In this chapter, Bakura does the most cruel thing known to man...

Bakura: What? What do I do? TELL ME!!!!

No! That'll ruin the story.

Bakura: Fine. I'll just ask Ryou.

He won't tell you.

Bakura: And why wouldn't he tell me?

I gave him candy. And cupcakes. And muffins. He's totally bribed.

Bakura: You know he can't have sugar! He's ADHD!

So? It's not like he'll kill someone over it. I'm ADHD, and I don't get hyper.

Bakura: But I was told that people with ADHD can't have sugar...

Whatever. I'm sure he'll be fine.

Disclaimer: I don't own the shows. Wish I did, but I don't.

Chapter 7: A Threat From the Past

Bakura woke up in his soulroom the next morning and stretched at his stiff 'limbs'. He heard the television news reporter blabber on about something, as he sat up on his bed. It was a nice bed, with black-red satin sheets, black and red pillows, and an ivory bed-frame. There was a knock at his door, annoying him already as he stood up and opened it, allowing the shadows in his room to conceal what furniture there was.

Ryou was waiting outside it, since he didn't like the way Bakura had his room set up. The spirit knew it scared him, but he didn't know how to fix it so that Ryou wouldn't be afraid to open the door. Bakura half-thought about asking the Pharaoh if he knew how... Nah, he wasn't going to.

"What is it, hikari?" Bakura yawned slightly. The whitenette seemed unhappy...

"No school today, apparently there was some break in and the building is being checked over so that they can figure out how and who. You didn't have anything to do with it, did you?" So he was unhappy because he couldn't go to school. What a weird kid.

"No, I swear on the Ring that I was sleeping. So what are you going to do today?"

"I figure I could look at those cards that Yugi's grandfather gave me, and maybe see if I could make some outfits that Tea would approve of. I heard her say something about coming over or something if I didn't..."

"Alright, I'll be out in a few minutes. At least there won't be any idiots telling you what to do..." Ryou nodded and walked away, as Bakura went back into his room. The Shadows moved back again as Bakura went to his dresser. Now that Ryou had more clothes to wear, Bakura could wear just about anything he wanted, unless he took over the body. He pulled out a pair of black jeans and a white t-shirt with a black jean jacket.

//... How did we get the clothes here again?//

/... ... ... I have no idea/

Once he was dressed he pulled on a pair of black sneakers that materialized out of nowhere and walked out of his room.

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Ryou jumped as Bakura materialized next to him on the couch.

"Boo," he smirked as Ryou shot a playful glare at him. For once, they were wearing something different from each other. He was wearing a white t-shirt and light blue jeans with the same black sneakers Bakura was wearing. So that's where they came from. "So any news?"

"It's only been a few minutes, but no. So far, there's nothing missing and they can't find any traps or anything, so we might be going to school tomorrow."

"Damn," he muttered, ignoring Ryou's 'language, Bakura'. "Tomorrow's... Friday isn't it? Can't they give us the rest of the week off?"

""I don't know. Maybe if they find something that can be seen as evidence, they'll keep looking at the school for more clues." Bakura's eye's lite up.

//I know...//

"No. You can't plant evidence just because you don't wanna go to school," Ryou said as someone knocked on the door. Bakura threw his hands in the air.

"Why is it that whenever I'm out of the Ring, someone comes to visit?" he stood up as he spoke, more out of habit than anything else.

"Bakura," Ryou started, but the spirit waved him down.

"It's probably just Yugi asking if you can come over. Don't worry, I'll be good." Bakura reached for the door, and watched his hand go through the doorknob before he remembered that he hadn't made himself solid yet. He sighed before solidifying and opening the door.

Tea and Joey stood outside his door, as Bakura stood there, shocked. The Pharaoh's fanclub seemed determined to include Ryou in whatever they were doing.

Tea was the one that broke the silence.

"You're the bad Bakura, aren't you?" her words were a whisper, but Bakura heard it. He sighed. Is that all they knew? The world isn't black and white, for Ra's sake! Yami's eyes were red too, after all!

