Wow. Um... Never thought I'd be saying this, but here's my entry for the final round! It's Yuumeishipping, and I won't lie, this was very hard to write. But after freaking out three times (one of those times I did throw a cushion at my computer... I was a bit stressed!) starting to write this four times and then starting again, and a few very late nights, here is the finished product! I gave it my best shot (although it could probably do with a few more proofreads- I just don't have time!) and I hope you all enjoy it- this has completely taken over my life for the last week, and I've become rather attached to it! I've been so busy I haven't had time to read Duck's entry yet... *collapses*

Warnings: AU, light shounen-ai and the most confusing pairing the world has ever seen. (Yuugi x Yami x Bakura x Ryou x Marik x Malik)

Anyway, just to say that this contest has been a really amazing experience and I hope I did the final pairing justice. Thanks for putting up with my weird and crazy stories for 12 rounds! *hugs*

There is love of course. And then there's life, its enemy - Jean Anouilh

It would be so easy to say that it wasn't his fault.

So easy to just turn away and argue that he hadn't asked for it, that it was them, that that it was all their doing.

But that would be a lie.

And if there was one thing Ryou was tired of, it was lies.

It all started with the challenge. It was a stupid, stupid challenge, and if he was honest with himself he had only taken it because he had needed to do something stupid, he had needed to do something crazy. And because you just didn't argue with Ryuuji Otogi when he put his mind to something. Ryou had learned that a long time ago.

Unsurprisingly, it was Otogi that had come up with the whole scheme.

"How about a bet, Ryou?" he had laughed, mischief sparkling in his eyes, "I bet you that you can't get someone to fall in love with you in one month."

Ryou had merely raised an eyebrow, smiled and moved a chess piece on the board in front of them. "One month?"

Otogi had grinned. "Yep. One month. Find someone, date them, and make them fall in love with you. Think you can do it?"

Ryou shrugged, and chewed on his lip. "I don't know. I don't really want to, to be honest. Seems kind of… shallow."

Otogi's eyes had glinted, and Ryou should have known at that point that things were going to take a turn for the worse. "If you prove me wrong I'll give you what you most desire," he returned, offhandedly as he pretended to study the chess board.

Ryou shot him a look. "And that would be…?"

Otogi leaned forward and hissed seductively in his ear. "Wouldn't it be nice if your sister could come home again, just for one day?"

Ryou had whipped his head around and stared, horror struck, at Otogi. "You… you can't," he had whispered. "It's against the rules, Otogi."

Otogi had leaned back in his chair, and smirked, inspecting his fingernails. "You're forgetting, Ryou sweetheart, that I make up the rules. And I want to play a game with you. Do you accept?" he peered at Ryou intently over his fingers.

Ryou had swallowed. "And if I lose?"

"The usual punishment would follow, of course."

Ryou paused for a long moment. Finally: "Do I have a choice?" he had asked, hoarsely.

Otogi's smirk widened, revealing slightly pointed front teeth. "Not really."

Ryou had sighed, and mentally prepared himself for yet another one of Otogi's crazy games. "Fine then. I accept."

Otogi clapped his hands and laughed like a little child a Christmas, his mood changing so abruptly it would have caught Ryou off-guard. At least, it would have if he hadn't been dealing with Otogi's mood swings for twelve years now. "Oh, I knew you'd play my game with me! This is going to be so much fun!"

Ryou had smiled, half-heartedly, watching with a sinking heart as Otogi glanced back at the forgotten chess board, and moved his knight with a dismissive motion.

"Checkmate."

"Hey, Ryou, wait for me!" Ryou turned to see Malik running up behind him, looking like he had just rolled out of bed. (Which, knowing Malik, he probably had.)

"Hi," Ryou mumbled, still in a daze from his talk with Otogi. How the hell was he supposed to do this?

Malik frowned as he ran his fingers carelessly through his hair. "What's wrong? Otogi being a total brat as usual?"

Ryou chuckled under his breath as they continued to walk along the palace corridor. "Yeah, well. You know Otogi."

Malik snorted as he tugged his bag over his shoulder more comfortably. "Yes, unfortunately. So what did he do this time?"

Ryou paused to look out of one of the many large windows that lined the hallways of the Otogi family Mansion (one of many) out onto the wide lawns, where he could see the tiny figures of the gardeners working away in the distance.

"He just… He just asked me to do something. You know, play a game with him," Ryou replied eventually, avoiding Malik's eyes in case he blushed. He was ashamed of the fact that he'd accepted this challenge, a challenge that was just so Otogi, a challenge that would almost certainly involve someone getting hurt.

And he was most ashamed of the selfish reasons he had for accepting it, the reasons that were just so not Ryou.

"Poor you. I still can't imagine why the hell you put up with him, Ryou," Malik said, sympathetically shaking his head.

Ryou sighed. "I told you, my father made a deal with his father years and years ago. I just have to look after him. He's not used to this country; I have to make sure he doesn't do anything stupid."

"Well you've failed dramatically in that area," Malik chuckled, as they passed the heavily armed security guards that were stationed at the gate, nodding politely to them as they passed. The guards recognised them; both Ryou and Malik were regular visitors to the mansion, what with Malik's sister working in the renowned Fortune Library that the Otogis owned, and Ryou spending so much time with the heir himself.

Ryou elbowed his friend in the ribs, mock-angrily. "Shut up. He probably gets lonely, he never gets to see anyone else you know."

"I don't get why he can't just go to a normal school and make friends like everyone else does," Malik grumbled, as they continued to wander down the lane towards Domino city. "I know his father's the Lord of the Domino region and all, but why does that affect his son?"

Ryou fell silent, feeling slightly uncomfortable. They always seemed to end up on this topic. Malik was a naturally curious person and, even if he didn't want to admit it, the mystery that surrounded Ryuuji Otogi fascinated him.

But Malik couldn't be allowed to get too close to Otogi, because if that happened then he might discover the truth, and then Ryou would have to lose the most important person to him in the world, because no-one was allowed to know the truth.

(Ryou had learned that a long time ago as well).

"Hey, you going to that gaming convention thing later?" Malik asked, reaching into his bag, pulling out two apples and handing one to Ryou. Ryou shrugged; games were an important part of their school syllabus. After all, their King was a gamer at heart, and their realm's history was built on a foundation of dice, cards and board games.

"Yeah, I guess so. The teachers said it would be useful for the exams next year."

"Bet Yuugi's looking forward to it," Malik said through a mouthful of apple.

"Yeah, he is," Ryou smiled, polishing his apple absentmindedly on his shirt. "You?"

"Mhmm. I suppose. Oh, and I heard those specialist schools are going to be sending a couple of 'their best students' to the convention. And you know they always send the same ones, so it'll be another evening of listening to Seto bloody Kaiba making speeches about the importance of strategy and skill- blah, blah, blah," Malik made a face whilst Ryou laughed. "Besides, everyone knows that it's because they're demons that they're so talented and powerful," Malik grumbled.

Ryou raised an eyebrow. "What's wrong with demons?"

"Nothing," Malik amended, quickly, and to Ryou's surprise he started to blush. "I'm fine with them as long as they keep themselves to themselves. I just don't like them interfering in human lives, that's all."

Ryou remained silent, knowing that Malik would reveal more if left to himself. "It's like that guy Yuugi's dating," Malik eventually blurted out. "Bakura. Bad news, if you ask me. There's something really wrong about him."

Ryou bit back a smile, and remarked casually, "You sure that it's not because you're jealous?"

Malik stopped short and gaped, whilst Ryou continued walking into the town, smiling to himself.

"Wh-what- what?" Malik stammered after a few seconds, running to catch up. "You're out of your mind, Ryou! There's no way... I don't..."

"Sure, whatever you say, Malik," Ryou stifled a laugh. Malik scowled and elbowed his friend in the ribs as they continued to walk down the path.

No. Malik cannot find out. I'm not losing him too. Ryou thought to himself, as he glanced up at the other boy. Not a chance.

Bakura leaned his elbow thoughtfully on the arm of his carved wooden chair and gazed into the dark patch of fog that was hovering a few inches above the table in front of him. Inside it he could see two figures walking towards the city, chatting amiably, but the demon's red eyes were drawn in particular to the one with white hair that fell carelessly down his back.

"Such a pity we have to kill him, isn't it, Marik?" he drawled to the wild-haired man sitting opposite him, shuffling a deck of cards.

Marik looked up to reveal eyes the colour of blood and a smile with teeth that were just slightly too pointed to be human.

"He's rather pretty, isn't he, Marik? He would have been a nice little addition to my court when I'm King. Oh well," Bakura sighed, mock-sadly and waved an impatient hand through the fog so that it dispersed.

