AN: So, about this – the idea for a multi-chaptered YGO fic hit me a while ago, but with a completely different pairing- Angstshipping - but then watching and reading a lot of the Battle City arc put this idea into my head, and the plot bunnies pretty much had me at gunpoint, as usual XD But I shall get back to the Angstshippy one soon – it's too fun an idea! ^-^

Anyhoo, the almighty and amazing person that is Lantu presents her first Thiefshipping fic!

Ryou: *pouts* Why do these always include me or Bakura or Malik? I mean, you've had Tendershipping – who the heck came up with that name anyways? – Angstshipping and now Thiefshipping? What's going to be next? Bronzeship-

Malik: *Throws a hand over Ryou's mouth* Don't. Give. The fangirl. IDEAS!

Lantu: *Shrugs* I'm not really a Bronzeshipper; I've never got how it could work, because to me it's narcissism at the highest level…unless you have a different backstory for Yami Malik…*grins evilly* Uh, Malik..?

Malik: No.

Lantu: You don't even know what I'm going to ask!

Malik: Still, no.

Lantu: *pouts and folds her arms* It's not like you're gonna have a say anyways…Anyhoo, this is a yaoi/shonen-ai fic, so readers beware! Yeah, it's gonna be heavier than my usual fics…cos I'm in a perverted mood *laughs* Oh, and one more thing before I get killed by Bakura and Malik, I do not own YuGiOh.

Bakura: Otherwise I'd get to punch the Pharaoh in the face each episode? *grins hopefully*

Lantu: No, otherwise Thiefshipping would be canon and in every episode*Laughs evilly and runs off* Enjoy!

Light with the Sharpened Edge

Chapter one – Attraction and Insanity

Malik jerked wildly, almost falling off his chair as he was poked sharply from sleep by a finger jabbing sharply into his side.

"Wha-? I'm up, I'm up! What's goin- oh." He glanced around, slightly embarrassed at Yugi-tachi staring at him from their own desks. He pulled a hand through his platinum-blond hair and grinned sheepishly at Ryou who sat next to him, hand still raised if the need arose to poke the Egyptian again. "I fell asleep again, didn't I?" He yawned in pointless emphasis, shrugging at the looks he was getting from the group. "Still not used to the early mornings, I guess." At this, Yugi-tachi merely shook their heads in vague amusement and turned their attentions to the teacher - or under-the-desk Duel Monsters game in the case of Jou and Honda - who was oblivious to the class's lack of interest.

Malik just yawned again and stared at the blackboard, and not for the first time that week, he wondered why he'd decided to stay in Japan. And not for the first time he asked himself why he'd decided to enroll himself in the same school as the people he'd attempted to kill several months earlier.

He blamed Bakura, for both the staying-in-Japan thing and also for the events of last night. (1) He stole a sideways glance at the boy who still hosted the ancient spirit, although Ryou himself and Yugi-tachi were still unaware of that fact. Or if they did know about it, they seemed content do nothing about it. After all, it wasn't like Bakura had tried to kill anyone lately; and even Malik had to admit that the thief had calmed down a little since the events of Battle City.

A little. Malik thought, Doesn't mean that he's stopped attempting to drag me along on his latest schemes. He rested his head in one of his hands, grinning wryly. Then again, he'd pretty much seen it coming. Bakura was a thief after all – he was just doing what came naturally.

What Malik hadn't seen coming was the fact that whatever gods were out there hated him; as was evident with what had happened after the final duel of Battle City between his dark half and the Pharaoh. After Malik had finally taken control of his body for the first time in what felt like months and given the Pharaoh the final God Card, everything seemed to be going his way for the first time in a long time. And, as clichéd as it sounded, he soon found out that he was wrong. Very wrong.

***

Malik had been unable to sleep, deciding instead to stare at the low ceiling until he was sure everyone else was fast asleep, then slipped quietly out of the door of his room to make his way to the roof-top duel arena of the blimp. He stood for a while just outside the doorway he'd come through and breathed in deeply, enjoying the feeling of the cold night air around him as it messed up his blond hair. He knew he was being soft, but it was just so, well, a nice night that he smiled to himself happily.

Finding his way up to the top of the dueling arena, Malik leaned his tanned arms over the metal and gazed out quietly at the water far below as the blimp carried them back to Japan. The reflections of the half-full moon and blimp's shadow flickered playfully over the surface of the ocean like some kind of dolphin. All in all, it was a pretty beautiful sight. He chuckled to himself, fully aware that he sounded totally mushy.

