, “I never felt such power before. And I doubt anyone will forget the fire, either. She set the entire building aflame and dragged me out. After that, though… she never really went on missions again. She acted more as a support than anything. I guess she felt it was her fault it happened.” He noticed Sith looked down at the table, and he patted her hand, “It took four days for me to recover. Not bad, considering those assholes nearly broke my arm. I guess your spells healed more than we thought.” Sith nodded, and Ryou noticed her cheeks were starting to turn red. He tilted his head, wondering what she was thinking. She looked up at him and smiled weakly.

 

“Our boss was disappointed. He thought I'd do best… `reminding' our clients about their debt. But our men were hurt all the time. Someone had to heal them,” she replied. Mello just nodded, and ended with, “It worked better for both of us, because it meant she was safer. I didn't have to worry about her getting killed.” Ryou looked at the two of them, and felt a slight pang of sadness. Mello obviously cared. He put himself in danger so Sith wouldn't get hurt. And in the end, it killed him. Ryou knew he never did that. He never wanted to.

 

“So… you two bonded when she stayed away from trouble?” he asked, pushing his feelings aside. Mello nodded, but Ryou could see Sith was watching his expression. She knew this was painful for him. He tried to smile to assure her, but he doubted it actually worked.

 

“Yeah. It was simple, at first. You know, just talking about shit,” Mello said, “I'd tell her about the missions I'd be given, the things I'd want to suggest, and if she heard anything interesting, she'd tell me about it. Then I started asking about her, who she was before she came here. Brought her coffee sometimes if we all went out. She never enjoyed going out with them, so she never came.” Ryou didn't know if he was too surprised to hear that. It had taken Anzu nearly three hours and ten dollars to convince Sith to just go to the mall with her sometimes. He glanced at Sith. Her expression was calm. He couldn't read what she was feeling at all.

 

“You were close?” he asked, and instantly felt that was a dumb question. Mello grinned.

 

“She wouldn't have spent so much time with me specifically if we weren't,” he replied, “Take out those idiots we called teammates, and she'd go anywhere I asked. Didn't always like that I'd bring Matt, but she still went.” Ryou just nodded slowly. It brought him back to his own relationship, and made him wonder just how many times he actually took Sith out. Three times, at the most. His lips thinned with that answer.

 

“So you went out often?” he asked. Again, Mello nodded.

 

“As often as I wanted,” he replied confidently, “Though I will say, I loved Sith's cooking, too.” Ryou just smiled. That wasn't a surprise; Sith was a good cook, albeit a somewhat interesting one. He looked down, and began to realize that Sith wasn't actually the one weighing their pros or cons. He was. So far, he figured that Mello took better care of Sith, took more consideration for her, and didn't rely on her for everything he didn't want to do. And unfortunately for Ryou, he wasn't nearly as good at caring for people. Mainly because he still needed that care himself. Sith caught his expression, and he saw her turn to him.

 

“How are you feeling?” she asked worriedly. His smile went weak, and for a second, he looked away.

 

“Like the world's shittiest boyfriend,” he replied, “Sith, I'm so sorry. I'm beginning to see why your nightmares used to hurt you so much. Mello really was important to you, and you had both Katt and I telling you to forget him. And we should've been doing the exact opposite. At least, I should have. That was his point all along, to show us that we can't force you to do what we want, wasn't it?” Sith glanced at Mello. He was grinning, but it wasn't smug as usual. It was knowingly. Ryou couldn't help but smile himself. What Mello did was falling into place, no matter how immoral it was. Right then, immorality wasn't the point. Ryou just wanted to know why Mello would go to the lengths he did. It was just too bad it didn't help him feel too much better about Sith.

 

“A lot of people seem to confuse Sith's loyalty for subordination,” the older man replied calmly, and then his grin became smug again, “But don't feel too bad, Ryou. Not everyone is as great as me. Just be lucky you're second in line.” Ryou raised a brow, and then his mouth dropped. Second in line!? Was Mello already forgetting that Sith still hadn't chosen yet? Or was he taunting? Either way, Sith spoke again.

 

“Mello, don't taunt him,” she scolded, and then looked at the clock, “…our hour's nearly up. We have ten minutes left.” Everyone looked quickly at the clock. Sith was right. They had ten minutes until the clock struck ten in the evening. Ryou and Mello both looked at her. She had to decide within ten minutes, and she looked critically at them both. Ryou understood what she was actually trying to say. He turned to Mello.

 

“Best of luck,” he said. Mello just nodded, but he seemed reluctant to look at Ryou. He did so only because Sith was watching them both, and it was common courtesy.

 

“Yeah. You too,” the blonde replied. Sith smiled wryly at them, and closed her eyes. Ryou noticed his breathing was shortening, and likewise, Mello's was quickening. The anticipation might actually kill them if Sith actually took the remaining few minutes. He wished she'd make her decision, but she was thinking. Mello didn't look like he wanted to interrupt her, either. Ryou turned to Katt, who was watching with a mixture of worry and regret.