Marik smirked, laying down his deck and pulling out a small knife which he proceeded to polish. "But we don't have to kill him you know, Bakura."

"How many times do I have to tell you, Marik?" Bakura snapped, suddenly irritated. "I cannot kill the Otogi boy whilst that brat remains alive. And whilst Ryuuji Otogi is in the way, I don't have enough power to take the throne. But if I kill Otogi, his power shall be mine." He stared dreamily into the distance. "With a mixture of his power and mine… It will only be a matter of time until I am King. And what a day that will be, Marik," he trailed off.

"What a day indeed, my pretty Thief King," Marik chuckled darkly. "But you misunderstand me. I mean that it is not necessary to kill the boy for the bond to be broken."

Bakura shot him a sharp look as he lounged in the chair. "Oh? Your spies found some other way?"

Marik took out a small stone and began to sharpen the blade of his dagger. "Yes, as a matter of fact. Apparently, Ryou just has to do one thing and the bond between them will vanish as if it were never there."

"And what do we have to make him do?" Bakura hissed, tracing the whorls in the arm of his chair as if Marik's answer didn't matter to him.

Marik leaned forward slightly, eyes glinting. "He has to fall in love."

Bakura threw his head back and howled with laughter. "Humans are so deliciously weak!" he said, sitting up, his eyes sparkling. "For such a powerful bond, a bond of demon magic even, to be broken by something so human as love! It's almost too easy!"

Marik smirked in return. "He has to fall in love with a demon, Bakura. You know what happens when a human falls in love with a demon, after all. You went through it yourself with your precious Yuugi."

Something flashed across Bakura's face, something that Marik couldn't quite understand.

"I told you not to involve him in any way," Bakura said, instantly angered. "He will be useful when the time comes. Having a human that is so crazy about me that their very soul is bonded to mine... Well, I can see that being a great help, can't you? And Yuugi's pretty powerful for a human. Do not underestimate him."

Marik stared at him with half-lidded eyes, and murmured under his breath, "Well, then why do you?"

Bakura ignored him and continued on. "So Ryou has to fall in love with a demon? How fun. I suppose one of us will have to step into the breach then," he said, melodramatically, before flashing Marik a sly grin. "And by 'one of us' I mean you."

Marik pretended to look hurt, but then shrugged. "I can do that. Getting a human to fall for me can't be too hard; after all, you managed it," he dodged Bakura's fist as the other demon threw a punch at him. "And like you said, he is rather pretty."

Bakura smirked and pushed his chair back, gesturing grandly to the window. "One day, Marik, one day this will all belong to me. I shall be the most powerful demon in the Realm."

Marik came up behind him and pressed his face into the crook of Bakura's neck. "There will be so much chaos," he murmured, gleefully, into Bakura's hair. "So much fighting. And so much fun."

Bakura turned to kiss Marik hungrily. "We shall be victorious. You and me, a winning partnership," he whispered against the other's lips. "And if anyone gets in our way…?"

Marik turned in a one swift movement and slammed the knife into the table. "Then they die," he grinned slowly, eyes glowing red in the darkness.

"Then they die," Bakura echoed, nodding in satisfaction. "Yes, I like that. I like that a lot."

(On the other side of the door, a small figure, that had listened with bated breath to every word spoken, slipped away without a sound.)

The school hall, although it was officially the largest meeting place in Domino, was completely crammed. Students milled around; greeting friends, inspecting the stalls where recently released games and classics alike were described with vividly coloured signs, and a swarming excitedly around the roped off area where large banners proclaimed that in half an hour the two rival champions of the Realm would duel for the benefit of the students of Domino High.

Various groups of giggling girls stared with a sort of love-struck wonder at the life-size pictures of Atemu and Seto Kaiba that stood at the corners of the arena, whilst other students tried to pretend they weren't jealous of the two demon's superior talent and power.

"I wonder where Atemu got to," Ryou remarked to Malik as they leaned against the back wall, watching the crowd. "It'll be good to see him again; I haven't seen him since he went on that grand tour with Kaiba."

Malik nodded distantly, before standing up on tip-toe with a sudden smile and calling over the crowd: "Yuugi! Hey, Yuugi! Over here!"

The smaller boy caught sight of them and pushed his way through the crowd smiling weakly. Malik bounced up to him to greet him in his normal exuberant way before seeing Yuugi's expression and frowning. "Hey, Yuugi, you okay?"

Yuugi nodded, and smiled more brightly. "Yeah, of course. Just… tired, that's all."

It occurred vaguely to Ryou as he watched Yuugi chatter with Malik that his eyes looked rather red and lacked their usual sparkle, almost as if he had been crying, before someone came up behind him and tapped him on the shoulder.

"Atemu!" Ryou said in surprise as he turned to see the slightly taller boy grinning at him, before hugging him happily. "I was wondering where you were, how are you?"
"Great, thanks," Atemu returned, warmly. "You?"

The talk with Otogi flashed into Ryou's mind, but he pushed it away and forced a smile onto his face. "Nothing new, really. Looking forward to the duel?"

Atemu made a face, "Not really. Kaiba's got some new strategy; he's determined to win this time. Should be a long one, so get comfy."

Ryou laughed, but noticed that Atemu's eyes were drifting towards Yuugi and Malik.

"Is he alright?" Atemu asked quietly. "Yuugi, I mean."

Ryou shrugged, worriedly. "I think so. He said he was tired, but he looks like he's been crying. I should talk to him, I swear we haven't been spending nearly as much time together ever since he started dating Bakura-"

Atemu interrupted suddenly, eyes flashing. "Bakura?"

Ryou looked at him, bewildered. "Yeah, Bakura. The demon lord with the estate near the Otogi's."

Atemu shook his head impatiently. "Yes, I know who he is. When the hell did they get together?"

"While you were away," Ryou replied, frowning in confusion at Atemu's venomous tone. "They met at some tournament and hit it off- they've been dating for nearly two months now. Why, what's wrong with him?"

Atemu looked back to Yuugi with an unreadable expression on his face. "I've only had a few dealings with Bakura before," he muttered. "And none of them have been… pleasant encounters. I don't trust him."

Ryou blinked in surprise. "Well, it's Yuugi's choice," he said, uncertainly. "I guess we just have to trust that he knows what he's doing."

Atemu nodded slowly, before turning back to Ryou and saying, "Do you mind if I…?" he gestured towards Yuugi, and Ryou nodded. "See you later."

Atemu grinned and walked off to greet Malik and Yuugi. It had just occurred to Ryou that he should go and save the three places at the arena before all the good spots were taken, when he felt a hand on his shoulder.

"Hello," a low voice murmured in his ear. He whipped around to find himself staring in shock into a pair of red eyes. Not a warm kind of crimson like Atemu's, but blood-red and gleaming.

"Um…" Ryou stammered, slightly scared. "Do I know you?"

The boy stepped back, and suddenly he didn't seem so intimidating. Yes, he had the distinguishing coloured eyes of a demon, but the way he ran his fingers uncertainly through his wild hair was almost sweet, and he was looking at Ryou with a very confused expression, which was (if Ryou wasn't very much mistaken) also rather embarrassed.

"It's me, Ryou." the demon said, awkwardly.

Ryou suddenly felt embarrassment flood him as he recognised the demon. It was Bakura's friend, another demon lord, who Ryou had met a few times through Yuugi. "Marik, I'm so sorry! I didn't recognise you- how are you? I haven't seen you since you and Bakura visited Yuugi last month."

The demon grinned, revealing sharp front teeth and shrugged. "Been busy, you know."

Ryou gestured to the arena behind them. "You here to watch the duel?"

Marik snorted. "Me and the entire population of Domino! I was hoping to get some good seats close to the ring so I could study their tactics, but I won't have a chance now…" he said, mournfully, as they both looked at the huge crowd milling around the arena.

Ryou had a sudden idea. "Hey, do you want to come with me? I know somewhere that has a great view of the arena, and is away from the crowds."

Marik nodded, enthusiastically. "Sounds brilliant!" he said, as Ryou turned to ask if Yuugi or Malik wanted to come, but they seemed to have gone. Weird; I thought we were going to watch together. Never mind, he thought as he led Marik out of a side door into a deserted corridor on the other side.

"You seem to know your way around here pretty well," Marik said sounding rather impressed, as Ryou led the way expertly through a series of corridors and up staircases.

"I've been at this school for years," Ryou smiled. "To get anywhere when everyone starts to come out of classrooms and clog up the corridors here you need to know a few short-cuts!"

Marik pretended to laugh along with him, whilst rolling his eyes behind Ryou's back at how ridiculously naïve the young human was. To go somewhere alone with a demon you've only met a few times before? He's either pretty brave, or pretty stupid, Marik thought, in disgust. And this whole 'friendly demon' thing is not a fun part to play. Stupid Bakura, tricking me into this. Now I have to act all mushy with a human brat. Not fair.

