Tied Together
By:
Mystwalker
PLEASE READ: These are a bunch of one-shots from the world of my Yu-Gi-Oh! fic The Ties That Bind Us. Ties is kind of a multi-chapter fic with an overarching plot, so these are the little funny ideas I came up with that happen alongside the events in Ties. You don't need to read Ties to understand these fics, but you do need to know a few things. In the Ties universe, Ryou's dead little sister Amane turns out to not have died in the car crash, but was instead taken to Ancient Egypt, where she traveled with Bakura for three years and then somehow (will be explained in Ties) ended up eventually becoming an assassin known as the Shadow of Ammit who started taking down the Pharaoh's enemies. Now she's back in her own time (again, Ties) and is living with Ryou and Bakura.
This fic contains Tragedyshipping (Marik x Amane).
Disclaimer: I don't own Yugioh.
XxXxX
Ryou Bakura was used to silence.
He had lived alone for so long, been a social outcast for so long, that he had eventually grown accustomed to it. He grew accustomed to silent hallways, to rooms of the house disturbed only by dust and his passing, to the quiet murmurs from the television set pervading through the entire building—the only voices in the house aside from those in his memories. After acquiring the Millennium Ring, he became used to the silence in his soul room, in the deepest corner of his mind—to the occasional sound of a single sarcastic voice, identical to his own in pitch but completely different in tone.
The silence was a fact of life, and it became, if not a welcome entity, certainly a non-hostile one.
The breaking of the silence was a thought that he scarcely entertained, and never truly imagined. Breaking the silence required another voice to speak, feet that weren't his own to move through the house. And aside from his father's occasional visits and quick conversations with Yugi and his friends, he simply didn't see that happening.
He thought about that as he slipped into his light blue pajamas, staring at his reflection in the bathroom mirror.
He never thought the silence would break the way it did.
Ryou stepped out of the bathroom, drying his hair with a towel. Almost immediately, voices drifted up from the living room downstairs. He smiled and paused, standing at the landing to listen to them.
"Got any twos?" asked Marik's voice.
"Go fish," replied Bakura, his voice laced with a hint of smugness.
"…I call B.S.," said Marik. "There's no way you don't have any of the cards I've asked for in the past four turns!"
"Are you implying that I'm cheating?"
"That's exactly what I'm implying!"
"I'm not cheating. I don't need to cheat to beat you, even at an inane card game."
"Let me see your cards!"
"No."
"Let me see 'em!"
"I said no."
There was a thud, the sound of a body hitting the carpet. Bakura let out a shout of surprise. The thud was immediately followed by sounds of a struggle.
"Marik! Stop!" shouted Amane suddenly.
"Get off me!" shouted Bakura.
"Not until you show me the cards!" replied Marik.
"You're not seeing them!"
"Marik, I have a two," said Amane.
"I don't want your two! I want his!"
"I'm telling you. I don't bloody have one! How am I supposed to give you a card I don't have?"
"Marik, just take the bloody two and get off Kura-nii before the yaoi fangirls beat down our door!"
There was a stunned pause, punctuated by a giggle from Shizuka.
"…I AM NOT GAY!" shouted Marik.
"Prove it," challenged Amane.
There was another moment of silence.
"Ishtar, don't you dare…" growled Bakura quietly.
"What? I wasn't going to do anything!" protested Marik.
"You were quite clearly thinking it."
"How do you know what I was thinking?"
Ryou chuckled to himself, shaking his head and walking down the stairs.
They were seated on the living room floor on cushions borrowed from the couch, cards in hand and a pile of discarded cards between them. Shizuka, Amane's classmate and close friend, sat on her heels, her knees folded neatly under herself. His sister, Amane, stood beside her, an annoyed look on her face as she stared down at Marik. The Egyptian boy and frequent houseguest had tackled Bakura to the ground, and was now reaching for his cards as Bakura tried to hold them as far out of his reach as possible.
All four looked up as he entered, and Bakura took advantage of the distraction to shove Marik roughly off of himself.
"Amane, the bath's free," said Ryou, turning to his sister. "Marik, Shizuka-san, it's getting late. You two should start heading back."
Bakura sat up, adjusting the ring around his neck. "What he's trying to say is 'Get out of our house, you lazy freeloaders'," he said.
Marik rolled his eyes, but he got to his feet anyway, throwing his cards down on the ground. "You're the freeloader," he said.
"I'm supposed to be here," said Bakura, getting up. "You just come in when you like and eat all our food."
"I do not eat all your food."
"I'm sorry," said Bakura. "I meant aside from the things that used to be an animal."
