HI It's me.

Me and my friend KimberJim are co-writting a Ryou/Bakura Yugioh story Via DeviantART, and we'd like to share it wth you!

I disclaim yugioh, blah blah blah

Enjoy the Tendershipping Goodness!


Chapter Nine


Seth turned to the others, taking charge "Come! We must make haste!"

The group turned and headed the opposite direction. Tea hoped with heart and soul that Atem and Yugi were alright. They ducked and dodged flames as they made their way through the streets. They passed under a horse stable, the roof of which was on fire. With no other alternative, they had no choice but to run under it. It was a strait shot. They ran through, Shada tripped. Seth turned to help his freind, ignoring the groan of the roof and choking smoke.

"Are you alright?"

"I'm fine, Seth"

"Hurry, then" he said all but pushing him to the distant side where the others waited. As they made their way out, the roof groaned again. Shada was the first to emerge, Seth stopped to free a horse who was still bucking in it's stall, unable to free itself. Isis bounced in place anxiously, "Seth..." she urged.

"Just a moment!" he called as he struggled to untie the knot that kept the door shut. He growl in frustration and simply sliced though the rope with the dagger hidden within the millineum rod. The horse bolted, knocking Seth into a post with a grunt. The burning roof gave a crack and shudder as part of it broke away, sending a shower of debis falling directly above the priest.

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Joey reacted on instinct. "Seth! Watch out!" He ran at the priest, pushing him aside. Seth's eyes met Joeys for a brief second before the burning chunk of wood and hay landed on him, pinning him to the ground in a swirl of dust and smoke.

Tea screamed, covering her mouth in horror. Tristan gaped in shock and mortification. He shook it off with a growl "I'm comin' buddy" he yelled, ripping off the cloak that was still over his shoulders. He prepared to jump in.

Shada grabbed his arm him, " No, Stay back!"

Tristan opened his mouth to protest. But any words he might have said died as Joey screamed, the flames searing into his back.

"AHHHHHHHHH!"

Tea's clutched her hands over her ears, pulling at her hair. "Somebody do something!" she yelled as Joey let out another gut wrenching scream

"Stand aside!"Mahaad said as he clasped his hands together.

"Hear me, oh Gods of Egypt, I summon thy power, blast away this rubble!"

His body glowed bright gold, an energy pulse shot forth from his hands, blasting through the rubble and sending it flying across the stables.

Seth was the quickest to move as Joey was freed from the debris. He grabbed his wrists, pulling him away from the flames and out of the still collapsing structure. Tea and Tristan hurried over. Tea had to look away as she saw the mortifying burns on his back, shoulders, and legs. Seth flinched at the severity of the burns.

If Jou had not pushed me aside...

"Isis," he called aloud "what do you make of these burns?"

Isis crouched beside Joey's unconcious, whimpering form and looked over the wounds with an expert eye. She turned to the others, "These should be cleaned and treated, but we must get out of the city first."

Mana scurried over, "I'll cast a numbing spell on his wounds!"

She waved her wand over Joey's back, muttering a spell quietly under her breath. Joey's expression melting from agony into one of relief, his breathing slowing into a steady rhythm. Mahaad nodded with approval, "Good work Mana. You're improving."

"I learned from the best" she said with a smile as Isis removed his now burned and ruined tunic. She removed her cloak and draped it over him. Tea brushed his bangs from his face as Shada and Aknadin pulled him into a standing position, holding him up.

"Our progress will be slowed like this," Aknadin observed.

"Do not concern yourself, master Aknadin," Seth said, walking over. He lifted Joey onto his back, wrapping his arms around Joeys legs to hold him aloft and draping his arms over his shoulders "I shall bear him. I owe him my life...Now, let us make haste!"


Bakura kept a tight hold on Ryou as he weaved through the streets. Atem and Yugi, who'd finaly caught up to them, were now struggling to keep up. Ryou looked over his shoulder at them and turned back to the theif "Bakura! You need to slow down or we'll lose Atem and Yugi!"

Bakura ignored Ryou's plea and kept his pace. "I intend to get you out of here, and I will not endanger you to be sure of saving them. If they keep up they will make it out fine. It is merely a matter of will. And if I know that Pharaoh, he'll keep up just fine."

Ryou glanced around again, unconvinced. Atem and Yugi's smoky figures were falling behind. His eyes widened as the building ahead of Atem and Yugi began to crumble. He pulled away from Bakura, stopping alltogether

"PHARAOH! YUGI! WATCH OUT!"