"Here we are," Ryou's voice broke him out of his reverie. Marik peered curiously around the tiny dark classroom they had just entered, which was filled with what looked like electronic equipment. Ryou was standing in front of a glass window at the other end of the room, looking downwards. As Marik came closer he saw that they were above the hall, with a perfect view of the arena not too far below them. The sound from the packed hall drifted in through one of the open windows, and Marik had to admit it, he was rather impressed by Ryou's crowd-dodging skill.

"Wow," he remarked. "What is this?"

"Lighting box," Ryou said, watching the two duelists step up onto the platform. "The school uses it for plays and concerts, but it's locked the rest of the time."

"Then how…?" Marik's voice trailed off when he saw Ryou hold up a key sheepishly.

"I 'borrowed' it from one of the teachers when I was doing lighting for a concert last year and made a copy for me and Malik. Don't tell anyone, we're not supposed to do that," he finished, guiltily.

Marik shook his head, his respect for the human rising by a few notches. Marik liked rule-breaking (he loved chaos in general, really). And he liked rule-breakers. Maybe this wouldn't be so hard.

Ryou had turned away and was watching the duel through the window with interest. "I've never really liked watching duels," he said over his shoulder to Marik. "But Atemu's really brilliant, isn't he?"

Marik stepped up behind him murmuring in agreement. "You know Atemu, don't you?" he asked, quietly.

"Yeah, we've been friends for ages," Ryou agreed. He was going to continue when he suddenly became very aware of how close Marik was standing behind him. He could feel the demon's breath on the back of his neck, and he had curled his hand around Ryou's.

Ryou twisted around to face Marik and found himself once again, staring into his eyes. He opened his mouth to say something, but found that he couldn't find the words. Marik looked slightly dazed as he brushed away a strand of hair from Ryou's face, before leaning in and brushing their lips together.

Ryou jerked away in shock, (trying to ignore the fact that the brief kiss had tasted sweet and had felt really, really good) and backed up against the window.

"What the hell do you think you're doing?" he gasped out, angrily.

Marik put up his hands in a defensive motion and moved away, looking extremely embarrassed. "Sorry. It's demon instinct- when we find someone really attractive we don't tend to think straight."

Ryou paused, realising that what Marik had said was true; he had seen it happen to both Atemu and Otogi several times. "Wait… you think I'm attractive?" he eventually asked, blushing slightly.

Marik tilted his head to the side and eyed Ryou. "Yeah. I've sort of liked you for ages- I've been badgering Bakura to invite you and Yuugi round again for quite a while now, actually," he finished, laughing self-consciously.

Oh, there is no way he's going to swallow this rubbish! Marik told himself. No-one is that gullible, or that hopelessly romantic…

But Ryou's blush had deepened and he replied shyly, "Really?"

Okay, maybe he is. I'm officially a total genius! he gloated, inwardly. This was even easier than I expected.

Marik nodded, trying to make his expression look as innocent as possible whilst at the same time trying to emanate charm.

"Would you like to go out sometime then?" he asked Ryou, faking a tentative tone.

Ryou nodded, smiling, and Marik leaned down to kiss him once again, snaking his arms around Ryou's waist while Ryou's hands entangles themselves in Marik's hair.

But whilst Marik was feeling rather pleased about how well the plan was going, Ryou was torturing himself with guilt over the fact that one of the main reasons he had accepted Marik was that cursed bet he had made with Otogi.

Why did he always have to lie?

Suddenly the door burst open and Malik, with Yuugi in tow, walked into the room laughing, but then stopping short in complete shock when they saw Ryou and Marik.

Ryou pulled away from Marik immediately and turned to Malik to explain, to laugh it off, but halted at the look of hurt and betrayal on his face. Before Ryou could stop him he had swivelled around and run out of the room. Ryou turned, puzzled, to Yuugi.

"What's wrong with him?"

Yuugi didn't reply, just shot Marik a look of absolute loathing and followed Malik out of the door. Ryou stared after his two best friends in shock, completely bewildered by their actions.

"I've got to go," he whispered to Marik, trying not to choke over the words, and hurried out of the door after his friends.

Marik gazed after him thoughtfully. That look that Yuugi had given him… Bakura would be surprised at that. Yuugi had always been so polite the few times he had met had he seemed so angry?

Marik shrugged, dismissing the thought as un-important, and instead congratulated himself on his superb acting skills, and revelled in the good news he would have to tell Bakura later that night.

He ran his fingers over his lips pensively, and felt a sudden thrill run through him as he remembered the kiss. Feeling this way after one kiss wasn't right. And it certainly wasn't Marik.

Maybe, he thought, as he walked slowly out of the room, Maybe Bakura doesn't have to know everything.

The news that Ryou was dating the infamous demon lord Marik spread like wildfire, and the rumours were getting more and more outrageous by the minute. By the end of the week most of the school was convinced that Malik had walked in on Ryou and Marik having sex, and one group of avid fangirls insisted that the pair were engaged. Ryou was fast becoming sick of the comments that people were giving him, some envious, some admiring and some definitely suggestive. He now knew how Yuugi felt after all the attention he received for dating Bakura.

"Lucky thing, Ryou, he's gorgeous."

"Never thought you had it in you, Ry!"

"How did you manage to bag a demon that powerful, Ryou?"

"He's so cute, I'm really jealous!"

The problem was that the two people Ryou really wanted to talk to were avoiding him steadfastly, and even Atemu had managed to slip away after the duel without saying goodbye; in fact, the only person Ryou seemed to have managed to see all week was Marik.

Ryou slumped down on the bench in the middle of the park after school, and tried frantically to think what he might have done that would make Malik look so upset. What was going on?

"Hey."

Ryou looked up to see Marik slouched next to him. He smiled slightly, then blushed, and avoided his eyes.

He could hear Marik chuckle. "Let me guess- you've been tortured by gossipers all day at school?"

Ryou snorted and twisted his hands in his lap. "You could say that."

Marik reached forward and took Ryou's hands in his, rubbing his thumbs in soothing circles over Ryou's palms.

"Just ignore them, Ryou. They're just jealous."

Ryou eyed him from under his lashes. "Of you or me?" he asked, lowly.

Marik smirked and said, "Of you, of course, getting to date the most handsome, powerful and charismatic demon around!"

Ryou's lips twitched into a small grin, and Marik leaned forward, whispering, "And of me, for getting to date the most beautiful, kind-hearted, caring human in the whole of the Realm."

Ryou went even redder and smiled.

Marik kissed him gently, silently wanting to gag at the amount of sentimental rubbish he seemed to be able to come up with, and secretly liking the fact that it had made Ryou smile.

"So what do you want to do?" Marik said, jumping up and holding out a hand for Ryou. "There's a great place on Chance Street, does some really nice-"

But he was interrupted by a voice saying, "Sorry, but Ryou's made plans with me."

Ryou looked over in disbelief to see Atemu standing a few feet away from the pair, scowling darkly at Marik, who looked mildly surprised.

"What, Atemu?" Ryou said, completely bewildered.

Atemu walked closer to them and grabbed Ryou's arm, pulling him forcefully away from Marik. "Sorry," he said abruptly, sounding anything but sorry. "But we agreed on it ages ago. Can't be changed."

A look of intense anger flashed across Marik's face, a look that was completely contrasting to the Marik Ryou knew. But before he knew it the expression was gone, and the only expression on his face was confusion.

"Oh, okay then," he said to Atemu, before flashing a charming smile at Ryou. "I'll see you tomorrow!"

Before Ryou could reply Atemu had started to drag him towards the park gates.

"Atemu, what is going on?" he asked impatiently, trying to tug his arm out of Atemu's tight grip when the demon steadfastly ignored him. "What plans? We didn't make any plans!"

They were now out of the park and Atemu was hauling him down a side street, the evening light casting shadows onto the cobbled pavement, and there were only a few other people scattered through the street.

Ryou suddenly stopped and wrenched his arm out of Atemu's handhold. "Atemu, when are you going to tell me what is going on?"

Atemu turned to him, eyes flashing with anger, and for a second Ryou felt a stab of fear as he was reminded of the fact that his friend was in fact a powerful demon, and that demon's didn't take kindly to being talked to like that.

"Ryou," Atemu growled through gritted teeth. "What the fuck are you doing?"

Ryou gaped- he had never heard Atemu swear. He was usually one of the most polite people he knew.

"E-excuse me?" he stammered, taking a step back.

Atemu threw up his hands in frustration. "You're dating him? Marik? You stupid, stupid, stupid…"

He seemed to be so angry that he couldn't even find the words, and instead kicked at a nearby cat, which immediately yowled and dashed away.