"I swear, if I'm going soft, I'm going to get my Rod back off Yugi and stab myself with it. Repeatedly. In the face."

He was free. For the first time for pretty much his whole life, Malik wasn't tied down by his duties, or his studies, or the darker half of him that had been in his head since he was ten years old. 'Maybe I don't have to go back,' he thought. 'Maybe I could, hell, I don't know…go somewhere else?' He grinned. Where exactly he could go, he didn't really know or care, but at that moment, he felt like anything could happen, that nothing could go wrong. Malik laughed aloud at that thought. In movies, or books, or generally anything, whenever some poor fool said 'Nothing can go wrong', it generally did. The boat crashed, or the hero died, or the villain came back for one last parting shot...

Malik shrugged off the slight uncertainty that came with that last thought. This was real life, not some cheesy, made-for-TV low budget film. 'Things like that don't happen in real life. He's gone, and now I've got a whole life ahead of me – and I'm planning on enjoying every second.'

So, about two seconds then.

Malik blinked at the half-familiar voice that seemed to come out of nowhere. He listened again, but noting nothing else making a sound, shook his head and sat down by the railings, poking his long legs through the bars to dangle in the wind below. I swear I need to sleep more. My mind's beginning to play tricks on me.

Oh, am I? I hadn't noticed.

There it was again, that voice! He looked around warily, trying to place its location, but to no avail. It sounded familiar; and for a moment Malik wondered if he'd left the mind link he'd had with Bakura still open.

Che. Don't insult me, please. I sound nothing like that poor excuse for a thief.

Malik shook his head again, rapidly this time, and covered his face with his hands. He could feel it, that familiar sensation in his head, of not being alone, starting to press down on his skull. It was as if somehow, irrationally, a small bird or large moth had become caged inside his skull and was beating its wings furiously to be free. But it's impossible… That's it; I've finally gone crazy.

And you weren't before?

He heard it chuckle and flutter around his mind again. 'No…please…'Malik blinked slowly, and looked out hollowly at the once-beautiful sight below. 'Not it. Him.' This didn't make any sense – he'd never been able to even hear the other's voice in his head before, (2) this had to be something else. He bit down on his lip sharply, attempting to distract himself from that feeling of something trying to force itself out of his brain. ' Please, let it be something else, anything but that psycopath…'

"Aw, you're not even going to credit me with a name? I'm hurt, seriously." This one hadn't come from just inside his head…

Malik whipped his head around wildly, blond hair ruffling with the movement he made as he looked up at the creature before him. What he saw standing there was the same warped mirror-image of himself that had almost succeeded in killing off his part of their shared mind and everyone else on board the KaibaCorp blimp. It smirked cockily down at him whilst seeming to look through him at the same time with that terrifying vague gaze. For a second neither said anything, eyes locked, terrified violet staring into hazy amethyst.

The standing one's cape billowed in a non-existent wind, and he leered at the sitting blond whilst putting his arms out wide, almost as if he were asking the other to hug him.

"What, didn't you miss me? What's it been? Days, weeks, hours? The time flies by so quickly when you're less than even a fleeting thought in eternal pain and darkness – which was meant to be where you were going, not me."

He narrowed his eyes at the teen, who had now switched his eyes firmly back on the view of before.

Malik squeezed his eyes shut, hoping furiously against everything he could see or hear that this wasn't happening. He had his head in his hands again for all the good it would do, in a child-like attempt to block it out.

"You're not real, it's just my head playing tricks on me… This isn't really happening…"The other merely raised an eyebrow and once again folded his long arms.

"Are you really that deluded? I'm as real as you are – after all, I am part of you."

"You're not." Malik still had his face firmly in his hands; a sharp spike of pain beginning to wedge its way through his head. "You're not real and you're not part of me. You, you, you're…" He had no idea why he was still addressing this delusion, and was instinctively terrified that part of him seemed to recognize this…thing as reality.

Marik giggled, almost insanely; which was fitting.

