[Ryou's fingers close around the cup, to hold it steady, but the more Atem talks, the more Atem looks at him like that, the harder it is to keep his own hand from shaking.

This is...really what Atem thinks. This is what he's been holding inside, all this time, no matter what Ryou does. His suffering...it's all part of the game.

It's a game to him.

Rules.

Ryou is just a focal point for the rules to be broken, is what Atem's saying. No, not just that.

Atem is saying something else. Something that, at the end of his frantic tirade, makes Ryou's cup drop like a stone, spilling blood and hot chocolate all over the floor. Atem's cup follows soon after. Ryou sit there, stares at Atem with eyes so wide they're nearly circular, and his tail...it's glowing white, twined with orange.

Even though Atem looks fit to burst into tears...Ryou doesn't reach out. He can tell when he's not wanted.]

...I...I see.

[He says the words calmly, so lightly that Atem can likely barely hear them, but for his unnatural minotaur ears.]

So. It was only your sacrifice, then. Not mine. Nothing I've done, to try and help, to try and be better, and stronger...none of that matters, because I'm at the center of a game that you've decided you can't win.

[Ryou smiles, a painful, twitching rictus that looks just as uncomfortable as it feels.]

It was kind of you to lie, Atem. But you can't have it both ways. You can't tell me it's not my fault, and then blame me, for being me.

[He stands at his full height and whereas he might typically have wrapped his arms around himself, to try and protect himself, or derive some level of comfort...Ryou doesn't do that now. Instead, he leans in, and one hand flattens against the bed. His face warps, overtaken by shadows, turning into a paltry but still aggressive looking clone of his fog form's head.]

I guess if I was a better puppet then maybe you could play your game better. But I'm not a puppet.

And I didn't need you to stay around just to protect me.

I love you. Unconditionally. I gave you my heart, I gave you so much of myself, and did whatever I could to try and take care of you whenever you were hurt. But then, the only moves that mattered were the ones centered around the main player.

You're player one. You've always been player one.

[He leans in closer, uncomfortably so...then the monster fades back, leaving only Ryou's face, teeth gritted so hard that Atem might hear them grind together.]

None of it meant anything to you, did it? Ever since we argued back then, I've done everything I could to correct behaviors that were wrong, and put undue weight on you because I was leaning too hard. I've been changing, I've been relying on other friends, I've been growing into my own power, realizing it for what it is.

And yet here you are, telling me that because I was powerless against torture, because I couldn't defend myself, that my pain is, somehow, proof positive that I can never be trusted, never be helped, and that your efforts were useless, is that right?

[He shakes his head, pulls back, and simply laughs. It builds, into uncontrollable hysterics not unlike someone else Atem might know. Perhaps Ryou Bakura is not entirely different from his spirit after all.]

Hhhah...h-haha...H-HAHAHAHAAAAA!!

Well then, I suppose there's nothing for it, is there? You can't be around such an unfortunate person! S-sorry to waste your time, Atem! Sorry to have wasted it with my feelings, and my love for you, if it was only going to become a disadvantage to you!

[Ryou takes several long steps back, looking the part of an eerie specter despite how solid he truly is right now. His shadow aura is forbidding. It has been almost the entire time he's spoken after Atem's admissions.

He doesn't want to be touched either, and he'll punish any attempts.]

Answer me this. Honestly, if you would.

Was this all a game to you? Us? Has it always been? Is that how you quantify us?