"Hey, hang on just a moment," Ryou said, now rather irritated. "You don't have any right to tell me who to-"

"And just when Yuugi was starting to see sense, too!" Atemu interrupted, as if he hadn't heard Ryou. "I thought you at least had some ability to judge character!"

Ryou paused, trying to make sense of what Atemu had just said. "Wait, what do you mean 'Yuugi was starting to see sense'?" he asked, sharply. "What happened to Yuugi?"

"He broke up with Bakura of course," Atemu replied, impatiently.

"What?" Ryou was stunned. Even if Bakura was just as untrustworthy as Atemu and Malik seemed to think, Yuugi had definitely cared a lot for him. What on earth had happened?

"But that's not the point! Ryou," Atemu took a step towards him, looking intently into his eyes. "Marik is not a good choice. He's infamous for his cruelty and his love of killing- he loves to cause chaos; he gets some sort of sadistic pleasure from it."

Ryou shook his head, fervently. "No, you're wrong," he said, firmly. "I know him, I trust him-"

"Ryou, you've known him for about two months, and have been on what, four dates?" Atemu said, exasperatedly. "He's lying to you! I don't know what he wants, but he's using you for something!"

"And how do you know this, huh?" Ryou returned, balling up his fists at his side with a sudden rush of fury. "Who are you to make all of these judgements? You don't know him either!"

"I know him better than you ever could! He's a bad demon if I ever saw one! He'll hurt you, believe me, I've seen it before," Atemu shouted, leaning in so that he was virtually nose-to-nose with Ryou. "Why can't you ever go for someone that actually cares about you?"

"What would you know about someone who cares for me, Atemu?" Ryou spat. "This is none of your business."

Hurt flickered in Atemu's eyes, before he stepped back. "You'd be surprised," he said, quietly.

"What's that supposed to mean?" Ryou snapped, still rather annoyed.

Atemu looked at him for a long moment, before sighing and saying softly, "Because I do."

Ryou drew in a sharp breath. "What did you just say?"

Atemu, with a pained expression, replied, "I care for you, Ryou. A lot. More than a friend should. And I had hoped that…" he trailed off.

Ryou stared at him with wide eyes, completely horrified. This wasn't happening. He half expected Atemu to suddenly grin and say it had all been a joke, but he didn't, and just continued to gaze at Ryou mournfully, a slight blush rising in his cheeks. A whirl of thoughts sped through Ryou's mind, making him dizzy and confused.

"I-I- I have to go," Ryou eventually said, falteringly, before turning in the opposite direction and running, blindly, as fast as he could. He heard Atemu call out his name behind him, but ignored him and put on a burst of speed.

At last he slowed to a walk, and tried to control his chaotic thoughts and racing heart. Tears pricked at the back of his eyelids, threatening to spill over, and Ryou slumped down on a bench at the side of the road and buried his head in his hands.

In the Otogi Mansion several miles away, Ryuuji Otogi looked up from the book he was reading as a picture formed in the fog of the crystal ball that lay on the table in the middle of the room.

Atemu, with a pained expression, replied, "I care for you, Ryou. A lot. More than a friend should. And I had hoped that…" he trailed off.

Otogi tapped his finger against the spine of his book and smiled slowly. So. Ryou had won the bet.

Of course, he hadn't actually told Ryou that he would automatically know every time someone 'confessed', via an item that, ironically, Ryou had given him for a birthday present several years ago. Ryou always had been obsessed with magic, he thought in amusement.

And if his suspicions proved correct, Atemu wouldn't be the only to fall over the next few weeks. It would be interesting to see how this story panned out.

Otogi smirked and went back to his book. Humans were such fun to play with.

The door to Bakura's private bedroom creaked open, and Bakura looked up, irritated, from his desk to see who was disturbing him.

"Marik?" he said in surprise. "What are you doing here? I thought you were on a date with the Ryou boy."

Marik rolled his eyes and closed the door behind him. "Atemu dragged him off somewhere." He flopped onto the bed with an annoyed grunt. "Idiot."

Bakura frowned playfully as he got up and jumped onto the bed next to Marik. "You mean Atemu or Ryou?"

Marik pushed himself up on his elbows to kiss Bakura impatiently. "Both of them," he growled.

Bakura laughed and stroked Marik's hair whilst pressing kisses along his jaw line.

"I assume Atemu won't be a problem for us?" he murmured huskily against Marik's skin.

"No. I'm fairly sure Ryou is too captivated by my charms to be interested in anyone else," Marik smirked, as he suddenly rolled over so that Bakura was trapped beneath him and continued to kiss the other demon hungrily.

"And are you sure he's not having some effect on you?" Bakura asked him, with a teasing tone as he nipped at Marik's bottom lip.

Marik sat up suddenly. "What do you mean?" he asked abruptly. "There's nothing there, nothing!"

Bakura pushed Marik off him in shock. "Bloody hell, you actually do like him!" he said, disbelievingly. He pulled his knees up to his chest and glared balefully at Marik. "I was joking, but you're seriously starting to fall for him, aren't you?"

Marik opened his mouth to deny it, but no words came out. Bakura looked torn between absolute fury (combined with hurt, but Marik didn't need to know that), and the desire to laugh at the fact that Marik, of all people, had started to care about a human.

There was a long pause. "Look, Bakura," Marik said, eventually. "I suppose I may be slightly attracted to him. But come on! You said it yourself; he's not exactly hard on the eyes. And he's not too bad once you get to know him. Seriously, he's nowhere near as annoyingly cheerful as Yuugi was…" Marik's voice died away as anger flashed across Bakura's face. "Sorry," he muttered. "Forgot that he broke up with you."

Bakura shrugged, as if he didn't care, but Marik knew him too well to be deceived. Something was bothering Bakura. And Marik had a nasty feeling that it was because Yuugi had meant a lot more to the white-haired demon than he would ever admit.

So Marik leaned forward to kiss Bakura with uncharacteristic gentleness as a silent message of comfort. "But he'll never be a patch on you, my pretty Thief."

Bakura's eyes sparkled impishly and he wound his arms round Marik's neck. "I suppose I don't mind sharing you," he grinned. "For now."

Over at the Otogi Mansion, Ryuuji Otogi smiled secretly to himself for the second time as the image of the wild-haired demon lord sped through the crystal before him.

"I was joking, but you're seriously starting to fall for him, aren't you?"

Marik opened his mouth to deny it, but no words came out.

Two in one day? Well, well, well. Good day for Ryou. This was becoming more and more interesting by the minute.

Otogi chuckled under his breath. How many more would become players in his little game over the next few weeks?

And, more importantly, who would Ryou choose?

Ryou knocked impatiently on the door of Yuugi's house for the third time. "Yuugi, I know you're in there! I'm not leaving until you come out!" he yelled upwards in the direction of Yuugi's bedroom window.

He stuffed his hands in his pockets and shifted from one foot to the other anxiously. He really needed to talk to one of his friends, and he would be willing to bet that Malik was with Yuugi.

A heated blush rose in his cheeks as he remembered the conversation with Atemu the day before. Ryou honestly had no idea what to do; he cared for Atemu a lot and didn't want to lose his friendship, but the plain and simple fact was that he wasn't Marik.

There was something about Marik that made his heart beat faster, something about him that made Ryou long to be near him all the time. There was something… dangerous about Marik, something wild that Ryou couldn't quite place. But at the same time he was so kind, so charming. He was a total mystery.

And Ryou liked it.

He raised his hand yet again to knock on the door, but it was suddenly opened by Yuugi's grandfather, who looked at him oddly.

"Oh, hello Mr Mutou," Ryou said, politely. "Is Yuugi in?"

"Um…" the old man shot a furtive look behind him, before shaking his head. "No. Yuugi's out. He's at Bakura's I think."

Ryou raised his eyebrows. "Really? I thought they broke up?"

Mr Mutou twisted his hands and laughed nervously. "Ah well, I wouldn't know. He never tells me anything! Off with you now, I've got to get back to my shop."

Ryou waved goodbye, feeling slightly nonplussed as the door was slammed in his face. That was weird. Yuugi's grandfather would usually invite him in. Oh well, he was probably busy.

He turned around wearily to head towards the Bakura mansion. This was going to be a long day.

Yuugi watched Ryou leave through a crack in the curtain, before sighing and turning back to Malik.

"He looks really upset, Malik," he said, pleadingly. "Can't we just…"

"No," the boy lying on the bed replied, stubbornly. "I'm not talking to him."

Yuugi sat next to him and placed a comforting hand on Malik's, which just prompted the him to roll over and face the wall.

"Come on, Malik," Yuugi said, gently. "I don't want to have to tell my grand-dad to give some made-up excuse every time he comes here. Sooner or later you're going to have to talk to him."