"I'm what? Psychotic? Crazy? Evil?" The dark spirit snorted disdainfully. "Like you've not been as bad as me, you silly boy. And as for if I'm real or not…" Marik kneeled by his distraught lighter half, who was still trying to refuse to acknowledge his presence. Malik was close to breaking down completely; Marik could feel the boy's emotions rushing through their once-again shared mind. The hope and happiness prior to this…that had been almost sickening for the phantom. But now? As he could feel his hikari edging closer and closer to total despair as he realized the inevitable was to happen again? That was delicious. "Does it really matter? After all, it's not like you could have truly fooled yourself into thinking that you were free, could you? That that moronic brother of ours and that Ra-damned Pharaoh had finally split us apart for good? They can't. They will never be able to. Because let me tell you this: you need me; whether you like it or not. After all, right now…I'm all you have …" With this, the yami placed an almost gentle hand on Malik's shoulder.

The Egyptian teen jerked his arm away, an expression of pure rage morphing onto his features that matched Marik's own. The other just smirked; despair and emotional agony was nice enough, but the lack of reaction had become a little boring, and he was pleased to see that he was about to get a hell of a reaction from the boy.

Malik practically jumped to his feet, lilac eyes locked once more on the other man's.

"You're dead." He began, attempting to stare his dark half down and taking a step forward. "You died – I saw the Pharaoh get rid of you in that Shadow Game." Unable to keep his voice down to a reasonable volume, Malik's control finally broke and he screamed,

"WHY COULDN'T YOU JUST STAY DEAD, YOU FUCKING COCKRAOCH?! WHY CAN'T YOU, YOU –GAAAAAAGGGHHHH!" The boy's voice choked out; and unable to continue this rather loud outburst, Malik's energy seemed to leave him all at once and he sank towards the floor, once again clutching his head tightly.

He sat there in a blank stupor for what seemed like hours. He hadn't even heard the mocking chuckle that his yami threw his way as he retreated back into Malik's subconscious. He wrapped his arms absentmindedly around his knees and started rocking back and forth without realizing it. "You're not real, you're not real, you're not real…" A confused, self-pitying tear leaked out of the corner of one of Malik's amethyst eyes. (3)

***

"Malik? What are you-? Hey, Malik? You alive in there?" A voice barely penetrated the fog that way the Egyptian's current mind state. He felt himself be gripped in a pair of strong hands and shaken gently.

He flinched away from the contact. This wasn't real; reality had been lost the moment that that creature had returned. Was this some delusion his yami had made to torment him further? "You're not real. Go away…" Even to himself, Malik's voice sounded weak, lacking conviction.

"Malik? What are you on about? Are you okay?" A pause. "Malik!" The voice sounded more than a little worried, before seeming to change to a harsher tone. "Snap out of it, you fool!" The voice's owner sounded like it was struggling with itself before the Egyptian felt an open palm connect swiftly with the left side of his face.

Oh, yeah, that was real enough. The fog cleared enough for Malik to realize that he was still being held by the shoulders, and without thinking, threw his arms around the figure and crushing them in a bone-breaking hug. He didn't care who it was, with the state of mind he was in it could have been the Pharaoh for all Malik cared; he wasn't planning on letting go of the only bit of reality he'd had all night. He wanted – no, needed to feel something, anything real before he finally went over the edge…

Several hours later; the slightly-confused teen had found himself waking up in his room on the Battle Ship with no recollection of the events of last night. He did, however, have a fluttering sensation in the back of his mind, and he could have sworn he heard a short mocking giggle before giving into sleep again…

***

The Egyptian rubbed his eyes tiredly, at that point giving up on the lesson – he could always copy one of the gang's notes anyway. Damn. I'm pretty sure something happened that night, and Ryou has been giving me weird looks all day. Maybe…nah…

……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………

/Yami?/

//Yeah?//

/Quit it./

Bakura would have raised his eyebrows at Ryou's comment were he in spirit form; however, as only a voice in the other's head at that moment, had to settle for another question.

//Quit what?//

He could hear a soft sigh escape Ryou's nose.

/Flicking our eyes over towards Malik. I am trying to pay attention to this lesson, you know./

On the complete contrary to what the Egyptian teen and Ryou's friends seemed to think, Ryou was fully aware that the former thief king had once again taken up partial residence in his body. At first, the boy had been terrified, and rightly so – Bakura had never been a person you could label, however loosely, with the word 'nice'. But something had changed in the thief's demeanor this time, as though Bakura had both lost and found something in the short time he'd spent in the shadows.

The thief had. He'd gained a little more sanity, and managed to lose part of whatever had been driving him to kill the Pharaoh, as if he'd finally been able to pull through his hazy insanity to see things a little more clearly.

This didn't mean that he hated the Pharaoh any less, or that Bakura was any less of a scheming, sadistic, smug bastard.