"Well, if you want to give titles... yeah, what's it to ya?" Bakura said, stepping back into the house, waving his hand as a sign of invite. Tea started to go in, but Joey grabbed her arm. Bakura noticed. He groaned. "For the love of Ra, Wheeler! The place isn't booby-trapped!"

"Why should we believe you? You hurt the good Bakura alla time!" Joey said, pointing obnoxiously.

//Wanna come out and tell them?//

/they can't keep secrets, yami. One word and they'll run to Yugi and then we'll have to watch for Shadow Games/

//...I hate it when you're right//

"I'm not telling you to believe me, but you must've come for a reason. So, fess up or leave, okay?" he sighed again as the rest of what the mutt said came to him. "And I haven't hurt him lately!"

Joey was about to say something else, but Tea cut him off. She had been looking at his outfit and liked what she saw.

"At least you're dressed nicely. Did your other put that on or did you?" Bakura thought about that. The one day they wear something different, she has to come!

"I put this on, but Ryou is wearing something else," he said.

"How? Don't you share a body?" Tea asked as Joey tried to figure it out. The most that used to change between Yugi and Yami was the shoes in Duelist Kingdom, but that's stopped since Yugi started wearing leather and boots...

"I know you can't keep a secret, so I can't tell you," Bakura said, finding the look on Joey's face amusing.

//The stupid is hurting his brain, hikari//

/Bakura!/

//What? It's true// he heard Ryou sigh in the den as the reported started blabbering again.

Good thing the den wasn't the living room. Tea had finally dragged Joey inside as she started harping on about what colors would go with his eyes and how he should wear his hair if he ever put it up.

//Gods! I'm not a girl!//

/I'm sure she's just trying to help... You know that it's rude to keep people standing around, right?/ Bakura sighed mentally.

//Do you think that you could go into the Ring so that they don't see you and you don't have to hide?//

/I've tried, sorry/

//Don't be. It's not your fault you're bad at hiding//

/Thanks for the vote of confidence, Bakura/

//You're welcome. So go into the... geez, what other room is there?//

/Uh, my room? Oh wait! Duh, I'm stupid. I'll hide in there/ Bakura had to keep himself from rolling his eyes as Ryou walked into his bedroom. He turned to his 'guests' and cleared his throat, successfully diverting their attention away from the decorations they had encountered.

"There is a newscast in the den and stuff, you know," he said. Joey looked at Bakura skeptically,

"Why are you being so nice, anyways?" the blonde asked with an eye brow raised.

"I dunno, maybe cause I want to?" Bakura shot back. He was tired of them already as he went into the den.

The computer sat in a corner with several paintings hung around it, Tea noted. It was crowded, but in a way that made it...well, not crowded. There were even more paintings hung everywhere that they could, ranging from small, Slightly-bigger-than-a-photograph to large, close to wall sized paintings of various landscapes, flowers, and swirls of dark colors. There were candles set up in various arrangements, none of them looked like they'd ever been lit, and there were several styles of candles from tea lites to the big, bulky kind that Tea had only seen used for their fragrance. There were three couches, all set in some strange arrangement around a large TV and a coffee table, and a couple bean bag chairs settled near a pretty nice bookshelf against the wall leading to the kitchen. There was a large entertainment center with another television that seemed to have a few game systems hidden within the cabinets, Joey noticed that one was ajar, possibly meaning that Bakura (or Ryou) had been playing on it. Several dragon, fairy, and other mythological-creatures-that-neither-Tea-nor-Joey-could-recognize statues decorated every empty space that they could find.

"Wow," Tea breathed. No one but Yugi had been here, and even then he'd only gone as far as the kitchen, but he'd never said anything about the den. Bakura smirked.

Even though the two had kept their distance before, Tea brushed past to see what books Ryou had. Joey looked at the entertainment center's contents.

"Holy cow, Bakura! Why didn't you say that you played video games? I'd've invited you over more, evil or not!" Joey said as he checked out the types of games the whitenette owned. Bakura shook his head at Joey's antics. Maybe this was why Yami stuck with these people. They were fun to watch when they were excited.

