Author's Note: This fic takes place after the events in "Somebody I Used to Know" and "Nativity in Black" and will contain flashbacks to those fics. Also, Yamis Bakura and Malik may be somewhat OOC (so much for my accurate readings of Yami B., eh, Queeny?).
Disclaimer: I own nothing. Yami Yugi, Yugi Mouto, Yami Bakura, Ryou Bakura, Yami Malik, Malik Ishtar, and Bandit Keith belong to Yu-Gi-Oh (although I wish Pooky... I mean Yami Bakura was mine.
flashback
hikari to yami
yami to hikari
"Parole"
by: Aesa Bast
Yami Yugi paced inside his soul room. It was large enough that he could explore its many chambers, but he just did not feel like it today. He had too much to think about... his being told by Isis that he was once Pharaoh of Egypt and how he may restore his memory... his conversations with Yugi and Tea... would he ever really know the truth about his past? He hoped so... he also wondered how much his fellow yamis knew.
Far away from Yugi's home, Yami Bakura smiled. His hikari, Ryou, had promised to help him recover his past and, hopefully, they would become closer. It might be nice to have a friend. The fair-haired yami had to admit a bit of jealousy to the closeness Yami Yugi shared with his hikari and their friends - their cheerleaders. Not even Ryou, a fellow 21st century mortal, was as close to them as Yami Yugi was. Yami Bakura was often tempted to snap at Tea, especially, when she conveniently forgot about Ryou in one of her friendship speeches... He decided to split away from his quiet hikari and go for a walk before alienating him with a mental anti-Tea tirade.
And inside his own soul room, Yami Malik paced, thinking about his hikari and the conversation he shared with Bandit Keith before his inevitable punishment... because of the nature of the conversation, the punishment seemed lighter than it normally would have. Keith had touched a nerve in both Malik and his yami.
"Hey, I may look stupid, but I know what a pawn is. A pawn can become a queen."
Yami Malik had considered all of the hikaris, even his own, as pawns... the yamis were the ones with the power, the hikaris just had truly physical bodies and modern knowledge that made maneuvering in this new world easier.
"You know, Malik, I was always a terrible loser... I guess because I thought losing meant you were weak and I didn't want to be weak."
"Because being weak means you'll be taken advantage of."
"Yeah, but now..."
"Now?"
"Well, Yugi lost to Kaiba, and he was all in shock, but he still managed to get back and he ended up winning the tournament..."
"And..?"
"And you have all those flunkies, you're definitely at the top of your heap there, but you're still not happy."
"I'll be happy when I become Pharaoh and rule the world."
"Will you?"
Happiness... true happiness seemed ever elusive... maybe Bandit Keith was right.
As Yami Bakura walked, he remembered what his hikari said about his family rarely being there for him. He would be there for his hikari now. They had made a good team stopping the brainwashed Bandit Keith, after all, even though the Millennium Puzzle was shattered. Even that had come in handy for the yami, and Yugi did manage to piece the Puzzle back together again in near record time. It was quite impressive, really... Yami Yugi must have been proud.
"Speaking of the devil," Yami Bakura thought, looking up, "there he is."
Indeed, Yami Yugi had eventually left the expansive confines of his soul room to take a walk... and not too far away, Yami Malik was also walking. The three had all been so consumed in their own thoughts, they hadn't noticed the other yamis taking walks split away from their hikaris. Their respective energies should have been noticeable even though the three had not been looking towards each other.
"Yami!"
Yami Yugi looked up... only Yugi, Tea, and Isis had called him by that name thus far and this did not sound like any of them. It was Yami Bakura.
"What do you want, thief?"
"To talk... Ryou told me about how things were between you and Yugi."
"And?"
I'm sorry that you can't remember. It must be terrible not to know your name, your past...
Why do you care?
Because I do... just like you told me, I also want it to be the two of us.
"And I understand. I have the same problems."
Yami Yugi seemed puzzled, wondering why the same spirit who tried to steal his Puzzle and send his hikari and their friends to the Graveyard would be acting so... chummy, almost, all of a sudden.
Yami Malik also was attracted by the conversation and came over.
"At least the two of you know what you did. Yami was the Pharaoh and you were a thief."
"Actually, Isis was the one who told me I was Pharaoh."
"Isis... she is the older sister of my hikari. They do not really get along, what with Isis trying to stop him from becoming the new Pharaoh."
Yami Bakura laughed and the two fellow yamis looked at him. After a pause, Yami Yugi asked, "What is so funny?"
"Us! You ruled over Egypt and its conquered lands and now Malik and I are trying to take over the world!"
Yami Bakura paused a moment, then looked at Yami Malik.
"And what about you? What will you do with the power of the Millennium Items if you gain control of them all?"
Yami Malik blinked.
"Honestly, I do not truly know... I haven't really thought that far ahead. Malik says I'm even crazier than he is."
"Well, I just think it's funny that we're all so power-hungry, whether or not we deny it."
Yami Yugi thought a moment.
"And we do not always get along with our hikaris... we have trouble understanding each other sometimes."
The yamis nodded.
"I guess we have more in common than we realized - memory trouble, hikari trouble... trouble with the modern world in general..."
"elevators..."
"Motorcycles... Malik is such a clean freak, but he owns one..."
Yami Bakura grinned as he thought of an idea.
"We should start a club. I mean, Tristan and Joey get into fights, but they still generally get along. It would help us cope, I think."
Yami Yugi grinned as he replied, "Are you sure you haven't been spying on us too long?"
A raspberry was his answer and the yamis laughed.
"Actually, it might be interesting, but no using this as an excuse for any of us to try and steal each other's Millennium Items."
Yami Bakura and Yami Malik nodded, but the second yami added, "Of course, we don't want the mortals to know about this, so we can keep toying with each other outside the club... we just won't take it quite as seriously."
Yami Bakura mused over this.
"Well, it would help ease Ryou's mind if I wasn't actively trying to take over the world anymore... plus, with all the problems we've been hearing over the news..."
Yami Malik grinned.
"I have it! Let's play pranks on the United Nations!"
Yami Yugi gave him a look, sighing, "I think he was saying he wanted to avoid World War III, not start it."
Yami Bakura nodded.
"We could at least wait for things to calm down and see how we feel then... we're immortal, after all. What are a few years to us? We could use the time to learn about ourselves and this world we've found ourselves in... and who knows, maybe we will want to spend our time with things other than schemes. Ryou always said he thought it was odd that a spirit who could do almost anything would want to bother ruling the world."
Yami Yugi raised a brow.
"Are you thinking he may have a point?"
/If there's some way we can make it work. Yugi and Yami can get along, why can't we? I want it to work./
/As do I... I want us to be together./
"We both want things to work between us... he's willing to do what he can... and you and Yugi get along famously. I want that."
Yami Malik looked up.
"I also want that with Malik... I tried, but I messed things up... I want to repair our relationship... and maybe help his relationship with his sister improve... they are family."
Yami Yugi looked at his fellow yamis. For a moment, they did not seem quite as evil. He thought about what Tea read from Pegasus' journal, about how he was doing all that he did in order to bring his wife back.
"We all want our friendships and family ties to stay close. And if we can let our past grievances drop, we could work together and accomplish anything."
The three yamis smiled and looked toward a future with infinite possibilities.