It just meant that he was a little more civil to his hikari and maybe Malik; At a stretch…

It had taken Bakura a long time to get Ryou to actually trust him this time – the thief had no idea why he wanted Ryou to, but that thought didn't seem relevant at the time; and even now the boy was still a little wary. This was most likely that he didn't believe Bakura's backstory fully, even though the former tomb robber had forced himself to show his memories of his past life, particularly the ones that explained why he was such an insane prick, in an attempt to gain Ryou's trust, or at least an understanding. The thief still had no idea even now why he'd opened up so much to his host, and had scolded himself later for starting to go soft. 'I swear, if I am going soft, I am going to steal the Sennen Rod from that bastard Pharaoh and stab myself. Repeatedly. In the face.' (4)

//What?// He replied to Ryou's statement earlier. // I'm not..! Well, yeah, maybe a little. Something's weirding me out about him.//

/Hm. You're thinking about Battle City again, aren't you?/

Bakura made a noise of agreement. //Something's up with what happened that night. You saw as well as I did what Malik was like. You don't think-//

/What, that his yami could have returned?/ Ryou asked with concern, unaware that the Egyptian in question had caught him staring at him. /How would that even be possible?/

Bakura shrugged mentally. //If I knew that, I would be telling you, idiot.// He snatched control for a second again to glance once more at the subject of their discussion. //Although…didn't Isis or someone say that Yami no Malik was a mental disorder?//

/Yeah, so that could mean…/

//That he'll come back no matter what? Not liking that idea. Not liking that idea at all…/

***

The same instance that Malik had been unable to sleep, a certain white-haired teenager had been sitting bolt upright in his bed, having been in that blank-eyed position for almost an hour. He suddenly blinked, deep brown eyes focusing once more on his surroundings and the half-solid form of his yami in front of him.

"So, if what you've shown me was true…"

//Of course it was fucking true, dumbass! Why else would I show you?// Bakura folded his spirit-form's arms and directed a glare Ryou's way, who shrugged.

"I don't know."

//And if you don't believe me, why aren't you going to the reincarnation of that bastard Pharaoh and giving him my Ring right now?//

This time it was Ryou's turn to give the spirit a look. "Because you'd stop me, obviously."

Bakura growled in frustration. //That's not the point! The point is-// He cut himself off as he heard Ryou mumble something almost undetectable. //What was that?//

The teen bit his lip nervously and repeated what he said whilst Bakura was ranting. "I never said I didn't believe you."

//Then what are you on about, idiot?// Bakura may have just revealed the whole of his painful childhood to his host, but that didn't mean he wanted to be any nicer to the kid as of yet.

Ryou shrugged. "I was just thinking…it explains a lot."

The spirit rolled his eyes. //And the award for pointing out the obvious goes to…the scrawny albino in the corner!//

Ryou huffed in indignation as Bakura sat down next to him. "I am not an albino! I just look really pale and burn easily in the sun, that's all!"

//So you're a vampire then.// Bakura noted, now grinning, apparently unaware that he actually looked more of a vampire than the teenager sitting beside him. Now that Malik was all friendly with the bastard Pharaoh, he'd not had anyone to verbally spar with for a while, which had gotten boring fast.

"Why am I a vampire as opposed to an albino now?"

//Because it makes sense.// Bakura laughed and listed off points on his fingers as he said them. //You're pale as fuck, you've got reddish eyes,//

"They're dark brown," Ryou interjected, but enjoying the mock argument anyway. For some reason he now felt a deeper connection to the spirit, maybe because they weren't so different after all; but whatever it was, it had made them that little more friendly towards each other; as much as the thief wanted to deny it.

//You've got weird-coloured hair,//

"So have you!"

Bakura raised an eyebrow. //And whose fault is that? This body is based on yours, after all.// He pointed out, before continuing. //You're extremely skinny, and you have a fetish for dark and depressing stuff and you've got no problems with blood like normal people do. Ergo: Vampire.// He folded his arms in a gesture of triumph.

"I never should have let you read Twilight…" (5) Ryou hid his head in his hands, both embarrassed and infuriated with the spirit.

//And speaking of which; I'm feeling pretty restless tonight - and I blame you for that – so what about we go up to that weird-ass duel arena on top of this balloon for a while?//

Ryou was silent.

//What?// Bakura snapped irately.

"You're asking me to do something?"