"The books seem to be really good. Have you read them all?" Tea asked looking his way.

"Er, no not yet. Haven't had the time to do anything lately," he said as Tea picked one out and read the back.

"The investigation at Domino High School has finally yielded a clue as to who might have broken in last night," the news reporter said, drawing the three's eyes toward it. Joey stood up and walked over to the television, ending up being right next to the spirit and Tea ended up on Bakura's other side. Ryou peeked in from his bedroom door frame.

A picture of the Eye of Ra spray-painted on one of the school's walls—near Ryou's locker and homeroom, Bakura noted—with a message in hieroglyphics underneath showed up on the screen.

"As seen here, whoever did this is fluent in Ancient Egyptian, that much is certain. The police have gotten a translator and more information will be revealed shortly—" Joey tapped Bakura on the shoulder, since the already pale teen had gone nearly pure-white.

"What's wrong? What's it say?" the blonde boy said, trying to get Bakura to snap out of it, whatever 'it' was. It worked. It made the boy blink, at least.

"Do you want the truth, or a little lie that'll keep you from prying into other people's business?" Bakura quizzed as he picked up the remote and paused the screen to see if he had indeed read it right.

"Er... the truth? Hey, Tea, do ya think Yugue's watchin this too?"

"Maybe... Bakura, are you alright? You don't look well," she said, trailing off when Bakura's red eyes shot to her.

"Do both of you want to know what it says?" Tea nodded and Joey looked at Tea before nodding himself. "Okay, just remember it cause I'm not repeating it for the Pharaoh."

"Wouldn't he know what it says, too?" Tea asked. It was a reasonable question, but Bakura really didn't want to answer. Still, he had to.

"He's probably forgotten it all. I said 'hello' once in that language, and he didn't understand me. Okay it says 'Children of the Shadows and Light, be wary, We are coming' signed 'the Unknown'," Bakura said. Tea committed the phrase to memory as Joey thought for a moment.

"The Unknown? Is this another crazy person after the Millennium Puzzle? No offence, 'Kura." Joey said.

"None taken. And it's not the Puzzle these guys're after, it seems. The Unknown I knew were ruthless and terrorizing. I don't doubt they've faded and disbanded over the last five millennia. Maybe they regrouped after so long, but for them to attack a school is pretty low for them. They usually are able to find and attack the individuals they're looking for," he said. There was a loud yell from the bedroom, attracting all the attention as Bakura ran to the door. Tea and Joey stood behind him, shocked at what they saw.

Ryou was sitting on the bed staring at a hand-sized black spider that was moving its forelegs threateningly at the whitenette. Brown eyes shot their way a moment before the boy whimpered a bit. The spider hissed at him again as Bakura sighed.

"Hikari, you are a wimp. He just wants to play," Bakura said, oblivious to the teens standing behind him as he walked to the bed. Tea covered her mouth when Bakura lifted the spider up in his hand. It walked onto his arm before going back to his hand and purring. "See? You freak out too much." The boy walked over to the window and opened it to let the spider out. He turned around and saw the teens there in the doorway. "Dammit!" he swore.

"Bakura!" said spirit growled and sat on the bed with his arms crossed, pouting, and mumbling something about letting the spider eat Ryou.

"How is he—what's going on, Bakura?" Tea asked, looking at both of them.

"Promise you wont tell?" Ryou asked timidly as Bakura started really thinking about the spider. Now that Ryou thought about it, that beast was a tad too tame to be wild.

"I dunno... It's kinda a pretty big secret ta keep, if ya know what I mean," Joey said, scratching his head. He turned to Tea as she thought about it.

"Only if you let me pick out your outfits for the next week," she answered, cocking her head and letting one eye close.

The boys' mouths all dropped. Joey's from Tea willingly keeping a secret from Yugi and Yami, and the whitenettes' from the horrors of Tea coming over every morning to pick something out for them.

"Er, Tea? Instead of you picking something out, how about you just see if what I wear is, ano, cool enough?" Ryou asked as Bakura gulped. Bakura obviously didn't trust himself to speak at the moment.