"Oh, and do you really want to talk to him?" Malik sat up, eyes blazing. "He's dating Marik! Marik! Have you already forgiven him for what that demon did to you?"

Yuugi flinched and looked away, immediately making Malik feel guilty. He sighed, and put an arm around the smaller boy.

"But Ryou doesn't know that, Malik," he said, his voice muffled as he buried his face in Malik's neck. "He's your best friend, and he needs to know what's going on."

Malik felt a pang as he thought of Ryou. He missed spending time with him, missed joking and laughing; he missed everything about him.

He missed the funny feeling that he got whenever he was around him.

"You're right," he said, eventually. "Of course you're right. We need to tell him the truth. I still don't know what stopped Atemu doing it yesterday," he finished with a grumble.

Yuugi shrugged and frowned. "Neither. He looked pretty upset though."

He shook his head and smiled, before leaning up to give Malik a chaste kiss on the lips. "I'll just be glad to have Ryou back."

Malik returned his smile and ignored the little voice in his head that reminded him: once Ryou was back in the picture, where would his feelings for Yuugi fit in?

Ryou found himself, for the second time that day, knocking impatiently at a door. Of course, this one was slightly different to Yuugi's; it was huge, made of wood with heavy metal bolts and screws, and was extremely intimidating.

Ryou shivered as he looked up at the huge mansion. It was made mainly of the black wood that only came from Nightfall Forest, and the inky-black stone with came from the various quarries Bakura himself owned. The windows stretched from ceiling to floor, turrets twisted up to meet the sky, and there was a decidedly gothic feel about the whole place. The gardens were filled with a variety of plants that ranged from innocent flowers to Venus Flytraps big enough to swallow a human whole. The servants and gardeners shot him suspicious glares, as if he had no right to be disturbing their master- it was well known that Bakura's hand-picked set of servants would be loyal to the death and were willing to do anything for the demon.

Eventually, the door creaked open to reveal a slightly hassled looking maid, who bowed him in and asked him to wait in the front room.

Ryou sat, nervously, on the edge of the embroidered sofa and looked around him in awe. If the outside of the house had been impressive, this was in a whole new league. Ryou had been in here at least five times before with Yuugi, and it had never failed to amaze.

The room was large, and the walls were lined with huge portraits of Bakura's family, with a gold-edged one of himself right in the middle. Everything about the room, from the thick carpets that you virtually sank into when you walked over them, to the various vases and other such items on antique looking tables that were scattered around the room, right down to the full-size grand piano situated at one end, screamed of expense.

But you would be a fool if you thought Bakura had actually paid for all of this; it was common knowledge that he had been the most skilful Thief to ever walk the land for several centuries, before the King decided it would just be a lot cheaper if he made Bakura a Lord to stop him running around and robbing everyone.

Of course, it was clear to several more suspicious demons (Atemu included) that as soon as the King had made him a Lord, Bakura had immediately set his sights on a position that held much more power.

If there was anything to be said for the former thief, it was that he was extremely clever, and extremely ambitious.

And if Bakura wanted to be King, he wouldn't stop until he was.

"Ryou, what a pleasant surprise," a composed voice came from the door behind Ryou and he stood up, turning to see Bakura enter smiling disarmingly, with his scruffy white hair falling carelessly around his shoulders.

"Bakura," Ryou nodded, politely. "I'm sorry to intrude, but I'm looking for Yuugi. Have you seen him?"

A heavy scowl passed over Bakura's face as he sat down in the armchair opposite Ryou. "Why would he be here? Surely he told you that we broke up?"

Ryou bit his lip. "Yes, I heard about that. I'm really sorry," he said, awkwardly, completely intimidated by the demon in front of him.

Bakura shrugged, dismissively. "I don't know why Yuugi did it, but I suppose he must have had his reasons."

Ryou nodded. "Anyway, I was told that he was here. I'm assuming that's wrong?"

"Mhmm," Bakura agreed, looking slightly bored. "I haven't seen him for a week."

Ryou looked down at his hands, and said quietly, "Neither have I."

Bakura tilted his head to the side in surprise. "Really? But I thought you were such good friends."

Ryou gave a bitter laugh and looked down at his hands. "I thought so too. Neither Malik nor Yuugi have talked to me since they found out about me and Marik."

Bakura smirked slightly, before arranging his face into a sympathetic expression. "Then what kind of friends are they?"

Ryou's head snapped up and he retorted, insistently, "They're my best friends."

Bakura was slightly surprised by the boy's convinced tone. "And how can you be so sure? They won't even talk to you."

Ryou hesitated. "It's hard to explain… haven't you ever had a best friend, one that you know would do anything for you, even if you did something terrible?"

Bakura opened his mouth to reply in his usual sarcastic way, but something about the plain innocence that was shining in Ryou's eyes made him stop and think.

Eventually, he replied honestly, "No. But who would be friends with someone like me?"

He hadn't expected Ryou to come up with an answer to that, but once again the boy surprised him. "Why not?"

Bakura laughed sardonically, and leaned forwards a little. "Because people don't tend to like monsters, Ryou. Not even in your little fantasy world where everyone is good and everyone is friends. Maybe it's time you grew up and understood the world for what it truly is."

Ryou's cheeks burned hotly. "Bakura, you can play the whole 'evil demon' part for as long as you want, but to be honest I'm getting really sick of this game. Yes, I admit that I try to see good in others. Is that a failing? Is that wrong?" His voice had risen steadily and he suddenly stood up angrily, much to Bakura's astonishment. "If I'm going to tell the truth, then I might as well tell you that when I first met you I couldn't find any good in you. I tried, believe me, I tried, but I couldn't do it. But then I saw how Yuugi looked at you, and I realised 'Well it doesn't matter if I can't see the good in him, because Yuugi can.' Maybe you're a monster, maybe you aren't, I really don't care anymore. Just stop trying to make me believe that everyone is evil, because I spend every minute of my life trying to make myself believe the opposite, and it's hard, Bakura, it's really hard."

There was a long silence, where the only sound was Ryou's fast breathing. Bakura sat there wordlessly, with a completely blank expression on his face. Finally, he said, laconically, "Sit down."

Ryou obeyed, wanting to bang his head against the wall repeatedly as the reality of what he had just done sank in. He had just yelled at Bakura. He had just yelled at Bakura.

"Your mother and sister were murdered by a group of demon and human bandits when you were eight years old in front of your very eyes," Bakura began, as calmly as if he was reading a shopping list. Ryou drew in a sharp breath and stared in horror at the demon who just stared right back, completely relaxed. "Your father sold your soul to a demon so that he could see your mother again for one day. He then killed himself rather than live without her, with no thought for you. You have spent your whole life serving the Otogi family, you have seen what demons can do, and yet you still have the nerve to start shouting at me in my house about how there is good in the world?" Bakura started to chuckle under his breath, and clapped his hands. "Bravo, Ryou. You've got guts, I'll give you that."

"How do you know about…?" Ryou asked, numbly.

Bakura shrugged. "I know everything, and anything I don't know you can guarantee that I have a spy on their way to find it out."

Ryou breathed out slowly. "I should have known."

Bakura watched him, his eyes gleaming. After a pause, Ryou stood up. "I'm sorry for disturbing you, Bakura. I won't keep you any longer."

As Ryou brushed past him, Bakura stood up, grabbed him by the hand and said quietly, "For being able to see good in people… I respect you for that. It's one of the few things I've never been able to do."

He kissed Ryou's hand gently, before releasing him and watching him leave the room, a faint smile on his face.

"Can you blame me anymore for liking him?" Bakura heard Marik drawl behind him.

Bakura turned around to see the other demon enter by another door, and walked towards him thoughtfully. "Not at all. He's quite something, that Ryou."

"Atemu! Atemu, let us in!" Atemu heard Yuugi's voice call from underneath his window, as the afternoon sunlight streamed into the room.

He opened the door, and gestured the pair in, blearily.

"Atemu, are you alright?" he heard Malik ask in worry, as he staggered back to the downstairs drawing room and collapsed onto the sofa.

"Mhmmf," he moaned into a cushion. "Dinn't ge 'ny sleep last nigh-" here his speech was broken by a large yawn-"'nd 'm ree tir'd."

Yuugi giggled. "I think that was 'Didn't get any sleep last night and I'm really tired'," he whispered to Malik, who was crouched on the floor so he was eye level with Atemu.

"Well, you'd better wake up, sleepyhead, because you're coming with us," he grinned, poking Atemu unceremoniously.

Atemu yawned widely. "Why?"

"Because we're going to find Ryou and tell him the truth about Marik," Yuugi piped up in a determined tone.