At this question the thief just rolled his eyes. //Of course I'm asking you. You tend to whine when I just take over and do things my way, and you are severely annoying when you whine.//

"I don't whine!" Ryou complained, even as he stood up and made his way to the corridor.

// Just like you don't go around sucking people's blood?// Bakura teased, deciding to recede into Ryou's head before the boy attempted to punch him.

"Let's just go so you can stop complaining and let me sleep."

//Maybe. Or maybe I'll just keep on talking. I do like the sound of my own voice, after all. It's a very sexy-sounding voice, even you have to admit that-// Bakura was once again interrupted by Ryou.

"You're hyperactive again, aren't you?" He asked, as the other teen scoffed inside his head.

//I'm a three-thousand-year-old spirit from Ancient Egypt. We don't get hyperactive. (6)//

"Suuuurrrreeee you don't."

//Now who's being the annoying one?//

Ryou again stayed silent as they finally reached the rooftop dueling arena, just below the platform on which the actual duels took place. It took him almost a full minute to open the door, with Bakura being all of no use to help as he was too busy laughing at the teen, having materialized once more just to annoy him. He stepped out into the brilliantly bright night sky. "Wow. Cold."

//And the award for pointing out the – wait, I've already done that joke, haven't I?// Ryou nodded, only half paying attention as he walked over to the barriers and stared out at the sky.

"We're pretty high up, aren't we?"

Bakura rolled his eyes yet again in a 'Duh,' gesture.

Ryou leaned over the edge of the barrier; dangerously close to falling off and plummeting to a painful death. "I wonder how long it'd take to fall all the way down…" He cocked his head to one side, somehow managing to look both serious and innocent at the same time.

For once, the spirit was disturbed by Ryou's words and actions, and got ready to leap into control of the body if the boy leant any farther. //Uh, not thinking of committing suicide are we, host? Only I'd be severely pissed if you killed us both. Granted, it could be funny haunting you for the whole of your afterlife; but I don't exactly fancy going two-dimensional just yet.//

Ryou laughed loudly, a bright sound in the otherwise dark night.

"No. I guess I'm just being my old morbid self." He turned to look at Bakura. "I mean, I can't help being a little curious what it's like to, well, you know…die." He finished bluntly.

Bakura stared out at the ground far below them as it rushed past, flickers of orange streetlights beneath flashing in his crimson eyes. The thief appeared solemn for once. //You don't. Trust me on that.// He winced almost imperceptibly at a flash of memory. //And I thought coming up here was going to help me feel better. Thanks, Kiddo.// Despite his sudden moodiness, Bakura grinned slightly at the teen, to show that there were no hard feelings between them.

The almost comfortable silence was broken by an agonized yell. Bakura sighed as Ryou turned in shock and surprise towards its source. 'And it just got worse…Nice.'

"Hey, do we know that voice?" Ryou panted, making his way up to the upper platform on top of the blimp that was the Duel Arena.

//Think so. Let's check this out anyways, just to be sure.// 'Hey. At what point did I start running towards trouble, instead of away from it?' Bakura wondered, before sighing again. //I really have gone soft, you know. I blame you, Kitty.// The jab was lost on the teenager however, as they pulled themselves up the platform to see the nearly-crumpled form of Malik Ishtar clinging onto the bars as if his life depended on them.

//What's up with Tomb Keeper over there? Looks like he's seen a ghost.// Bakura chuckled to himself as Ryou made his way over to the clearly upset teenager on the platform.

"I don't think that this isn't the time for jokes, okay? He looks really out of it." The near-albino and thief both looked on in befuddlement as Malik rose quickly to his feet as if electrocuted, staring down a spot just above his eye level. Bakura glanced that way to see if he could spot the problem. Nothing. From how far they were away from the blond Egyptian, neither could quite catch the words Malik said next, still staring resolutely at that point; but both flinched visibly as something in him seemed to snap and he cried out loudly in a voice full of confusion and severe rage.

"WHY COULDN'T YOU JUST STAY DEAD, YOU FUCKING COCKRAOCH?! WHY CAN'T YOU, YOU –GAAAAAAGGGHHHH!" At that point Malik broke down again, holding his head tightly in his hands before hugging his knees tightly to his chest and rocking slightly forwards and back, still shaking heavily.

