I don't really have a title for this one either. It's a continuation of Anger Management for the Vertically Challenged, but from Yugi's perspective since he was headed to another meeting after that. This is that meeting. (Note: I haven't seen DNAngel in a while so I don't know if this is 100% accurate.)
Yugi’s other support group was run by a man named Spirit, but he was not possessed by another self. He used his meister Professor Stein as an example of partnership (although instead of being two souls in one body, a meister-weapon duo is like having one soul in two bodies). Ryou was already there, as well as a boy about their age and Yugi’s height with red hair. His name was Daisuke, and he was possessed by another being called Dark.
“Hi, Yugi,” Ryou said cheerfully. “I thought you might show up.”
“Hey, Bakura,” Yugi said, not knowing whether or not Ryou’s cheerfulness sounded forced. At the very least, he seemed relieved to see someone he knew and trusted. “I just came from another meeting.”
“Oh?”
“Uh...I’d rather not talk about it.”
“All right, let’s get this show on the road,” Spirit began. Behind him, Professor Stein was writing their names on the board. “My name is Spirit Albarn, and my partner here is Franken Stein.”
After the stunned silence, Professor Stein sighed in frustration and added, “Yes, it is exactly as it sounds. Only my closest friends call me Franken, but you may address me as Professor Stein.”
The name was not the only cause of Yugi’s concern. Is it my imagination, or does Spirit sound a lot like...? He tried to remember Fai’s and Ed’s voices clearly.
“What’s wrong, Yugi?” Ryou whispered, seeing that his friend was still unsettled.
“It’s nothing,” Yugi assured him.
“You two!” Stein shouted sternly. “No talking!”
“Yes, sir!” Yugi exclaimed, hanging his head.
“Sorry!” Ryou apologized at the same time, bowing his head also.
“To start off, we’d like each of you to discuss how you came to be possessed by another being who has become your other self,” Spirit continued. “And since it seems like two of you already know each other, we’ll start with this one.” He pointed at Daisuke, who nervously stood up.
Daisuke didn’t look as though he liked being singled out. “Hi...” he stammered. “My name’s Daisuke, and I’m possessed by a phantom thief named Dark. It’s sort of my family business. I wasn’t so happy about it at first, but then we ended up becoming sort of friends.”
Yugi and Ryou quickly related to Daisuke, as they shared a similar backstory. The two of them explained about the Millennium Items they each had; Yugi’s caused him to be possessed by the spirit of an Egyptian pharaoh calling himself Yami, while Ryou’s caused him to be possessed by an unnamed spirit of a thief, the pharaoh’s “opposite number.”
“What’s yours like?” Yugi asked.
“Dark’s kind of a womanizer,” Daisuke admitted. “Well, actually, it’s just this one girl, who’s the twin sister of the girl I have a crush on...”
Instead of interrupting with any sort of advice yet, Spirit and Stein sat back and were entertained; they’d even brought snacks. Stein, of course, also smoked a cigarette.
“That...sounds...awkward,” Yugi mumbled, thinking about Yami’s relationship with Tea, the friend he had special feelings for.
“But he steals things?” Ryou asked, confused.
“Well, it’s more of a publicity stunt or a prank. He’s really not a bad guy. There’s someone trying to catch him, but we haven’t really run into anyone aside from the police and one of my classmates,” Daisuke explained. “He seemed pretty interested in me for some reason...”
Yugi and Ryou shared an uncomfortable look; if their relationship was any indication, Daisuke’s classmate was probably possessed by a spirit himself, though he wasn’t there with them. “You should probably watch out for that guy,” Ryou advised nervously, having been “that guy” before.
“Okay. Why?”
“Just trust us,” Yugi agreed.
“Speaking of trust,” Spirit interrupted, “We’ve arrived at the part of the evening where your other selves take over and talk to each other...assuming you can swap places at will.”
Daisuke looked at his watch. “Yeah, it’s almost that time.”
“Sure thing,” Yugi assented, promptly switching places with Yami.
“Do we have to?” Ryou asked somberly. “Something bad always happens, and I always wake up starving or with new injuries to my body.”
“This is a safe environment,” Stein reassured him. “If anything happens, we can handle it, and I’m a doctor.”
Ryou reluctantly let the evil spirit take over his body. “So, Pharaoh, it seems my host has staged an intervention. Is it time to talk peace?” Yami Bakura asked sarcastically, but his facial expression suggested he was in no mood to talk.
“This isn’t about just you,” Yami Yugi retorted. “We all have some issues to discuss.”
