Ryou remained uneasily quiet as the strange group marched through the forest. His eyes never left his ailing friend. The thin blonde was still, his eyes closed from exhaustion and pain.

The owner of the lands they were traversing was also silent, although his thoughts were more indifferent.

'This is pathetic... why the hell am I doing this again? ...no idea if that other brat's even going to make it.' Bakura glanced at the wounded human. His face had turned a greenish-hue, and his breathing was faint. 'Tch- we're going to drag his bleeding carcass all over my lands and into my house- and for what? Humans are pitiably weak- we're going to get his stinking blood on everything I own only to drag his dead *ss back the same damn way to bury it!' The pale demon scowled but didn't voice his thoughts.

The other inhuman traveler was slightly more sympathetic- if only out of curiosity.

'Hmm... human blood smells strange... wonder how much they have? This one's lost a lot- poor thing. Kinda hope he lives.' The blonde fiend was not used to tending to humans, but he made extra efforts not to jostle the bleeding boy as he carried his 'stretcher.'

"We're here."

Ryou stared at the strange house laying just ahead of them- it was an earthen structure, made of stone and muddy grout. The front door was made of wood, dyed sage green with wild comfrey. There were round windows on each side, made of what seemed to be natural glass adhered to dry tree roots. The roof was covered in dark, wooden panels, and a small chimney poked out to one side.

It was a modest but attractive little hideaway.

Bakura unlocked the large front door and allowed his (mostly uninvited) guests inside. Marik set down the litter on the floor next to a wooden table.

Ryou looked over his friend's injuries. "D-do you have some soap I could use?"

Bakura had not intended to help (certainly he'd done enough by allowing the use of home!), but for some reason the boy's doe-brown eyes seemed ready to tear up.

Eager to avoid another crying session, the fiend snorted and pointed to a rough bar of tallow and lye.

"Many thanks!" The youth gasped as he grabbed the handmade cleanser.

"There's a stash of mead under the sink if you need something stronger." Marik casually added, earning a furious glare from the homeowner.

"I didn't say you could offer my personal stockpile as a cure!" Bakura hissed at the other demon.

The human quickly tried to appease the bickering fiends. "Um, that's quite alright, thank you- this should be fine." Ryou quickly set to work using a clean cloth and a bucket of water.

The white-haired demon snorted. He hadn't given the boy permission to use those, either, but at least he wasn't destroying his (formerly secret) cache.

'Looks like I'll have to find another spot- dammit. Where hasn't that blonde dimwit looked?'

Marik, meanwhile, watched with slight fascination as Ryou gingerly tended to his friend's wounds. Once the dried blood had been washed from the tanned skin, it was obvious that the damage was not as bad as it had looked.

Ryou sighed and said a quiet prayer as he worked. Somehow, Malik's vital areas had all been avoided. Though he was covered in long gashes, they were mostly shallow. Unfortunately, the boy did not have much extra fat on his body, so the wounds still opened a large number of blood vessels.

'That explains the excessive bleeding...' Ryou bit his lip as he worked, unaware that both of the demons were now watching him with mild intrigue.

"Will he live?" Bakura tactlessly blurted out.

The nervous human nodded. "I think so... it's not as bad as I first thought. But he will still need careful tending and protecting for several days. I shudder to think of his father returning..." Ryou shivered as he pictured the wild-eyed man he'd seen earlier. There were no words for the horror of watching someone mutilate their own flesh and blood for no reason.

Marik looked thoughtfully at the still-silent figure. "He mustn't be moved for a while. He'll have to stay here."

Bakura nearly screamed- why was his damned neighbor so determined to offer up his lodgings without consent?!

"MARIK-" He started to snarl, but before the furious fiend could continue, he was interrupted by a shyer voice.

"Um, Bakura, sir? I-I would never expect such a great kindness to be without recompense... and I would be glad to repay you in whatever medium you feel is appropriate." He gave a sincere bow while the demon mulled over his options.

"Hmm- well, assuming you'll be staying with your 'friend' to care for him, that will mean feeding and lodging the both of you for well over a week." The crimson-eyed beast frowned. "You will owe me quite a debt."

Ryou shifted awkwardly. "Erm, well, I know that you don't set much in stock by human currency- perhaps I can bring you some valuables from my own home to peruse?"

"As we've discussed, you humans place far different values on your 'trinkets' and such than us demonfolk." A faint smirk crossed Bakura's face. "But, I do think there is one thing you humans greatly underestimate would be very satisfying."

Something about the way he said that made Ryou Bakura feel uneasy. "Um, yes?"

