Rock Bottom: Season Two

Honest

"Ryou, are you alright?"

"I think he passed out."

Ryou could hear the voices of his friends, but he couldn't open his eyes. His limbs felt heavy, and he wasn't sure he could move them if he tried.

"Is Ryou going to be okay?" That was Mokuba's voice, full of concern and hope.

Careful hands found their way around him, and in a few moments, Ryou was being lifted off the ground. Another's hands tucked his limp arms in against his chest so that they no longer dangled loosely.

"He's going to be fine, he probably just needs rest."

Ryou could hear Seto's voice through the chest his ear was pressed to as they started to move, presumably towards the elevator.

"I hope he recovers in time for the semifinals."

"I hope so too. Those will be quite something, won't they?"

Even while being carried, Ryou could feel the slight shift as the elevator began to descend.

"I'm sure Seth is going to have a lot to say when you two finally face off against Noah."

"Joey–" There was a warning in the brunette's voice, but it was too late.

"Who's Seth?" Mokuba asked, and Ryou felt the full weight of Seto's sigh.

"I'll tell you about it later, Mokuba."

Ryou smiled a little as he pictured Seto glaring at Joey for his verbal slip-up.

"How much later?"

"When we get home after this tournament, I'll tell you about it." Seto sighed again.

"Sorry, I forgot he didn't know about that." Joey sounded truly apologetic.

"There's a lot of things I already have to explain to him, like the Millennium Items and the Pharaoh. It's fine, it's just one more thing."

The way Seto's hold on Ryou tightened told him it wasn't fine at all. Yet again, Ryou was forced to question the burdens his friend carried.

The silence that followed made Ryou curious. He tried opening his eyes again, and this time they obeyed.

Ryou couldn't see Seto's face, but he could see the look of apologetic concern in Joey's soft brown eyes. It reminded Ryou that Joey knew more of Seto's secrets than he did, and he couldn't suppress the pang of jealousy that he felt. Hadn't he been Seto's friend much longer than Joey? Hadn't he earned the same trust?

"Hey, he's awake." Joey smiled down at Ryou now. "How ya feelin', buddy?"

"Very tired." Ryou moved one arm experimentally as they exited the elevator and found that he was able to move it with almost no trouble. "The Spirit tried to take me with him."

"To the Shadow Realm?" Seto asked.

"Yeah." Ryou dropped his arm back to his chest. "But that wasn't part of the deal, so I guess the magic didn't let him take me."

"That's not how that works."

Seto's words were confident enough that Ryou tipped his head back, again trying to get a look at his face. What made him so sure? Seth?

"There was nothing in the deal about you, so you staying with us is thanks entirely to your own strength. You fought him, and you won."

Ryou could feel himself start to blush. Seto was praising him, in his own way.

"At least I have one victory over him. It's better than nothing."

He let that sink in for a moment.

"You can put me down now, Seto, I'm fine. I can walk on my own."