"Well... you both picked out pretty good outfits today, especially you," she said, looking at Bakura. "So I guess I can come over with Yugi to check on the outfit you're wearing." Bakura looked smug at the compliment.

"Tea! How could we keep somethin like this secret from our bestest bud? I think he needs to know about this," Joey said, crossing his arms. Bakura sighed.

"Look, Wheeler. If the Pharaoh knew about this, he wouldn't let Yugi go to survival camp like he promised," Bakura said, remembering the conversation he'd had with Yami the day before.

"Survival camp?" all three mortals asked.

"Yeah, and by the way, Ryou, I'm signing you up too." Ryou groaned and fell against his headboard.

"Again? Last time you ended up having something planned for that week," the boy pouted softly. Bakura ignored him.

"The Pharaoh no baka said that as long as Ryou was going and I was in no position to do anything Yugi could go. I want the pipsqueak to be able to fend for himself if he gets separated from everyone, don't you?" Bakura's smirk appeared on his face as the dancer and the mutt thought about it.

"Okay, I can see where you're going with this. I like the idea of Yugi learning how to take care of himself... But what about us?" Joey said, pointing to his own face. Bakura blinked.

"What about you? If you go with him to the camp, he won't learn how to take care of himself without you. Like I told Yami, you're not going to be able to reach him when he needs your help if he looks to you all for support like he does. I don't mind that he sticks to you all like glue and all, but he shouldn't need to have you around to help him through day-to-day things," Bakura pointed out. Joey frowned a little at being left out of this task, but seemed to accept it.

"Yeah, when you go to the camp, they teach you how to build fires and shelters in case you get lost or separated from a group. Or just want to get away from everything," Ryou piped in for his yami's benefit.

"Okay, we'll keep this a secret. But the moment something happens that your...ability...causes, we have to tell Yugi and the Pharaoh. Alright?" Tea said as Bakura and Ryou listened.

"Seems fair," Ryou said as Bakura nodded in agreement.

"Can Yugue and the Pharaoh do the same thing?" Joey asked, wondering if he should watch out for two Yugi's now with two Bakura's.

"Doubt it," Bakura snorted.

"So, ah, the Unknown, Bakura?" Ryou asked, changing the topic. Bakura sighed. He stood up as Tea and Joey took the hint and walked back into the den. Ryou got up and followed his yami. The two guests were sitting down on one couch by the entertainment center. Ryou sat down next to Bakura on the couch opposite the others'.

"Well... the Unknown called themselves the Unknown because they were so secret, no one knew who was in the group until one of them came to kill you. They came after me a few times. That's how I know about them."

"So you knew who some of the people in the group was?" Joey asked, leaning closer. Tea wished that she had brought her notebook. Oh well, Joey might remember what she couldn't.

Bakura winced.

"Yeah, I knew one of them personally," he said, remembering who it was. Ryou looked at Bakura and could have sworn that he saw tears in his other's eyes. Ryou blinked and the image was gone.

"Who was it?" Tea found herself asking. Bakura was being too quiet. He usually talked about what he knew as a way of boasting and showing Yami up in knowledge. This was...unnatural for the tomb robber.

"My best friend."

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Dun dun duuuuunnn! Evil cliffie! YAYAYAYAYAYAYAYA!

Bakura: You're happy you made an evil cliffie-thing?

Ryou: Oh, let her be. She's writing eight pages of you doing whatever. You should be glad she's so nice to you.

Bakura: Doing whatever? Ryou, are you feeling alright?

Ryou: Yup! Hey, what's that? *runs off to nearest shiny thing*

... ... I think he's had a bit too much sugar today... ...

Bakura: Is that as bad as when I'm hyper?

Worse. You just go on a thieving spree. He literally bounces off the walls... I should have listened to you... *cries at lost dignity*.

Bakura: Yup. Worse. Oh well, since he's over there I guess I have to tell everyone to review... ... But I won't.

You just did.

Bakura: No I didn't. *crosses arms*

*sigh* Review please!