Atemu nearly fell off the sofa. "I'm not going to go and try to persuade Ryou out of this again!" he growled, sitting up and rubbing his eyes. "I've already tried and it was a disaster."

Malik shook his head, impatiently. "It can't have been that bad-"

"Yes, it was!" Atemu interrupted. "I-If you must know I told him that I was sort of in love with him and he rejected me completely in a situation that was humiliating for both of us which I am not going to repeat ever again thank you very much!" Atemu mumbled this very fast, and it took both Yuugi and Malik a few seconds to process what he had said.

"You're in love? With Ryou?" Yuugi squeaked, whilst Malik just stared open mouthed at Atemu, aghast.

"Close enough," Atemu nodded, miserably.

"What did he do when you told him?" Malik asked.

"Just ran off and didn't look back," Atemu said, sighing and flopping back down onto the sofa cushions. "It was absolutely terrible. That's why I'm so tired- I couldn't sleep last night thinking about it. So I'm not planning on leaving this room for a long time. Couple of years should do it."

Malik and Yuugi rolled their eyes at Atemu's melodramatics, and they both grabbed him and pulled him forcefully off the sofa.

"Look, no matter how embarrassing it may have been, Ryou is still our friend- we all know what kind of demons Marik and Bakura are, and there is no way I'm going to just abandon him to them!" Malik said, sharply. "Now you tell me this Atemu, are you or are you not Ryou's friend?"

"Of course I am!" Atemu replied, without hesitation.

"Then pull yourself together and start acting like it!" Malik said, throwing a cushion in his face, and laughing.

"Fine," Atemu said, glaring at Malik. "But if I'm going down you're coming with me."

Malik cocked an eyebrow arrogantly. "What's that supposed to mean?"

Atemu grinned, wickedly. "If I come with you, then you have to tell Ryou that you're in love with him."

The colour drained from Malik's face, and he stumbled back a few spaces. "Wh-what?" he stammered. "What are you talking about?" He looked pleadingly at Yuugi, who wore a slightly sad smile on his face. "You don't believe him- I'm telling you it's not true."

Yuugi shrugged. "Of course it is, Malik," he answered, simply. "It's been obvious since the day I met you both. You're crazy about him."

Malik gaped, so Yuugi continued. "I don't doubt that you like me too, Malik. But I've known all along that he's always going to come first with you."

Atemu grinned and slung an arm around Yuugi. "But why should you be left out, Yuugi? If it's a night for telling the truth, then maybe you should accept the fact that you like him too."

Yuugi blushed bright red, before mumbling, "I don't need to accept it, Atemu, I did that a long time ago."

"Brilliant!" Atemu said, mock-jubilantly. "Now that that's sorted out," he grinned mischievously at the two, "We can go."

He walked briskly out of the door, and Yuugi made to follow him, before Malik put out a hand to stop him.

"Ryou won't always come before you, Yuugi," he said, softly. "I'd say you both tie at first place."

Yuugi smiled, and leaned up to kiss him. "Same here," he whispered, before taking Malik's hand and walking out of the room to meet Atemu.

"Ready to go get our hearts broken?" he said, in a voice that suggested he was either going to suddenly burst out laughing or to start crying and he wasn't sure which.

Malik tightened his hold on Yuugi's hand and gripped Atemu's shoulder for a second, comfortingly.

"Sounds like fun," he smiled, bitterly, as the three walked out of the door.

Ryou traipsed into Otogi's room, exhausted, and flopped down onto a comfy armchair. It had been a long day, and that talk with Bakura had completely drained him.

"Otogi?" he called, sort of hoping, guiltily, that Otogi wouldn't want to see him.

"I wasn't expecting you today, Ryou, I'm having a bath!" he heard Otogi call from the en-suite bathroom. "I'll be out in a minute, make yourself comfortable."

Ryou rolled his eyes in amusement- trust Otogi to be having a bath in the middle of the afternoon.

He was just starting to relax into the chair with his eyes closed deciding to have a few minutes of rest when he heard Atemu's voice, clear as day, echo through the room. His eyes snapped open and he jumped out of the chair, looking around wildly for the demon. But there was no-one there.

Confused, he gazed around the room trying to find the source of the noise, when suddenly his eyes alighted on the crystal ball that he had given Otogi a few years ago.

Curiously, he approached it to see the three figures of his friends moving around what looked like Atemu's house. Why was the crystal ball showing pictures of Atemu's house?

Mystified, he was about to ask Otogi what was going on, when he suddenly heard his name and started to pay attention to what was going on.

"Look, no matter how embarrassing it may have been, Ryou is still our friend- we all know what kind of demons Marik and Bakura are, and there is no way I'm going to just abandon him to them!" Malik said, sharply. "Now you tell me this Atemu, are you or are you not Ryou's friend?"

"Of course I am!" Atemu replied, without hesitation.

"Then pull yourself together and start acting like it!" Malik said, throwing a cushion in his face, and laughing.

Ryou was slightly bewildered; what were they talking about? What was Malik talking about Bakura and Marik for? He glanced back down as Atemu replied.

"Fine," Atemu said, glaring at Malik. "But if I'm going down you're coming with me."

Malik cocked an eyebrow arrogantly. "What's that supposed to mean?"

Atemu grinned, wickedly. "If I come with you, then you have to tell Ryou that you're in love with him."

Ryou gave a gasp of shock, and put his hands up to his face in horror. No, this couldn't be true… Not Malik. He wasn't really…

Ryou gripped the table tightly as he watched the crystal ball with bated breath.

The colour drained from Malik's face, and he stumbled back a few spaces. "Wh-what?" he stammered. "What are you talking about?" He looked pleadingly at Yuugi, who wore a slightly sad smile on his face. "You don't believe him- I'm telling you it's not true."

Yuugi shrugged. "Of course it is, Malik," he answered, simply. "It's been obvious since the day I met you both. You're crazy about him."

Ryou was shaking his head, trying to block it out. No, please no. Don't make me choose, please don't make me choose between the three of them…

Malik gaped, so Yuugi continued. "I don't doubt that you like me too, Malik. But I've known all along that he's always going to come first with you."

Ryou, despite his horror at Malik's confession, still managed to feel slightly pleased that the two were now apparently together.

Atemu grinned and slung an arm around Yuugi. "But why should you be left out, Yuugi? If it's a night for telling the truth, then maybe you should accept the fact that you like him too."

Yuugi blushed bright red, before mumbling, "I don't need to accept it, Atemu, I did that a long time ago."

Ryou staggered back from the table as the picture in the crystal ball faded away to its normal white fog, moaning in dismay.

Yuugi too? This wasn't fair. He couldn't, he wouldn't, choose between the four of them.

Otogi chose that moment to enter the room, towelling his hair dry, and frowned when he saw Ryou, pale and shaking, slouched on the chair.

"What's wrong?" he asked, worriedly feeling Ryou's forehead. "Are you ill?"

Ryou shook his head, but couldn't speak. He pointed a quivering finger at the crystal ball, and Otogi immediately realised what had happened.

"Ryou, come on, this isn't a bad thing," he said, patting Ryou's hand soothingly. "It was so obvious that Malik was going to confess at some point- he adores you, everyone knew that!"

"I can't choose between all four, Otogi," Ryou said, burying his head in his hands. "What am I going to do?"

"Four?" he heard Otogi ask, inquisitively. "Someone else confessed too? Marik, Atemu, Malik…" Ryou looked up to see Otogi counting off on his fingers, before snapping them together. "Oh, of course, Bakura's started to like you, so I guess that's four-"

"Bakura?" Ryou yelped in shock. "Otogi, this is not a good time for bad jokes!"

Otogi looked at him, surprise etched onto his face. "Didn't you know…?" he asked, falteringly.

Ryou stared at him. "You cannot be serious," he whispered. "We've met under ten times, and the only time we've ever had a serious conversation was this morning!"

"You know how fast demons can form connections to people," Otogi replied, defensively. "I mean, I wouldn't say he's in love with you, but I suppose you could say that he likes you… Isn't that who you saw confess?"

Ryou shook his head, dully. "Yuugi did," he whispered, unhappily. "Five people, bloody hell, Otogi- five! What am I going to do?"

Otogi patted him consolingly on the arm. "You don't look at all well; I'll go get you something to eat, okay? You need to calm down, Ryou."

Ryou nodded as Otogi left the room, feeling like all of his senses were completely frozen.

Atemu.

Marik.

Malik.

Yuugi.

Bakura.

Five people. Five people were in love, or becoming that way, with him. Him. The person that no-one loved, the person who's family abandoned him, the person whose own father sold his soul to a demon.

This couldn't be happening, it wasn't real. It wasn't his fault, it wasn't.

It would be so easy to say that.

So easy to just turn away and argue that he hadn't asked for it, that it was them, that that it was all their doing.