Bakura stopped as Ryou jerked away, following his gaze. He growled. Those fools were still running! He wasn't about to let a crumbling building kill that foolish Royal brat before HE got the chance.

"STOP, YOU BAKA PHARAOH!" he yelled, the Japanese flowing from his mouth as smoothly as his egyptian.

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Atem heard the yell. "Huh?" He glanced up and, tightening his grip on Yugi's wrist, "Yugi, stop!" He tugged the boy back with him, away from the falling debris as it landed with a crash, raising a choking cloud of dust and smoke.

Yugi's eyes watered from the acrid smell, coughing. "Come-COUGH-come on, we need to-COUGH- keep moving, Pharaoh!"

The pharaoh nodded to his small hikari, leading him around the rubble, crawling over the pile of rock and sand.

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Ryou released a breath of relief.

"Thank goodness..."

"Argh!"

Ryou jolted, twisting around at the grunt of pain from Bakura.

The thief clutched his arm, blood pouring from a knife embedded in his bicep. A muscular bandit with an artificial leg stood in front of him, another knife raised. Bakura charged him, tilting forward to catch him in the solar plexus but stumbled, losing momentum. The bandit bashed the side of Bakura's head with a meaty fist, sending him tumbling to the ground. He stepped forward to swing the knife.

Ryou found himself racing towards the bandit, a primal roar ripping itself from his throat.

"Nooo!"

He struck the bandit in the stomach, the force of his blow knocking the bandit headfirst into a wall. The blow rended the bandit unconcious and breathless, forcing his immobile form to slip to the ground, gasping for air. Ryou stood frozen, panting heavily beside the felled bandit. Yugi, having finally caught up, laid a hand on his shoulder as Atem went to help a dazed and disoriented Bakura to his feet. He stretched out an arm, a grateful smile on his lips.

"Here, Bakura. Take my hand..."

Bakura slapped away the hand with grunt, stubbornly pushing himself up with his good arm,"I need no help from YOUPharaoh..." he muttered, looking at his wound. Atem retracted his arm with a disapointed, but unsurprised sigh. Bakura examined the hilt and blade of the knife. Ryou made a face as Bakura gripped the counted to three under his breath is a nearly inaudible whisper. Bracing himself, he ripped out the knife with a yelp of pain, bitten off as he gritted his teeth. " Gah! Damn it to Ra!" He cursed with a quiet growl as blood poured from the wound.

"Bakura! Are you okay?"

The thief supressed the pain gripping him arm and forced a smirk as he tore the black cloak from his shoulders and ripped a strip off, wrapping it tightly around the would to staunch the blood flow. "Of course I'm fine. A minor injury...It would seem you and I will sport matching arm wounds, now" he said.

Ryou let out a breath he'd been holding with a whoosh. Yugi lookedat the unconcious bandit, " Bakura... I'm confused about something..."

Bakura looked down at him,"What's that?"

"Why would he attack you? I thought You were the Thief King."

"I am." he stated "Clearly this fool either couldn't see me properly in the smoke and mistook me for some pathetic villager, or sought to steal my title. In either event, he did not succeed" Bakura said, giving his limp form a swift kick in the side, eliciting a small grunt from the slumped form. "I should kill him right here, but I think I'll let the flames do it for me. Let's go. We're almost to the gates, I can see them through the Smoke."

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The group made their way through the dark fog of smoke, arriving at the city gates only to find a small group of bandits guarding them.

Bakura frowned.

Ryou noticed the frown, "What's wrong?" he asked

Bakura kept his eyes on the party. "Bandits like these aren't usually so strategic as to hold the city's escape routes. They should all be running around the city looting whatever they can find of value like morons...They seem to be more clever than I thought..."

Atem stepped forward for a better look, "What do we do? We need to get out of the city."

Bakura turned to him, lavender eyes meeting crimson, "We'll have to take them out and secure the gates."

"Take them out?" Atem inquired.

Bakura ran his finger over his throat. The implication was clear.

Atem looked taken aback " You want us to KILL them? That's barbaric! Not to mention there's only four of us, and we have no weapons."

Bakura frowned, " Do you WANT to save your people?"

Atem shook his head, sighing, "How do your propose we do it when we're unarmed?"

