Maria looked over towards the doorway, seeing movement, and grinned when she saw who it was. "Ryou, Bakura, come in," she said.

"Hello, both of you," Mau said with a smile as Ryou entered followed by Bakura, who hesitated slightly before entering.

"Hello," Ryou smiled, making Yami and Valon turn.

"Who are they?" Yami asked Maria.

"They are Ryou and Bakura, two good friends of mine," Maria replied with a smile.

"They are… into theater too," Mau added.

"Really, that's interesting to say the least," Valon said raising an eyebrow, "My name is Valon, and this is my brother Yami."

Yami didn't respond but was gazing intently at Bakura's mask. "What's with the mask?" he asked.

Bakura jerked as though he had been slapped and glared at Yami. "Why do you care?" he growled, only slightly aware of Ryou holding him back.

"Shut up about his mask Yami. Bakura's a bit…touchy on the subject of it," Maria scolded. Yami nodded sullenly.

"Wasn't Maria excellent tonight?" Mau asked trying to change the subject.

"Maria had called me earlier today and asked me to keep it a secret from Yami," Valon admitted, "But she sang wonderfully."

"She's been working hard, I think," Ryou said with a laugh.

"Oh no, not at all. I just practice every night," Maria replied sarcastically. "Plus the fact that I have a superb trainer," she continued with a sideways glance at Bakura.

Yami looked towards the door suddenly. "Téa isn't here, is she?" he asked with a shudder as the group heard footsteps pass.

Valon rolled his eyes. "Téa has this gigantic crush on Yami, but Yami doesn't return the feelings," he explained.

"Aww, but I think you two would make the cutest couple," Maria replied teasingly. Her words had an immediate effect. Yami blanched, Bakura and Ryou immediately started laughing their heads off, Valon was fighting to keep his composure, and Mau wasn't sure what to think.

"Anyway," Yami said quickly trying to keep himself from staying too long in the circle of humiliation, "shall we go anywhere to celebrate our diva's success at accomplishing her dream?"

"Let me guess, dinner and dancing at yours and Valon's favorite restaurant?" Maria replied nodding enthusiastically.

"But of course. Do you think we'd change our tradition for a mere success?" Valon teased.

"Which restaurant?" Mau asked curiously. She figured that if it was close, her father would be willing to let her go.

"Umm, I'm positive it's Salvador's," Yami said after a moment's thought.

"Oh," Mau said, realizing that the restaurant was farther away, "I should be going home. It's getting late."

"It's not that late, come have dinner with us!" Yami urged while Ryou and Bakura merely exchanged glances, knowing at once why Mau was hesitant.

"I don't know...m-my father is expecting me to be home tonight promptly..." Mau replied starting to get nervous. Ryou reached out and tentatively took her hand ever so lightly and comfortingly. Mau shivered and looked at Ryou who softly smiled, causing Mau to relax a bit.

Yami started to reply, but was cut off by Maria putting a hand over his mouth. "All right Mau," she said with a cheerful smile, "see you tomorrow?"

Mau nodded and with a small bow, quickly took her leave. Not long after her footsteps faded away, another set was heard in the hall. Bakura opened the door curiously to see who it was and smiled. "Hello Schala," he said while letting her in.

"Hi!" Schala said and looked around. "Who're your friends?"

"Actually, these two are my cousins. Schala, this is Valon and Yami."

Schala nodded and looked closer. "Hey," she said, "I know you two. Doesn't Téa have a crush on you Yami?"

Yami shuddered once again, causing Bakura to smirk, humoring himself at the patron's discomfort. "I don't want that slut anywhere near me," he spat.

"Aww," Schala teased, "but I'm sure she'd like to make you number 52 on her list."

"She has a list?" Bakura and Yami asked at the same time.

"If she did, with her looks, it probably wouldn't be that high," Maria pointed out with a snort.

"I'm sure this is a fascinating topic, but I suggest that we go eat before it gets too late. Would you like to go with us Miss Schala?" Valon asked.

"I would love to," Schala replied. With that, the group left for dinner.

The next morning finds Maria, Mau, Bakura, and Ryou sitting on the stage, breakfast foods in the middle of the circle. "I had so much fun last night," Maria said tiredly, taking a bite of a doughnut.

Mau smiled at her friend's uncharacteristic lethargicness. "I'm glad you had fun. I only wish that I could have come with you guys.

"Maybe if you asked Helar, he'd let you go next time," Ryou suggested. Mau just replied with a small sigh.

"I actually enjoyed myself," Bakura said, "The only thing I didn't like was the stares that I got."

"Well naturally," Maria replied.

"I'm sorry they stared at you like that," Mau put in.

Bakura smiled sincerely at his friend. "It's quite alright, I got used to it surprisingly fast," he said. Mau nodded, still a little concerned though. Smirking suddenly, Bakura laughed, "You should have seen Maria and Ryou dancing though, they looked quite cute together."

While Ryou blushed slightly and looked away, Maria choked on her juice with a splutter. Mau couldn't help but laugh at Bakura's statement and at Maria's reaction.

"I thought you weren't going to tease us about it!" Maria exclaimed, "You promised!"

"I wasn't teasing," Bakura said defensively, "I was merely commenting."

Ryou turned, still a little red. "It sounded awfully close to teasing," he replied quietly.