But that would be a lie.

And if there was one thing Ryou was tired of, it was lies.

Otogi returned to his room to find the window open and a note from Ryou which read:

Otogi,

I heard something else in the crystal ball. Malik mentioned something about Bakura and Marik. I've been told so many times by different people that neither of them can be trusted, and I need to know why. If it ends up being true, then I guess I was wrong about them.

You probably know the truth, Otogi. You're the most powerful demon I know, but I want to hear it from them. I want to hear someone tell me the truth for a change.

I'm tired, Ryuuji. I'm so tired of it.

I know that there is a bond between us, even if I don't quite know what it is. I know that my father sold me to yours, but even after all this time I still don't know what the conditions of that deal were. And despite all of this, I still consider myself:

Your friend,

Ryou

Otogi crumpled the note in his hand and hurried to the window, staring out frantically after Ryou, knowing that he was unable to follow. His father had put up barriers to prevent him leaving the estate until he came of age, and he would never be able to break them.

But all of his instincts were going wild, every one screaming at him to follow Ryou, or something terrible would happen to his friend, the only true friend he'd ever had.

Grimacing with concentration he summoned all of his magic, and began to try to destroy the prison that had held him for the whole of his life, in order to save the one person that had ever tried to save him.

Atemu, Malik and Yuugi had arrived at Ryou's house to find it deserted, and were standing around at a loss as dusk began to cast bluish shadows over the city, and stars started to appear, winking, in the sky.

"So, what now?" Yuugi asked, quietly.

"Well, where would Ryou go if he wasn't here or at one of our houses?" Atemu replied, crinkling up his nose as he thought.

"Otogi's?" Yuugi guessed.

Malik shook his head. "No, Otogi usually spends Sunday evenings with his father. Ryou would be back by now if he'd been there."

"Then he'll be at Marik's," Atemu said, spitting out the name as if it hurt him to even say the word.

"No, Marik hasn't bought a place in the area yet," Malik disagreed. "Do you know where he's staying?"

Yuugi nodded slowly. "Ryou will be at Bakura's."

"Fantastic. Just fantastic," Atemu snapped as Malik sighed in annoyance. "So what do we do now?

Yuugi shrugged. "We can't just leave him there with them. I've told you what I heard- I know what they're planning. This isn't just about helping Ryou; if we don't stop them then Bakura will be well on his way to taking over the entire Realm!"

Atemu and Malik exchanged a look and they both nodded, resolutely.

"Bakura Mansion, here we come," Malik grinned.

Ryou pushed open the door silently and was about to make his way upstairs to where he knew Marik was staying, when he heard voices coming from the front room where he had met Bakura that morning.

He opened the door slowly to see Bakura sitting on Marik's lap, his arms wound tightly round Marik's neck and his tongue slipping inside Marik's mouth.

Ryou normally would have been shocked, he would have been hurt, he would've felt betrayed, but for some strange reason he didn't.

He just felt numb, as if his heart had already been wrenched out leaving nothing but empty space.

He stepped into the room and waited calmly until Bakura's eyes flickered open and he glimpsed him. Bakura immediately threw himself off Marik into a standing position, whilst Marik, as soon as he saw Ryou, swore and jumped up.

"What are you doing inside my house?" Bakura hissed angrily, eyes flashing.

Ryou didn't answer for some time. "I wanted the truth," he said, eventually. "I want to know what's going on. Most of all I want to figure out what I'm feeling, what the hell these messed up feelings mean."

"What are you talking about, Ryou?" Marik said, in a slightly gentler tone than the one Bakura had used. "Why are you here? Are you okay?"

He walked carefully towards Ryou, placing his hands on the human's shoulders, and, when Ryou did not protest, leaned down to kiss him.

Ryou jerked his head away at the last second, and stared up at Marik with bewildered eyes. "Tell me the truth, Marik," he said. "Please."

Marik seemed about to reply when suddenly the door burst open and he was forcibly torn away from Ryou by an Atemu who placed himself in front of the human and snarled, "Stay away from him."

"What are you doing in my house?" Bakura growled, impatiently, as Yuugi and Malik raced in after Atemu. "Get out of here, Atemu, you don't belong."

Atemu stared at the two other demons, doggedly. "I'm not leaving him with you," he said, eyes glimmering with quiet determination.

"Atemu, don't! They might hurt you," Ryou begged, placing a pleading hand on his friend's shoulder, but Atemu shrugged it off.

"I'm more powerful than both of them, and they know it."

Bakura raised an eyebrow, and laughed. "Not for long. Not when we have him," he pointed at Ryou, who stared back, completely confused.

"What?"

"They're trying to take over the Realm, Ryou!" Yuugi suddenly burst out. "I heard them talking, they're going to use your bond with Otogi to kill him and take his power!"

Bakura shot him a sharp look. "So that's why you broke up with me," he said, thoughtfully. "You overheard us."

Ryou shook his head, pushing Atemu out of the way and walking up to Bakura and Marik. "Wait, what bond?"

Marik looked at him, pityingly. "You don't know?"

"I only know that my father sold my soul to the Otogis when I was eight," Ryou said, trying to ignore the rapid intakes of breath coming from his three friends behind him. "How does that benefit you?"

"While you are alive Ryuuji Otogi cannot be killed," Bakura said, sounding rather bored as if he had recited this story once too many times. "It's ancient magic, and very powerful. It basically bonds the two souls together, and protects the demon from all dangers. If anyone tries to kill him, then it will automatically destroy the human rather than the demon. It's used by most really powerful demons as a sort of protection- but there's one quite significant flaw."

"Which is?" Ryou whispered.

"That if anyone finds out who the bonded human is then it is quite simple to remove them," Bakura replied, expressionlessly.

Ryou's eyes widened, and he felt Atemu push past him, furious. "Wait," Ryou said, sharply, holding out a hand to stop his friend. "How do you 'remove' them? How is the spell broken?"

Bakura shot a look at Marik, who answered after a pause. "The obvious way is to kill them. But that can be pretty difficult, because often they're put under extra protection, and it just alerts the demon that you're trying to murder them, so on and so forth. So the most failsafe method is to make the human fall in love with another demon."

Ryou shook his head, disbelievingly. "What are you talking about?" he said, starting to lose patience. "How does that work?"

To his great surprise it wasn't Marik or Bakura that answered. A small voice came from behind him, and he turned to see Yuugi speaking in a low voice, staring at his feet as if he hated the mere fact that he knew this.

"When a human falls in love with a demon their soul bonds to the demon's. It's always been like that. I don't think it's as powerful as this spell you're under, but I guess it's based on the same idea," he looked up and stared right past Ryou, eyes boring into Bakura's own. "It's happened to me before," he finished unwaveringly.

Bakura stared right back, something flickering in the back of his eyes, and he seemed about to say something before Malik growled out, "So that's what you trying to do to Ryou? You weren't just planning to kill him, you were planning on breaking his heart at the same time? You bastards!" he said, completely incensed, and pushed forwards to punch Marik in the face.

Scarlet fire flared in Marik's eyes, and within seconds the pair were hitting, scratching and kicking each other in a sort of wild frenzy.

Yuugi opened his mouth in horror, and made to go and stop them but Atemu put out a hand to hold him back. Ryou glanced at Atemu, desperately, about to tell him to stop it, to pull them apart before any real damage was done, but the words died in his throat as he saw the look of sadness and anger on his face. He was staring at Marik (who was currently dealing with a Malik who was trying to pull his hair out) with something that could only be described as longing. And disappointment.

And suddenly several things became very clear at once.

'I know him better than you ever could!'

'He'll hurt you, believe me, I've seen it before'

The way Bakura stared at Atemu not only with hatred but with jealousy and some sort of bitter triumph and the way how Atemu had been so convinced that Ryou would be hurt; how Ryou had been too blinded to realise that he was listening to someone who had gone through exactly the same situation before…

"You're in love with him," Ryou said, shocked, to Atemu who turned to him in confusion. "You're in love with Marik."

Over at the Otogi Mansion, Ryuuji Otogi's eyes turned black and he screamed as a huge wave of power ripped itself from him. When he opened his eyes, shaking with exhaustion and shock, he leapt out of the window, ran to the gates and poked a tentative finger through the bars. Relief flooded through him. He could get past the gate. He was free.

The barrier was gone.

Taking a deep breath, Otogi jumped gracefully over the gate and began to run towards Bakura's mansion, his demon speed that had been unused for so long finally showing itself.

Atemu flinched slightly before turning back to watch the fight and saying, "That was a long time ago. It was a mistake, I don't want to talk about it."

"Atemu, I can't let them get hurt just because you're still angry about whatever Marik did to you," Ryou said, fiercely. Atemu stiffened, but he gave a tiny nod.