Taking another glance to the group of bandits, Bakura crouched and gathered the others around him, drawing in the sand at his feet. "Ryou will wait here as the three of us head into their camp, seeing as he is the only one not wearing a cloak." he said drawing a few stick figures and lines. "We'll take the oil lamps hanging on the wall and scatter the oil before igniting it with the braziers. This will cause enough distraction for us to strike."

Bakura tore a strip of cloth from the hem of Ryou's deep green tunic-robe and wrapped it around his arm before tearing two more and handing them to Atem and Yugi. "Find any weapon you can and attack everyone not wearing one of these. Obviously we'll recognise Ryou, but-"

Ryou grabbed Bakura's hand, "Bakura," he interrupted, "I don't like this plan."

"Because I'm ruining your clothes?"

"No. It just doesn't feel...right"

"What do you mean?" the Thief King asked.

"I don't know...I just have this feeling..." Ryou said as he tightened his grip on Bakura's hand.

Yugi's eyes lit up "Hey, I've got an idea!"

Bakura raised an eyebrow at Atems former host.

"What is it?"

Yugi erased the marks Bakura had made, "Okay, here's my idea..."

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The bandits guarding the gates jumped to attention, seeing four figures approaching. They relaxed as they saw one of them was the thief king, who was dragging a struggling white-skinned boy along behind, accompanied by two other's cloaked in black, no doubt fellow theives.

One of the bandits waved his arm in greeting "Oi, Thief King! What're you doing here?"

Bakura stode over cooly, jerking his captive forward, "Hopefully, I'll soon be enjoying the spoils of my conquest," he said chuckling wickedly, yanking Ryou forward, "Look what I found in the Pharaoh's palace."

Ryou pulled and jerked uselessly in his grip, pounding on his chest, "Let go of me! Get your filthy hands off me, you wretched thief!"

Bakura was impervious to the blows, turning to his fellow bandits with a smirk, "I require a tent...I'm not one for public displays of...affection" he said with sly wink. The bandits laughed amoung themselves, elbowing each other knowingly. Three of them walked over and looked at Ryou appraisingly.

"He's a pretty one. Bet he was one of the pharaoh's bed slaves."

"Shame he's a boy..." one of them muttered, " I like 'em with breasts. Somethin' you can grab onto!"

"I don't see a problem there, he's got a perfectly nice ass!" A tall, bald one said slapping Ryou's rear hard, giving it a squeeze. Ryou jumped at the contact, yelping, he grabbed onto Bakura's arm, slapping the bald man across the face.

Atem let out a loud laugh, deepening his voice in case of them recognized it. "Seems like he doesn't like you. He'd rather belong to the Thief King!"

The man looked down at Ryou's scowling, yet still pitifully Uke face. He frowned. "You're lucky you're pretty, boy..."

"Hmph!"

"Pretty or not," Bakura said, " He's MINE. I don't like sharing. Now show me to your camp. And bring me some wine! I'd like a little drink to 'enhance the mood'... It might help my new toy here relax a little, and it's sooo much easier to play when they're not struggling."

The bandits exchanged looks and nodded, winking and laughing amoungst themselves, staring lecherously at Ryou as Bakura 'drug' him along. The bald man seemed to forget the slap, shrugging it off without a second thought.

Atem and Yugi hung back, pretending to be engaged in conversation. Atem glanced around when their backs were turned. The bandits had left their weapons at their posts. Moving as quietly as a ghost, Atem slowly picked up a sword, grasping the hilt firmly in his hands. Yugi gulped, following his lead.

Holding his hikari's gaze for a long moment, Atem gave a reassuring nod before hefting the sword to hide it inside his cloak and follow the group of bandits.


"Seth! Slow down, will you?"

Tea's pleas fell on deaf ears as the Priest continued his pace through the smoke-filled streets of the city, leaping over fallen rubble and dodging crumbling debris. Joeys extra weight clearly did nothing to hinder him. Tristan fell back and grabbed Tea's hand, swinging her behind him. "Climb on my back, I'll carry you."

"But Tris-"

"Just do it! We can't afford to lose Seth. He and the other priests are probably the only ones who know how to get to the Southern Gate."

Tea nodded, Tristan paused only for a second to allow her to climb onto his back. Tea wrapped her legs around his middle, gripping his shoulders firmly, "I don't wanna burden you."

"It's alright. Besides," Tristan added as he resumed his run, "he has Joey. And I for one, want to pummel that loser for nearly getting crushed and scaring me half to death. And I am gonna make SO many burnt marshmellow jokes..."