Daisuke looked at the two uncertainly until the clock chimed and Dark took over. “I’m here. Now we can get this party started.”
No way! Again? Yugi said inside his own mind.
What is it, Yugi? Yami asked him telepathically.
Dark sounds exactly like Spirit, who sounds a lot like two of the people from the last meeting. Am I going crazy?
I’ll just have to take your word for it.
“I like parties,” Yami Bakura was saying, “but this doesn’t feel like one.”
“It was a figure of speech,” Dark explained, insulted. “Are you daft?”
The Millennium Ring started glowing menacingly. “How dare you?!”
“Calm down!” Spirit shouted, slamming his hands on the desk as a warning. Yami Bakura might have noticed the voice similarity as well, but all he did was glare at both Dark and Spirit; Stein hadn’t yet drawn his ire.
“You seem lost in thought,” Stein said to Yami Yugi, ignoring the kerfuffle.
“Yugi and I are having a conversation in our minds,” Yami Yugi explained.
“That’s good. It’s important to work as a team. What about you two?” he asked, addressing Yami Bakura and Dark.
“Daisuke’s here,” Dark answered, pointing at his head. “I should probably listen to him more, though. We tend to have our disagreements.”
“About stealing?” Spirit asked.
“At first, but since that’s the family business, now we argue about how to do it.” He added with a smirk, “And the ladies. We argue about them a lot.”
“Twins, huh? Nice.” Spirit’s eyes were aglow, and he gave him a thumbs-up.
“Not the point, Spirit,” Stein chastised; his partner’s womanizing had gotten him in trouble on multiple occasions.
Up until the mention of the twin girls, Yami Bakura had been looking at Dark with newfound respect as a fellow career criminal. He’d of course been listening while the first three were talking, but it was different meeting him face-to-face.
“What about you?” Stein asked him suspiciously, remembering what Ryou had said earlier. “Have you been abusing your partner?”
Yami Bakura tilted his head. “Perhaps. It’s an occupational hazard.”
“I’d never do anything to put Daisuke in danger!” Dark yelled, disgusted. “What the hell do you think you’re doing?”
“I’ll admit I do get carried away from time to time, since I’m not really phased by physical punishment anymore, but believe me...” Yami Bakura narrowed his eyes seriously. “Nobody hurts my host but me.”
“Does he know you feel that way?” Yami Yugi asked incredulously.
“I always make him go to sleep when I’m in control. It’s easier that way, so he doesn’t know what’s going on.”
“So you’ve never talked to him, then? What a shame,” Spirit scolded.
“We talked once. Then I started making him lose consciousness.”
“How?”
“Hypnosis. I’m a lot of things, but I’m not a monster.”
“You use him to do terrible things to his friends!” Yami Yugi objected.
“And his enemies. I do have compassion when it lines up with my interests.”
“You’re a monster in every sense of the word!”
“Careful, Pharaoh. You’re not so innocent yourself.”
“How dare you?!”
The other three listened to them argue for a bit, which became increasingly uncomfortable. Spirit whistled, causing the two to stop. “That’s enough. I understand that the two of you are at odds with each other, but think about your partners. Your being here has gotten them dragged into your problems.”
“You’re right,” Yami Yugi sighed, feeling guilty about involving Yugi and his friends.
“If I promise to think about talking to my host-” Yami Bakura grumbled.
“And call him your partner instead of your host,” Stein interjected.
“Whatever. If I say I’ll do those things, I can go?”
“First switch places with your partner, and then you can leave.” Stein and Yami Bakura stared each other down in silence for a moment before the latter relented.
“What happened?” Ryou asked, suddenly awake and in control.
“Progress, I hope,” Stein replied, lighting another cigarette.
“I’ve got to be going myself,” Dark said, excusing himself. “Krad is out there somewhere.”
Yugi decided to walk part of the way home with Ryou. “If the spirit of the Millennium Ring has been torturing you this whole time, why didn’t you come to one of us for help?” he asked.
“I didn’t want to cause any more trouble for you all,” Ryou replied sadly. “It’s just me and him in that apartment, and Father whenever he’s not working. I need to learn how to stand up for myself and control my own space.”
The evil spirit probably wouldn’t let him ask for help, Yami told Yugi telepathically.
“Once in a while, maybe you can have dinner with me and Grandpa,” Yugi suggested.
Ryou smiled. “Really, Yugi? I don’t want to impose.”
“It’s fine. Grandpa wouldn’t mind having someone else to talk to. I’ve already heard all of his stories.”
Ryou looked like he was going to cry. “Thank you, Yugi.”
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