"Manual labor." Bakura deadpanned. "You shall provide physical services for me, such as cleaning and cooking, until you have repaid your use of my home."

"Oh! Oh, that sounds fair, yes!" Ryou gasped in relief. "I am often alone, so I'm well acquainted with housekeeping."

The demon held out one pale hand. Ryou barely hesitated before shaking it firmly.

"We have an accord."

"Not sure you got the better deal there, Bakura." Now it was Marik's turn to smirk. "That human's pretty skinny- I don't think you'll get much hard labor out of him."

Bakura snorted. "Humans are useless for heavy work. I'm talking about the domestic stuff I hate doing."

"Yeah, but aren't you pretty useless for heavy work, too?"

"Piss off, Marik!"

There was a faint chuckle from somewhere near the floor. The three standing males looked downwards in surprise.

"Malik!" Ryou was elated to see that his friend was feeling better, and had clearly been listening in on the conversation.

Although his voice was raspy and tired, the words were still audible. "Ryou- where are *cough* we?"

"We're in a small house outside the back of your homestead."

"Oh." The tired youth closed his eyes again. "Think I'm gonna sleep now..."

"Alright, just let me know if you need-" Ryou broke off as his friend let out a deafening snore.

The two demons were baffled. Marik sounded like he was between concern and laughter. "Did- did he really just fall asleep that fast?! He must really be wounded!"

Ryou sighed. "Actually, that's... really about normal for Malik." The human fought back a yawn of his own as he mentally reflected, '...not that 'normal' often defines Malik Ishtar.' Malik let out another snore, and his friend set about double-checking his wounds.

Marik looked intrigued, but didn't say anything. Instead, the darker-toned demon roughly steered his friend out of earshot and began whispering.

"Hey, Bakura... you sure you wanna keep a human around?"

The householder smiled wryly. "Oh yes. He's quite amusing, and I've been thinking of getting a pet."

"A pet?" The blonde tilted his head in confusion. "Bakura, you don't keep 'humans' as pets. That's 'cats' or 'dogs' you're thinking of."

"And who says I can't have a human as a pet? I don't feel like picking up after some animal, and I want something to amuse me."

Marik snorted. "You've got a point there."

The white-haired demon grinned. "Besides, humans can make decent conversation, and they also don't- ACK!" Bakura's voice gave out as he choked on his words. "What the hell are you doing?!" He yelled and pointed at the alabaster human.

"Hmm?" Ryou paused- he had just shucked off his shirt and was now unbuttoning his trousers. "I'm undressing-?"

"I can see that!" Bakura's face was growing slightly red, while Marik merely stared. "Why are you undressing here?!"

"Oh, well, Malik's still badly injured; and I figured he could use some make-shift 'pillows' when you put him on the floor to sleep."

The hairs on the back of Bakura's neck visibly bristled, and he pointed at the mattress. "He can sleep on the bed! I'm not a heartless b*stard!"

"Oh, good- I didn't want to assume anything." Ryou grabbed his shirt and began to pull it back over his fluffy hair.

"Nah; don't trouble yourself -you can leave it off." Marik smirked at the pale human.

*THWAM!*

"Ow-ow-ow!" The blonde demon rubbed his head where his 'friend' had hit him. "It was just a joke! Damn, Bakura, calm down!"

The pale resident scowled, but was distracted when he noticed Ryou trying to lift Malik onto the bed.
"Hold it." The slim demon easily lifted the injured boy onto the feather-filled mattress.

Ryou stared, forgetting that the landowner had already displayed his tremendous strength when he lifted him from the pit.

"Wow... um, thank you."

"No problem." Bakura gave a dismissive wave, but the conscious boy wasn't convinced.

"Bakura- you and Marik saved our lives. I'm most grateful. Please, allow me to cook dinner for you both tonight."

"Hmm..." The fiend nonchalantly brushed aside a stray lock of hair. "An interesting proposal... but how do I know you won't try to poison us?"

Ryou thoughtfully placed a finger on his chin. "I didn't think demons could be poisoned... how odd. Hmm... but if you'd like, I can take a few bites of the same food beforehand- and then you can watch and see if I keel over."

Malik's hoarse voice suddenly called out from the bed. "Of course, with Ryou's cooking, you might just keel over anyway!"

Ryou frowned and snapped at the sniggering patient. "You're supposed to be resting, so be quiet!"

Malik only gave a crazy laugh. "Hey, tell them about the time you exploded those potatoes at my house!"

The less-injured human flushed as he spluttered back, "t-that was a fluke! I've gotten a lot better since then!"

Marik couldn't resist chuckling along with the nearby patient. "You were right- this is amusing."

Bakura just smirked.