Bakura and Ryou watched all of this in a state of almost awe; rooted to the spot – or hovering slightly on the spot in the case of the spirit. The pale boy shook his head as if to clear it, and began to make his way over to the other boy, worry etched across his drawn features. Bakura could only wonder 'What the hell?' and follow behind dumbly. This outburst was disturbing beyond words. The whole time Bakura had allied himself with the young Tomb Keeper, he'd never known Malik to be anything less than composed. A little insane – weren't they both? – but composed netherless.

Ryou kneeled down beside Malik, who appeared to be crying slightly and whispering something to himself under his breath. He gently put his hands on Malik's shoulders in an attempt to get his attention.

"Malik? What are you-?" No reply. " Hey, Malik? You alive in there?" He shook the tan teen's shoulders slightly. Ryou's deep brown eyes widened as Malik jerked away from his hold and muttered, "You're not real. Go away…"

"Malik? What are you on about? Are you okay?" 'Okay, that was a stupid question.' Ryou bit his lip nervously and glanced over towards his yami in support, but Bakura was gone. /Bakura? Are you there?/ He asked silently, sighting in relief when the spirit answered.

//Yeah, I'm here. You need to snap the kid out of this and fast before he goes deeper into shock.//

/But what can I do?/ Ryou tried shaking Malik once more, calling the Egyptian's name several times to no avail.

//Simple. Hit him in the face.//

A pause.

/What?/

//Trust me, this will work.//

/But,/ Ryou looked again at Malik. He looked so much like a terrified child caught in the midst of some awful nightmare… The white-haired boy shook his head. /I can't do it./

//Then let me – I've got no problem with hitting people, you know that.// Bakura felt, rather than heard Ryou sigh, and switched control so that it was him holding the distraught teenager. //Just hope that this works, otherwise the kid's fucked.//

/Wha-/ Ryou didn't get a chance to finish his exclamation as Bakura brought his hand around and slapped Malik fully in the face, the sharp snap resounding into the still night air. Malik jolted from the blow; then blinked slowly, seeming to come out of his stupor. "See?"Bakura announced triumphantly "Told you it'd work!" Both watched Malik carefully those next few seconds as he stayed still, blinking rapidly. He turned to face Bakura, and then did the last thing that either of the white-haired boys were expecting.

He hugged him. Tightly and painfully, yes; but a hug nonetheless. Bakura's eyes bugged and his pale jaw dropped open as he stared at the teen clinging onto him.

"Host?"

/Yeah?/

"He's hugging me…"

/I noticed./

"He's hugging me."

/Well, it's only to be expected – he has justhad a traumatic experience, after all./

"That's not what I'm bothered about, Ryou!"

/Then what's the problem?/

Bakura attempted to unclasp the Egyptian's arms to no result. "The problem is: HOW THE BLOODY HELL DO I GET HIM OFF OF ME?!?!"

End Chapter

Notes:

1=No, I don't know what they got up to either, but I assure you it's nothing dirty – that's all to come XD (lol pun.) Let's just say that they robbed a bank or something, I dunno *shrugs*

2=He hasn't; this is only from what I've seen in the anime and manga when they only speak face-to-face, though XD

3=Yes, I'm aware that this seems completely out of character, but if you look at the end of the manga series of Battle City, Malik does lose a lot of his badass-evil-genius-ness. Don't worry; he'll get it back soon! :D

4=Noticed the parallelisms in the way that Malik and Bakura think here? Look out for more of that – there's a reason… *laughs evilly*

5=Yeah, I've been watching too much YuGiOh The Abridged Series, but the joke was too easy to pass up XD Anyone else think that Ryou would make the most adorable vampire ever?

6=I heard Bakura saying a line similar to this somewhere and knew that it was going to come back to haunt me CX

So, there it is! The first chapter of Light With The Sharpened Edge! I'm glad I managed to end it on a somewhat cheery note – although I use that term lightly here – and that there was plenty of Bakura. Because he is pure win :D And I know that Malik's having an Emo-moment, but don't worry – these are going to not going to be often; and they don't really count because it's going to be that Malik can't actually remember his Yami every time for a while, because writing Malik all angsty makes me feel depressed too. XD

Anyhoo, what did you guys reckon? Good, bad, mediocre? Confusing, made sense, whatever? *shrugs* Please, please, please review and tell me what you thought! *Hands out cookies to any reviewers*

I'm not sure when chapter two will be up, because I'm not actually writing this in order. Don't worry – it'll be posted in order, of course!

Next Chapter: Well, this is a romance fic, right? So next chapter we'll see the pairings and whatnot! And more Bakura. Because he owns XD