Ryou took a deep breath, before stepping forward and grabbed the back of Malik's coat, wrenching him away from Marik. He placed himself between them, ignoring the glares they were sending each other. The air practically crackled with pent-up fury; Marik and Malik looked ready to kill each other, Atemu and Bakura looked like they only seconds away from doing the same, and even Yuugi was glaring balefully at the white haired demon.

Otogi, with a pang of fear, felt Ryou's emotions spike through the vague connection he had with his mind. He sped up, terrified that he would get there too late.

Ryou stood in the middle of the circle not really hearing the five others shouting at each other, arguing viciously, exchanging venomous threats. His eyes strayed over the long scratch down Marik's arm, and the bruises starting to form on Malik's face.

"Shut up," he said, quietly at first but then repeating it over and over until all the other voices died away and it was only his cries that echoed round the huge room. "Shut up, shut up, shut up, shut up!" before he buried his face in his hands and tried desperately to restrain the tears that pricked at his eyelids.

"Ryou?" Yuugi asked, timidly, when he had been silent for a while. "Are you alright?"

Ryou suddenly looked up, eyes sparkling with tears, and said slowly, "Yuugi, do you really think I'm 'alright'? I've just heard that my 'boyfriend' was trying to trick me so that he could kill the demon I am bound to protect, I've been told that not only was I sold to the Otogis but that I am some sort of human barrier to protect Ryuuji, and now you… you're all trying to kill each other!"

He was talking quite fast by this stage, and although Atemu tried to interrupt he just waved him down impatiently. "I mean, does it sound like I'm alright? Does it?"

Otogi could see the towering turrets of Bakura's castle up ahead and he put on a final burst of speed. Almost there…

Ryou felt like the whole world was a sudden swirl of colours and pictures and sounds. He was so confused, yet at that moment everything seemed to click into place.

"I can't bear you hurting each other," he continued, as if in a dream. "I just can't. I can't even bear the thought of you all hating each other. I used to think that was because it would make my choice that much harder-"

Otogi was running full pelt down the path that would lead into the entrance way for the huge mansion. Please, Ryou, hold on.

"But I think I get it now. I can't have you hurting each other, Marik, Malik, all of you, because I-"

Otogi heard the words in his own mind as clearly as if Ryou was speaking next to his ear. He skidded around the gargoyles that stood at the front gate and raced down the driveway. Don't do it, Ryou, don't do it…

"-Love-"

Otogi slammed through the front door, ignoring the servants that scattered when they saw him, and dashed to pull open the door to the front room.

"-You."

Otogi crashed into the room with a bang. Everyone turned around in total amazement at seeing him, but he ignored them (and Bakura's disgruntled "Sure, I don't mind having all these people barging in on me, no way. Not at all rude.") and rushed to Ryou's side.

Because as soon as Ryou had finished speaking, all the colour had drained from his face and he had collapsed onto the floor fighting for breath.

"Ryou!" worried cries came from all directions, and suddenly all the anger was gone and it was worry mixed with fear that clouded the air.

"Ryou, please," Otogi said, his voice cracking as he cradled his friend in his arms. "Why did you say it? Don't go… please, don't go."

"What happened, Otogi? What's going on?" Malik asked, fearfully gripping Ryou's arm.

"He just said he was in love. With all of us?" Atemu said, in perplexity.

Otogi nodded, tears starting to make their way down his cheeks.

"So why has he collapsed?" Bakura asked angrily, grabbing Otogi and pulling him up by the collar. "Stop stalling and tell us!"

Otogi tugged himself away from Bakura's grip and went back to Ryou. "It was part of the magic my father used," he began, his speech broken up occasionally by sobs. "He didn't tell me for years, and by then it was too late to do anything about it. Yes, if Ryou fell in love with another demon the bond between us would break," he looked up at Bakura, eyes blazing. "My father couldn't do anything about that. So he fixed it that when Ryou admitted he was in love to a demon, he would die as punishment for abandoning my family."

Bakura drew in breath sharply and shook his head. "No. We would have known, we would have found out…"

His voice trailed away as Yuugi's quiet, choked voice cut through the air like the death toll of a bell. "He's not breathing."

Atemu's eyes widened in shock and he fell to his knees beside Ryou, shaking him frantically. "No, you're not going to die because of me, you're not!" He started to shiver uncontrollably as tears rolled down his face.

Marik, after a split-second of hesitation, pulled him to his feet and enveloped him in a tight embrace, whilst Bakura leaned his head disbelievingly against the crook of Marik's shoulder. Yuugi buried his face in Malik's chest and the two boys began to sob, rocking backwards and forwards next to the pale body lying on the floor, brown eyes lifeless.

Otogi picked up the body slowly and turned to walk away, but was stopped by Malik's sob. "Where are you taking him? Why should we trust you to look after his… his body?"

Otogi's eyes flashed, and he straightened up. "This is my family's fault. It is my responsibility. Do not worry, I shall take care of him. It's the least I can do."

And he walked out of the room, tears splashing onto the pale skin of his friend who lay in his arms.

No-one could ever say that Ryou had been a normal human being.

That became pretty clear at his funeral.

There were a lot of people there, but they were mainly kids that had only known him from school, and several people had never even exchanged more than a few sentences with the boy.

Then there were his friends- Anzu, Jou, Honda, and all the people that had known him better, who sat sombrely, heads bowed, and had tears trickling down their faces by the end of the service.

But it was the six people that made up the front row who were the ones that really, truly cared.

The tanned boy with blond hair that cried silently all the way through, with the smaller boy with multi-coloured hair leaning on him for support, with his eyes that usually glowed with happiness dull and listless.

The taller boy also with multi-coloured hair that barely looked up for the whole time, only glancing at the covered casket once with red-rimmed eyes before he buried his head in his hands yet again.

Then there were the two boys at the end, the only two who weren't crying. The demon with spiky hair and the smaller one with dirty-white hair that was so similar to Ryou's. The taller one kept his arm around the smaller one for the whole time, whether to comfort him or to draw comfort for himself it wasn't clear. But somehow it didn't matter that they weren't crying, because, as Yuugi said later on with a watery smile 'Ryou wouldn't have cared either way'.

All five left red roses on the casket at the end of the service, one after another.

(Which was when it became clear that Ryou hadn't exactly been normal; after all, who else would have not one but five people leave symbols of eternal love over his body?)

The sixth sat quietly for the whole time, ignoring anyone who came near him to thank him for organising the funeral. In fact, the only time he moved throughout was when his father came up at the end of the service with the 'consoling' words of: "Don't you worry, son, I can find another human to bond you to in no time. Don't bother mourning this one, I promise you you'll be safe again soon enough."

Which was when Ryuuji Otogi stood up, turned around, and slapped his father full in the face, eyes flashing, before sitting back down again and ignoring the faint smiles he received from the five boys sitting next to him.

After the funeral was over Ryuuji walked slowly back to his mansion, and when he got there, descending the stairs that wound round and round into the earth.

He emerged in a massive stone cavern, where water dripped from the ceiling and fell with echoing noises onto the smooth stone floor.

Slowly, gracefully, he walked over to the stone block set in the centre of the room, a faint smile twitching on his lips as he remembered that conversation he had had with Ryou two weeks ago.

Otogi leaned forward and hissed seductively in his ear. "Wouldn't it be nice if your sister could come home again, just for one day?"

Ryou had whipped his head around and stared, horror struck, at Otogi. "You… you can't," he had whispered. "It's against the rules, Otogi."

"Of course it's against the rules, Ryou sweetheart. But you forget that I make up the rules," he whispered again, his words ringing around the cavern as he looked down at the body of his friend that lay on the stone, the distinctive glow of magic shimmering in the air around him.

"I'll use my greatest power for you, Ryou," he said, grinning in spite of himself at the thrill of power that ran through him. "The one that's such a huge secret, the one that I should never use apart for when I have express permission from the afterlife, the one that Bakura was so keen to have. I'll bring you back, Ryou. I'll raise you from the dead."

He held his hands over Ryou's body and watched as tendrils of shadow, like black rose vines, coiled over his friend.

Ryuuji's eyes flared black once more, and there was a great flash of light.

And then… silence.

Apart from a single heartbeat. Ryuuji's face fell in horror. It hadn't worked?

No. Two heartbeats.

Ryuuji held his breath, hoping against hope…

Images flashed before Ryou's eyes. People he loved, people he wanted to go home to.

His friend, Ryuuji Otogi.

And the five that he loved with every fibre of his being.

Bakura.

Atemu.

Marik.

Malik.

Yuugi.

'I'm coming home.'

Ryou opened his eyes.

Heh heh. Ambiguous endings RULE!

Thanks for reading! :D

Bookworm