Tea chuckled quietly.

"Shit! I can't see a thing!" Tristan swore as a particularly thick cloud of smoke billowed from a night wind. He continued blindly "We'll lose him!"

Tea leaned forward slightly, the sudden movement almost upsetting Tristan's balance."Damnit, Tea! Don't do that!"

"Sorry, But I see Seth!" she said, not commenting that he'd called her by her real name and not the code name. "Wait, he's- take a left at the next alley!"

Tristan did as he was told. The smoke cleared and he once again caught sight of the egyptian carrying the still unconcious blonde. He picked up the pace to catch up to the group. As they emerged from the ally, the sounds of screams reached their ears. They were coming from the gate that lay dead ahead. Tristan put Tea down as they got a look at what lay before them.

It was Yugi and the others. Bakura stood in the middle, keeping Ryou behind him as he, Atem and Yugi were fighting the bandits, who were losing badly at the combined talents of Bakura and Atem. It was almost funny how well they worked together for people who hated each others guts.

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Seth sighed with relief, seeing his beloved pharaoh was unharmed. Tristan and Tea cheered upon seeing their freinds.

"Whoo! Look at them go!"

" Go Yugi! Go Pharaoh!" Tea whooped, cheering. The other guardians also cheered as they continued to fight.

Mana whooped. "Yeah, get 'em Pharaoh! Go Bakura! Show 'em who's the king of Egypt! Smash them up good!"

Kalim gave her a reproving look, "Mana!" He scolded.

"Oops. guess I got carried away..." she said kicking some dirt.


Bakura panted a little as the last bandit fell. Ryou looked at his recently wounded arm. The blood was soaking through the rough bandages he'd made from his cloak.

"You okay?"

Bakura ruffled his hair, "I'm fine, Ryou. Anubis knows, I've been in worse fights with more severe injuries. I have this scar on my eye for a reason you know."

Atem turned to Yugi, who looked more than a little shaken at having actualy KILLED people. He dropped the sword numbly. Atem wrapped an arm around his shoulder, "It's alright, Aibou. It's over. Once we get to the guardian's temples, we can summon the shadow creatures and get rid of the rest of the bandits. We'll have restored peace to the kingdom."

Yugi gave a crooked smile, "Yeah..."

"And then you can go back to sitting on your golden throne, oh mighty Pharaoh..." Bakura said with a smirk and mock-bow. Atem frowned at him. Ryou stood between them, "Now now, no need to fight... After all we still need to get to the temples first... Look! There's the others!" he said pointing in their direction as they came into sight.

Yugi waved as he caught sight of his friends, "Hey guys! You made it!"

"Yugi!" Tea cried

"You were awesome guys!" Tristan called.

Seth and the other guardians picked up speed.

"My king!"

"Pharaoh!"

"Thank goodness you're alright!"

Atem waved, "Hello, my freinds! it's about time you-"

Tea shrieked, "Atem, watch out!"

"Why should I-Agh!"

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Yugi gasped as a bandit who had been patroling the wall (and had hidden during the battle) charged and punched the pharaoh just below the back of his head, hitting a nerved and rendering him unconcious.

"Pharaoh!" Yugi cried reaching for his yami's hand. The bandit knocked him out as well, grabbing them both and pulling them onto the back of his nearby horse. He looked back breifly at Bakura, pointing at him accusingly, his face contorted in rage.

"TRAITOR!"

All of this took less than 30 seconds. He kicked The stallion's sides and took off into the desert before anyone could even react.


Click. Clack. Click. tap.

The young man's fingers danced over the laptop's keys, statistics pouring from mind to screen, proposals arranging themselves into neat lists and plans for new products forming themselves pixel by pixel. Icy-blue eyes narrowed as the phone, sitting at the corner of a spotless desk, began to ring.

Lifting the phone to his ear, Seto Kaiba answered. "Hello?"

Silence.

He frowned "Hello?" he repeated.

Again, silence.

The young CEO set the phone down without another thought and returned to his typing. The phone rang again.

He pointedly ignored it.

The phone continued to ring, so he lifted the reciever with a sigh "Hello?"

Silence.

There was a quiet click as the reciever was again replaced.

The phone rang again.

Kaiba didn't even turn from the screen as he reached over and unclipped the cord from the phone and resumed his typing, not skipping a beat.

"Events are unfolding which will very soon require your presence..."

