A pair of wide brown eyes looked up at Bakura. He crossed his arms and tried to smile nicely at his hikari, but he could still feel it read as menacing. Oh well. He'll have to work on it.

"Listen. I'm not going to hurt you, silly Yadonushi. Sit up." Ryou cautiously did as he was told, not daring to look at the figure in front of him. He folded his hands in his lap and stared downwards at the floor. Bakura sat next to him, frowning as the boy tried to pretend that his existence was just a dream.

"Hey," Bakura snapped. He waved his hand in front of Ryou's face, then scooted a little closer and leaned in front of his gaze. "Fucking look at me when I'm talking to you."

Ryou gulped and turned to face his yami, gripping his hands together tightly in his lap. "Sorry," he whispered softly. "Um…you have a body now. Is there something else you need from me?"

Bakura began to snicker to himself. "Ra, you haven't changed one bit, hikari. Ahh…well, I don't NEED anything, per se, however I suppose I wouldn't mind getting to know the one I've possessed all these years. Hm?"

Ryou tried to read Bakura's face. No matter what he was thinking, the dark spirit almost always expressed one of three emotions—anger, annoyance, or amusement. He could never tell what Bakura was plotting even when they shared the same body.

"I…I don't know."

Bakura smirked. "You will know soon. I've been far too busy to properly acquaint myself with you."

"A-and you won't be busy anymore...?" He asked timidly.

"I may loathe the Pharaoh and his little lover, but I realize now that after devoting thousands of years to his demise and having nothing to show for it that to try again would just be a waste of my precious time. History repeats itself, they say. I know I'm smarter than that idiot, but he has luck, and nothing can outwit that. I take pride in the fact that I got closer than any one of those fools to taking him down." Bakura looked at his fingernails, talking about death and destruction as nonchalantly as office gossip. "So whatever. I'm back, I don't need a host, and I don't care anymore."

"Well…that's really really good…." He brightened a little and hoped that what the spirit was telling him was the truth.

"Nnn. Bakura scoffed. He was still sour about it, but maybe living like a 'normal' human wouldn't be so bad…at least until it got boring.

Ryou stifled a yawn, and realized what time it was. He's supposed to have school in the morning, dear lord! It was obvious that, at least for right now, the spirit of the millennium ring wasn't going to harm him, so…

"W-well…ah…" He didn't know how to say this without seeming rude. "I have school in the morning, but after maybe we can g-"

"School? Hikari, no. You don't need school." Bakura crossed his arms. "I'll teach you how to survive in the real world." He chuckled, picturing Ryou being his pickpocket trainee.

"But I've missed so much already because of…" He stopped himself, not wanting to get Bakura angry.

The yami either didn't care or didn't understand that it was his fault. "Good. You don't need it. What a waste of time, honestly…"

It was so weird and foreign to be having an actual conversation with the spirit that didn't revolve around demands and threats. Ryou sighed and knew he was too tired and a little too frightened to fight right now.

"I guess I can miss one more day. But I want to go back, so please let's talk about it tomorrow."

Bakura scoffed. "Fine."

Fine?! This was so unlike him, what was going on?

"Well, I am really tired, so…"

"Hn. No fun, are you?" Bakura stood up and began to leave the room. "See you in the morning, yadonushi."

"Ah, one more thing!" Ryou made him stop and turn around. "What should I call you?"

"Call me Bakura."

"Wake up…you." The word 'you' came out as if it was directed at something subhuman.

He felt a light kick at his side. He sat up and his hands as far as they could go, taking a deep breath before opening his eyes. Yami Malik looked up and saw his lighter counterpart glaring down at him. Rishid vacated the room a few minutes ago, leaving wake-up duty to Malik.

"We're leaving for the flight in 15 minutes."

He gave a nod in agreement and decided to be on 'good behavior' today. Even if his goal was no longer to usurp the Pharaoh and rule as king doesn't mean he was a completely different person…good was still pretty boring.

"Let me borrow some clothes." The dark one rose to his knees and then stood up, looking at Malik.

Malik returned the eye contact, considering it in his head before replying. "You don't get to command me anymore. Maybe try asking me for clothes."

He'd just woken up and already he was treated like he was some unwanted nuisance. All he wanted was a chance, why is this so hard? "MAY I PLEASE borrow some clothes?"

Malik walked over to his closet, grabbed boxers, a T-shirt, and a pair of khaki cargo pants. He threw them at the yami, placated.

"Ten minutes." Malik left the room, causing Yami Malik to grunt and begin to get dressed.

When he was finished, the three Ishtars were seated in the living area, waiting for him. Rishid had a rope and cable ties waiting on the table in front of him.

"You were serious." The dark one raised an eyebrow and crossed his arms.

"It's for everyone's safety." Isis replied coldly.

Rishid rose and approached Yami Malik. "Please put your hands together, behind your back."

He rolled his eyes and cooperated, Rishid binding his hands tight with the cable ties and the rope. There was no way even he could break free.

The four were picked up by a black car and taken to a small airport—Cairo was way too public. A private jet was waiting for them when they got there, arranged by Isis calling in a favor from one of the wealthier and more womanizing museum donors. One dinner with a pervert was a small price to pay for the security and discretion (and lack of passport hassle) this private jet would provide.

The trip was uneventful, and when they arrived Rishid cut the annoyed Yami Malik's bindings. The rope left indents and the flight was pretty uncomfortable.

"Now what?" He asked, rubbing his arms and glancing up at the Ishtars.

"We're going to see Yugi." Isis answered simply.