"He has you there, Marik," said Amane, extending a hand towards Shizuka, helping her to her feet. Shizuka placed her cards in a neat pile beside her, smiling at Ryou and bowing politely.
"Thank you for having me, Ryou-kun," she said. "I had a good time."
"It's always nice to have you over, Shizuka-san," said Ryou with a nod. He frowned, glancing at the clock. "Will you be alright walking home alone?" he asked. "It's quite dark out."
"I'll be alright," said Shizuka, smiling. "The way home is really well-traveled."
Ryou glanced outside again, sighing. "I don't feel comfortable with it," he said. "Maybe Bakura can walk you."
"I'll take her," said Marik, slinging his school bag over one shoulder and picking up his motorcycle helmet.
"Really?" asked Shizuka, turning towards him.
Marik shrugged. "It's on the way," he said.
"Thank you, Marik-san," said Shizuka with a smile. She turned towards Amane. "Amane-chan, don't forget—."
"I know, I know," said Amane, waving her hand dismissively and nodding. "I'll bring our project tomorrow. See you at school."
"See you," said Shizuka, nodding. "Good night!"
"See you," said Marik, moving towards the door.
Bakura casually tossed his cards into the pile as the two of them left. Marik turned his head, his eyes widening. "You did have a two!" he said, pointing dramatically at Bakura.
"Now, now, Marik, don't keep Shizuka waiting," said Bakura.
Marik's eyes narrowed, but he turned around and left anyway, mumbling something under his breath about cheating thieves. Shizuka followed, a slightly amused look on her face as he handed the helmet to her.
Amane watched as Marik and Shizuka walked out of the door, frowning. She folded her arms.
Bakura smirked, looking over at her. "Jealous?" he asked.
Amane snorted softly. "Hardly," she said, rolling her eyes.
"Oh, please," said Bakura. "You're as bad as him."
Amane paused for a moment, a contemplative frown on her face as if she was thinking it over. She lowered her arms. "It's the motorbike I want," she finally said. "The boy is a necessary evil."
A short bark of a laugh escaped Bakura, and he reached out with one hand for Amane's head. The girl swatted his hand out of the way, an annoyed look on her face as she ducked under his arm.
"I'm going to get ready for bed," she said, moving to walk up the stairs. "Good night, onii-chan. Kura-nii."
"Good night, Amane," said Ryou, stepping out of her way as she moved up the steps. Bakura responded with a small 'hm' and a nod, turning to pick up the discarded cards. Ryou joined him after a while, picking the cushions up off the floor and replacing them on the couch.
He frowned as he picked up one of the cushions, revealing an unfamiliar red notebook underneath it. Ryou picked up the notebook and began thumbing through it. The words inside were written mostly in Arabic, with a combination of Japanese and English scattered throughout. He sighed, letting the notebook snap shut.
Bakura looked up. "Let me guess," he said. "Marik left something here again."
Ryou nodded. "I'll put it in the drawer with the rest of his stuff," he said, setting the cushion on the couch. Bakura watched as he walked over to the chest of drawers standing against once of the walls of the living room. He folded his arms.
"I've half a mind to start selling all of his crap on eBay," he said.
"I've half a mind to let you," replied Ryou, placing the notebook in the drawer.
"I'll give you a cut of the profits," said Bakura with a smirk.
Ryou smiled, shaking his head. "Going into business with you has 'bad idea' written all over it," he said, closing the drawer slowly. "I'll remind Marik politely when he comes back."
"Like that will work," said Bakura.
Ryou turned around, watching as Bakura began picking up discarded items and tossing them aside. Amane's coat, a couple of colored pencils, candy bar wrappers. The house certainly seemed to get messier as more people passed through it, however, Ryou found that he didn't mind the change.
He found that he was smiling in spite of himself.
Bakura frowned, looking over at Ryou.
"What are you smiling at?" he asked.
Ryou shook his head. "I was just thinking how nice it is to have so much excitement around here," he said.
Bakura's frown deepened, and he looked Ryou over. At length, he sighed. "Bed," he said, jerking his thumb towards the stairs. "You're starting to get all sickeningly sentimental on me."
Ryou chuckled. "I suppose I should," he said. "Wouldn't want you getting sick from an overdose of feeling."
"Glad you see it my way," said Bakura, smirking as he turned away and continued picking up the discarded cards.
"Good night, Yami," said Ryou, walking up the steps.
He was halfway up the stairs when he heard it. It was quiet, and it was laced with condescension in typical Bakura fashion, but it was spoken nonetheless.
"Good night, landlord."
Ryou smiled slightly to himself as he walked into his room.