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The CEO wheeled around to find nothing but air and a blank stretch of wall. "People you know well require your help to face dangers you cannot even comprehend."

Seto turned back to his office to find a tall, Egyptian-looking man, dressed in a long cream robe and white turban, piercing blue eyes set on his own, golden earrings glinting in the low light.

"And you are?" Kaiba's voice was low and cold.

"My name is of little importance." the figure stated "However, I shall tell you, despite the fact that it will do nothing to influence your participation. My name is Shadi. I am the Keeper of the Millennium Items and your friends do not have much time."

Kaiba crossed his arms, "And by 'friends' I suppose you mean the geek squad?"

That is correct" Shadi said with a nod. Kaiba took a seat in a nearby chair and crossed one leg over the other, "Let me guess... they have to save the world again? They've done that like four times already, havn't they?"

"Yes. However, this time, they need your help. The pharaoh, and the little one called Yugi have been captured. And only with YOUR help can they be rescued."

Kaiba rubbed his temples, "I'm so sick of having to help those wimps stop international crooks with delusions of grandure."

Shadi narrowed his eyes slightly, "This time the risk is far greater, Kaiba. The foe we face is even greater than Zorc Necrophades. This time, if evil wins, the world will not be destroyed, but something far worse. The flow of time will alter and shift. The future as you know it would be completely lost. Many people will be killed...including your loved ones."

Kaiba raised an eyebrow, "Loved ones?"

Shadi looked him in the eyes, his piercing gaze holding kaibas. "Your brother, specifically."

Kaiba's eyes widened, an expression of muted shock on his face. "What?"

Shadi reached out a hand before Kaiba's face, palms up. "Behold Seto Kaiba. What the future shall become without your assistance."

Kaiba let out a grunt as images danced before his eyes.

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Buildings crumbled and collapsed. People lay dead or dying in the streets, dirty and ragged-looking. The sky was as red as blood, and everywhere was chaos. Dirty, ragged children ran through the streets without restraint, raiding the hollow remains of what was once a grocery store and other various shops as others trudged along with sad, empty looks on their faces. Somewhere, a woman weeped. The area had been ravaged by war, disease, poverty, and other evils.

In this wasteland, Kaiba saw himself huddled, barely more than a skelaton in rags under a broken, twisted pile of metal that was once a dumpster, now filled with some thin sheets and a thick roll of deflated bubble wrap. He rocked back and forth, his eyes glazed and dead-looking with dark circles, giving him a sunken, haunted look. He seemed to be upset, but no tears came from his eyes as he numbly dug an already bloody hand into the freshly-slain corpse of some animal.

No, the shape was wrong...it was too long and narrow.

It looked like...

No...No...that couldn't be-

The figure lay half covered with a blanket, a familiar thick clump of black hair falling over the thin face hid their identity, but the locket that lay half open around the corpses neck was an affirmation of his horror as this phantom of himself wiped at some blood rolling down his chin as he shoved another chunk of flesh between his teeth. A bloody, jagged shard of glass lay discarded a few feet away, and a thin wrist stretched out exposed a single, long slash. The boy had been killed in his sleep. The one he'd promised to protect from harm. His reason. His better half. His beloved Mokuba was now a cold lifeless piece of meat. Being devoured by his own brother.

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" NOOO, MOKUBA!" Kaiba cried as he jerked away, breaking the spell. He panted hard as his heart pounded like a wild animal in a cage. He looked around in a panic, the images of doom fading back into the calm, safe reality of his office. Mokuba lay asleep on the couch on the other side of the room, undisturbed by the noise. Seto hurried to his side, shaking him. Mokuba opened his eyes a crack with a groan, "Seto?" he rubbed his eyes sleepily, "Is something wrong?"

Kaiba heaved a sigh of relief, "Everything's fine...go back to sleep..."

"OKay..." the 14 year old said, rolling over with a tired grunt. Seto stood, turning back to the ghost. Shadi looked right back at the millioniare, his expression unchanged, "This is the future that shall come to pass if events are allowed to continue to unfold. Only your intervention can prevent it, Kaiba."

"What do I have to do?"

Shadi extended his arm, "Take my hand, and the rest will come later."

Kaiba looked at the hand. The image of himself feasting upon the flesh of his own beloved, precious brother flashed in his mind again, squashing any suspicions he had. He reached out and clasped the egyptians hand.


End of Chapter Nine