communication between yami and host(hikari)- /.../

this means that the point of view (POV) is changing:-. -. -. -. -. -. -. -.

disclaimer: I do not own Yugi-oh.

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Chapter 9: Special Delivery: Malik's Missing Card

"After all, he is your other half."

"Wrong. I am complete without him."

'What are these voices...?' Malik thought hazily.

"You can't do this, Malik! We can still rule the world together!"

"I'm sorry, Master; I failed you again."

"Odion...!"

"It was your hate, your jealously, and your anger toward your father, which makes you just as guilty as me!"

He let out a cry and sat bolt upright, sweat beading out on his face.

'A dream...' Malik gritted his teeth and swore under his breath.

Why wouldn't these dreams stop already? It wasn't like he hadn't gotten over what had occurred at Battle City, so why couldn't the dreams just... go away?

'It makes it hard to forget...'

He glanced at his alarm clock.

Malik sighed. 'Three in the morning? I just keep waking up earlier and earlier...' He knew that if he didn't go back to sleep now, it would mean he would be exhausted by the middle of the day, but he was already wide awake. Besides, (he felt like some stupid, frightened little kid even as he thought this) he didn't have any real desire to invite any more of those nightmares tonight...

So Malik got out of bed, turned on the lamp next to his bed, and got out his Duel Monster cards. He felt himself relaxing as he looked through the cards in his deck.

Even though most of them were the ones his yami had used in Battle City, Malik still found comfort in them.

As he was looking through a second time, caressing his favorites gently, he suddenly frowned. 'Wait a second...' He counted the cards, and then counted again.

"No way! One of my cards is MISSING!" he shouted.

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I walked into the school, feeling distantly like I'd been run over by a train. I still felt uncomfortable about staying at the game shop with Yugi and it seemed to be disrupting my sleep.

Then again, it wouldn't be the first time my yami decided to get my body up in the middle of the night. ...Somehow, that wasn't exactly a comforting thought.

When I finally got to my home room, I saw the others all talking, except Joey and Téa were standing a little apart. I felt a little bad for them.

When I saw Malik he wasn't with his friends, but sitting in his desk looking sleep-deprived and seriously ticked, I groaned and buried my face in one hand. "Oh, dear..."

My friends stopped talking and turned toward me, apparently noticing me for the first time.

"Hey, Bakura," they all said in turn.

"Is something wrong? You look kinda down," Téa said to me, looking worried.

I thought I saw Yugi give her a slightly annoyed look, as if he didn't think she had a right to be concerned for her friends. Then he looked guiltily at the floor.

I decided to pretend I hadn't noticed this. 'You don't look so good yourself, Téa,' I thought, remembering yesterday's happenings at the mall. She looked kind of pale...

"Oh... I found this card of Malik's at the mall and I was going to bring it, but I forgot-"

Malik was in my face in an instant. "Y-You found it? Where? Oh praised be Ra! Thank you!"

"I forgot it at the Game Sh- I mean, where I live." I changed it at the last minute so I wouldn't have to explain to them about my staying with Yugi right then.

Unfortunately, Yugi noticed my quick change and gave me a queer look.

I hung my head and flushed. I knew I'd probably hurt Yugi's feelings, but it was too late to change it. I'd just have to tell them all the truth later...

Malik gave me an odd look as well and said, "That's okay. I wouldn't have wanted to carry it around all day anyway. Listen, I'm going to the museum right after school, so just drop it by my house, okay? Ishizu should be home around four or something."

"Okay, I will," I mumbled, not taking my eyes off my feet.

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Ishizu sighed and rubbed her eyes. Strangely enough, when your brother wakes you up at three in the morning because he lost one of his duel monster cards, it leaves you feeling drained the rest of the day.

Malik was off doing who-knows-what as usual, Serenity was hanging out with Tristan and Duke, and Odion was still at the museum, leaving Ishizu all alone.

She sipped from the cup of coffee, enjoying the quiet before she had to go to that loud job as a fortune-teller in an hour.

Ishizu had so many different part-time jobs she almost couldn't see how she handled them all. The afternoons of Mondays, Thursdays, and the occaisonal Sunday were spent at her fortune-teller job and she worked at a fast food restaurant on Wednesdays, Fridays, and Saturdays. Of course, these were at least ten times harder after a day of working at the museum. She still had Tuesday evening free, but she was currently looking for a job to fill that spot.

She rubbed her temples and took another sip of coffee.

She knew she ought to be grateful that she was earning enough to make ends meet, but maybe it was still better if she didn't tell Malik and Odion that the fortune-telling job was at a bar.

Her peace and quiet (and her not-so-quiet thoughts) were interrupted by a knock at the door.

'Who could that be?' Ishizu wondered, standing up. She was more than a little surprised to see a boy with pale skin and long, white hair.

"Hello, Ishizu," he said.

"Ah, hello, Bakura," she replied, trying to smile. "What a pleasant surprise." Emphasis on 'surprise'.

"uh, well..." he looked a little embarrassed. "Malik left this card at the mall and he told me to drop it off here..." He handed the card to Ishizu.

'Ah, yes. The missing card Malik just had to find...'

Ishizu gave him a smile. "Malik was wondering where this card was; he'll be very happy."

For some reason that she couldn't quite explain, she felt disappointed. She hadn't been exactly enthused about seeing Bakura, but maybe she had been hoping at least a little that she'd have someone to talk to before going to work...

Bakura stood their uncomfortably for a moment before saying, "Um, okay then... Take care, Ishizu." He turned to leave.

"Wait," Ishizu said, so quietly that she wasn't sure he heard. She was so surprised with herself she almost didn't hear him reply.

"Yes?" he said quietly, looking over his shoulder at her with raised eyebrows.

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