Disclaimer: I do not own Yu-Gi-Oh! or any of the characters that are portrayed in this story. I do, however, own Lucia, her mother, and any other original characters who will be used in this story.

Note: To those who read my Shaman King fan fiction A Touch of Destiny: I promise, I am working on getting the next chapter written, but college work has made it hard to reach my inspiration. I'm hoping to get the next chapter finished as soon as possible. Also, the yamis and hikaris both have their own bodies in this. Bakura is the dark one while Ryou is the good one. Marik is dark, while Malik is light and Yugi is light, while Atem is dark.

Chapter Six: Solitude

His answer put an abrupt end to our conversation. Though shocked that he could read hieroglyphs, I was more surprised at the fact that I actually believed him. Normally, I would have found it difficult to believe an eighteen-year-old could read hieroglyphs, yet for some reason… Bakura was different.

Despite our conversation having ended, Bakura showed me around the museum for a good hour – I couldn't believe the stunning relics they had there – before deciding we should return to the house. The walk home passed very much the same as the walk to the museum - in utter silence.

Eighteen and able to read hieroglyphs? I thought, still surprised. That's near-impossible; how did he learn that?

Shaking my head, I followed Bakura into the house and watched him toss his keys onto a table. "I'll be in my room," I announced and ascended the stairs, neglecting to wait for a response. Once upstairs, it took me a moment to remember which room was mine; I managed to figure it out and entered the room, shutting the door behind me.

A soft sigh escaped my lips and I ran a hand through my hair, removing the hair tie. My blonde hair fell to my waist, tickling my bare shoulders; a slight smile crossed my expression at the sensation. Striding to my bed, I sat down and stared at the violet wall across from me. Thoughts of everything – the move, the new people, Bakura's mysteriousness, the new country, new continent – filled my mind and I groaned, burying my face in my hands.

"I can't take this."

Sighing heavily, I lay back on the bed and looked up at the ceiling. Despite my brief nap in the car, exhaustion still consumed me. Inside me, my exhaustion battled the raging thoughts in my mind, each wishing to be superior. As a headache began to form, my fatigue won and my eyes fluttered shut as sleep began to consume me.

A soft groan left me as I rolled over, slowly awaking from my sleep. What time is it..? As I opened my eyes, I rolled over to face the bed stand. The alarm clock on it read 17:35 in bright red numbers. Aw, shit. Yawning loudly, I pushed myself into an upright position and rubbed my eyes, then glanced around the room.

Something had changed.

Frowning, I rose to my feet and walked to the other side of the room where a collection of four black suitcases and a carry-on stood in a corner. I pressed my hand onto one of them, testing if it was real and frowned as I felt the material on my skin. Mixed emotions entered my body when I realized three things.

One, Bakura had brought my suitcases up the stairs, and two, Bakura had been in my room without permission… while I was asleep. And three, I hadn't even noticed he had entered my room. I made a mental note to lock my door whenever I slept; his unapproved entry unnerved me, to say the least. On the other hand, I was grateful he had brought my suitcases upstairs as it would've been hell to drag them up by myself.

Shaking my head, I glanced back at the alarm clock. Mum should be awake by now, I realized and smiled. Grabbing my cell phone, I flicked through the list of numbers until I found hers and pressed the green button. She answered before the second ring finished.

"Lucia?"

I smiled and nodded, "Yeah, mum. It's me."

"Thank goodness, I was getting worried. How are you? How was the flight? How is it there?"

A soft laugh escaped me at her concern; she acted exactly how I expected a mother to act in such a situation and I couldn't blame her. "I'm fine mum," I answered, partially honest. "The flight was good, just long, and it's alright here so far."

"That's a relief," she admitted. "Have you been to see anything there yet?"

"Yeah, Bakura took me to see his dad's museum," I explained. "It's huge! Bigger than the one you work at."

I heard her laugh; God, I already missed seeing her in person. "I have heard Andrew owns a big museum; that's why he's always so busy getting new artifacts for it," she said. "I still plan to visit that museum at some point."

"You'd love it; there are quite a few Mayan things."