 

“What is she doing?” he whispered. Katt side glanced at him, her ears drooping.

 

“Deciding,” she replied simply, “It's a hard decision for her. Technically, what Bahamut said basically implies you were never married. Sith's at the same crossroad she was at when she first met you now.” Ryou hummed, looking back at Sith. Then he looked at Mello. The man was visibly worried now. Likewise, so was Ryou. All they could do was wait.

 

The minutes passed slowly, as Bakura paced the outside of the room, occasionally glancing at the door. Fifty five minutes had gone by, and he had heard only a few heated exclamations from inside the smaller room. Most had been between Ryou, and that blonde man who kept threatening to shoot them all. Bakura was beginning to worry one of them would end up dead. But neither Bahamut nor Tiamat had gone to check on them, which meant they all were alive. Hopefully. Bakura heard a creak behind him, and looked over to see the door slowly opening. Katt came out silently, heading toward the center of the audience chamber. Immediately, Malik, Yami, Bakura, and Ishtar ran to her. She didn't need to ask to know what they wanted.

 

“What was the verdict?” Ishtar asked her. She merely smiled weakly at him. Obviously, she didn't like the outcome of Sith's decision. But she was trying to be supportive of it.

 

“I present queen Sith Winchester,” she said, waving her arm toward the door, “And her new betrothed.” Bakura turned quickly, hoping beyond hope that Sith chose Ryou. But to his surprise, Sith walked out with Mello. His eyes widened. That had to be wrong! But it was happening. Ryou came out after them, holding his sword proudly in front of him, and stopped just short of the throne, where Sith stood, Mello beside her. Silence fell over the entire room. Ryou looked at Mello, and they both nodded. Ryou walked to where Katt was, and they glanced at each other briefly. Bakura noted that, for some insane reason, Ryou was perfectly calm. In fact, he looked almost relieved. He raised his sword up, its blue blade shimmering slightly, and pointed it to Sith.

 

“All bow to the Queen of Nesce,” he said, and everyone from Sith's court knelt down, save for Mello. Bakura tilted his head curiously, wondering what actually transpired in the small inner room. But Yami seemed to have figured it out. He just smiled approvingly. Ryou turned to Sith, looking for a sign of approval, and Sith gave it. She smiled, and gestured for them all to rise. They did so.

 

“Couriers and friends, I would like to introduce, after three thousand years of countless peril and ruthless tyranny, the new king of Aeroglyph,” she pointed to Mello, who smiled genuinely, “And the new knight of Aeroglyph.” She pointed to Ryou, and Bakura now saw why Ryou wasn't upset. He was still part of Sith's life, though what that now entailed, Bakura didn't know yet. Ryou just grinned, and walked back to Sith's left right side, Mello standing to her left. Bakura couldn't help but chuckle. So Sith found a way to make them both happy; Mello would marry her, and Ryou would be able to visit her now. And though it wouldn't be the same for him anymore, he'd still have Sith in his life as a friend. And silently, Bakura knew that's how it actually was all along, when put into perspective. All around, the court that had accompanied Sith cheered, and even Malik was clapping, though he did feel bad for Ryou. The cheering went on for a few moments, and then this time Mello acted. He clapped loudly, and the room fell silent. Ryou was surprised at the authority he held. He just hoped the man wouldn't abuse it. But, Mello seemed smart enough not to. Besides, Ryou reminded himself with a snicker, Mello had Sith to keep him in line. And she was good at that.

 

“All right, all right, that's enough,” Mello said flatly, “We have a ceremony to attend to. I feel we should leave at once.” He glanced at Sith to see if she had any objection. She just smiled. Ryou walked in front, leading the precession out of the chamber as Sith and Mello walked behind him. Slowly, everyone followed them out, with Bakura running to keep up with Ryou. Because of his connection to Ryou, neither Sith nor Mello objected. Bakura wanted to ask Ryou just what in hell happened to make him give Sith up, just like that, but then he saw Ryou's expression. The boy was happy. For once, he actually looked proud. So, Bakura kept his mouth shut. There'd be time for questions later. For now, they had to get on board the ship and head back to Saint Roris. And unfortunately for all of them, they knew Mello wouldn't let anyone stop Sith's ceremony again. No one wanted to challenge the crazy, gun-toting, Mafia-hardened king, either.

 

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

 

And so, after a long, drawn out discussion, Sith, Ryou, and Mello finally came to a decision that Katt didn't dictate. Now they must get back to the others to finally crown the new royalty of the Esper world and finally set Oblivion right once and for all. But why did Ryou give Sith up? And will he remain in Nesce, this time as her friend and loyal servant? Find out next chapter, so click that Review button!