"It sounds like you had a good time then. So, everything's been alright so far?"

"Yes, mum. Everything is fine, trust me." I couldn't help but smile at her concern, even if I was partially lying to her. "I'm just a little tired."

"That's understandable. Make sure you go to bed early tonight." Her tone held the slightest amount of superiority, showing she meant it.

"I will, mum," I said. "Anyways, I just wanted to let you know I got here safely."

I could mentally see her nod. "Okay, enjoy your few days of freedom before school! Try to use them to relax… and get rid of your jetlag."

"I will," I assured her with a gentle laugh. "Bye!"

"Bye, sweetheart."

With a slight smile, I pressed the red button to disconnect the call and set the phone on my desk. I'd probably make longer phone calls to her eventually, but I'd use the home phone for that and not my cell phone, unlike this spur-of-the-moment call.

Casting another glance around my room, I frowned. This doesn't feel like home. With that thought, I grabbed one of my suitcases, lay it on the bed and zipped it open. It was time to make this place my own and the only way to do that was with my belongings; I suppose I'd need to thank Bakura for bringing my bags up. As such, I began to unpack and put my things where they belonged.

My clothes were soon hung or stacked on shelves in the closet while smaller items were stored in the bottom drawers. The CD's and DVD's I brought were put on a shelf that hung above my desk. Sadly, the room didn't have a bookcase, so I stacked my many books in the small cabinet and made a mental note to mention that I would really, really like a bookcase for my room. The rest of my things somehow made it into little nooks and crannies of the room; some remained stored in a suitcase until I'd have a bookcase to decorate.

"Much better," I stated, looking around my room with a smile. "At least it feels a bit more like home…" A bit.

By the time I had finished, it had just passed 20:00, so I exited my room and descended the stairs. It's so quiet, I realized as I entered the living-room. Raising an eyebrow, I looked around; there was no sign of anyone else being there. Since the living-room had failed me, I entered the dining-room instead and instantly spotted a yellow post-it note on the antique table.

Oh great, now what?

I strode to the table and tugged the note off the wood with utmost ease; I turned my attention to what had been written on it and a frown immediately tugged on the corners of my mouth. I made a mental note to smack Bakura.

With a heavy sigh, I pulled one of the chairs back and sat down. Holding the piece of paper in my hands, I stared at it hard and attempted to decipher the Kanji that had been scribbled on it. The longer I stared at the little symbols, the more my frustration began to rise and the harder I planned to slap Bakura later.

"Come on," I muttered. "It's not that hard…"

Standing up, I took a pencil off the shelf of a bookcase and sat back down, setting the paper on the table. With that done, I began to lightly trace the form of the Kanji, trying to remember my lessons. When in doubt, act like you're writing it yourself; it was a trick my mother had taught me and worked rather well.

It didn't fail me this time.

"Ah," I exclaimed. "Finally!"

To make sure I didn't forget, I jotted down the English words and stared at the paper once more, comparing my words to his. Once certain I had written the correct thing, I grinned in achievement. So much for Bakura's little trick; he wouldn't trap me that easily, no way.

Lucia 1 – Bakura 0.

Shaking my head, I read what I had written down. Be back later. As the message sunk in, I frowned once more. Bakura had left, without telling me, for an undetermined amount of time while Ryou was also gone. Oh, he was trying to piss me off all right.

Though I didn't mind the little Japanese test (especially since I passed it), I was annoyed that he had just left. First he came into my room unannounced, and then entered my room while I was asleep, and now this.

When I'm done with him, he won't know what hit him.

Not many other characters in this chapter, but then again, you can't have everything, right? Despite that, there are plenty of hints of Bakura in this chapter; poor Lucia – Bakura's really getting on her nerves.

If you spot any spelling/grammar mistakes, then feel free to point them out so I can edit them.

Today is Bakura and Ryou's birthday, hence why I made sure to write a new chapter today. I also wrote another thing in honor of them; it is a poem about their lives, starting with Touzoku'Ou and ending with Ryou and Yami Bakura. It is called, "The Thief's Tale".

Please check it out!