Bakura grinned, "Interpret it as you will little brother."

Mau laughed and then changed the subject. "Maria," she began, "When is the next performance?"

Maria looked thoughtful. "I don't know. Seto cancelled practice for two days as a result of an excellent performance," she paused, "I'm a little edgy though."

Ryou tipped his head and smiled cheerfully. "You don't really need to feel edgy, Maria. Relax one of the days," he said.

"It's not that…" Maria trailed off and bit her lip.

"Go on," Mau urged gently.

"Well, this may sound stupid, but I'm worried that Téa will try to put me out of commission."

Bakura frowned. "That could be an issue," he admitted still frowning.

Mau looked confused. "But I thought Seto likes your voice more than Téa's," she said slowly.

"That's why Téa will try to put Maria out of commission. If Maria can't sing, Téa will immediately return to the spotlight," Ryou explained, which earned an understanding nod from Mau.

"Téa will do anything to get her way," Bakura added.

"Well, if we stay with Maria, Téa will have no chance to do anything and then give up," Mau pointed out as the auditorium doors opened.

"You don't know Téa, Mau," Yami said after closing the door behind him and Valon, "I've tried everything…"

"…short of killing her," Valon interrupted.

"Yeah, that," Yami conceded and the continued, "to make her uninterested in me."

Maria laughed. "He even told her that he wasn't straight, which is a lie," she added.

Yami just shrugged. "It got me some peace and quiet for about an hour."

"What haven't you tried?" Mau asked with a giggle.

"Isn't it obvious? The only thing he hasn't tried is a Catholic Exorcism," Valon laughed, causing Ryou to laugh.

"I bet if you asked him nicely, the phantom would help…for a price."

Yami looked at Bakura and a dark look crossed his face. "Phantom? There's no such thing. Phantoms are just childhood myths," Yami said with a hint of annoyance.

Bakura held down a growl and settled for glaring, seeing Ryou's alarmed look.

"Well, your cousin believes in the phantom," Bakura hissed, his anger evident. Yami noticed the anger and decided to back down for now, and ask Maria about her friend's behavior later.

Maria faltered slightly under a disbelieving glare then sent her way by Yami. "Can you tell that lack of superstition runs in the family except for Valon and now myself?" she asked with a nervous laugh.

"I see that," Ryou replied while Mau nodded.

Valon tried to lighten the mood. "Would that make me the black sheep of the family?" he asked with a grin expecting Yami's usual, immediate response.

"No, you're the purple sheep of the family," Yami returned unexpectedly.

Valon blinked and then smiled again. "That's right, and you must be the porcupine of the family," he shot back.

Everyone laughed, and then grew silent, having nothing to talk about for long enough.

"I know," Maria said suddenly, "how would you like to meet my teacher?"

"I would be thrilled to meet him," Valon replied.

"I don't care," Yami added.

"You don't care about anything," Maria accused.

"It's not that I don't care, I just don't want to be in the general vicinity as Mask-boy over there for extended amounts of time."

Bakura growled low in his throat and would have lunged for Yami, if Ryou and Maria didn't stop him.

"Why is that?" Ryou asked as he calmed his brother down, who still had a murderous look in his eye.

Valon put his hand on his forehead, shaking his head a little in shame for his brother's rudeness.

Bakura was calm enough to speak now. "We... had a disagreement last night," he said toying with his snowy locks.

"May I inquire as to what it was about?" Valon asked.

Yami and Bakura both rounded on him. "No," they said at the same time.

Valon nervously laughed. "Okay...okay."

Maria and Mau merely sweatdropped. "For not liking each other, they sure think alike," Maria commented.

"It seems so...well, Bakura isn't a bad person so I don't really know what the problem is," Mau agreed and then looked at Yami. "It's not because he's different, is it?"

"He... doesn't really take quickly to those who are different, and I don't mean by hair or eye color," Valon answered quietly, seeing Yami not about to answer.

Mau looked down. "...I'm different from other people," she said quietly.

Maria looked at Ryou and they both nodded in agreement that this conversation went on for long enough. "Bakura," she started, "mind getting Teacher for me since he only comes to me at night and you know where he lives?"

Bakura looked at her and smiled. "As you wish. After I get him though, I'm going to go find Seto and bug him," he answered and left with a short bow.

"Who's your teacher Maria?" Mau asked.

"Well, it's none other than the phantom," she replied.

Yami heard this exchange and cocked an eyebrow but said nothing. After a few minutes, Phantom appeared on the catwalk, finished securing his full-face mask, and grinned at the perfect opportunity to scare the group, seeing as no one noticed him up there.

Maria was just about to take another doughnut, when an insane laugh echoed throughout the auditorium, making her flesh crawl even though she knew who it was. Mau cowered and not caring about her fear, instinctively darted to Ryou, who closed his arms protectively around her shivering form.

"I heard some people wanted to meet me?" came the echoing voice that matched the laugh.

Maria turned towards the catwalk. "Teacher," she called, "My cousins wish to meet you!"

Phantom grinned and then gracefully vaulted himself over the catwalk railing to land soundlessly, crouched on the stage.

Valon was mildly surprised. "Good morning...erm...what title would you like me to refer to you?" he asked

Phantom merely blinked at such proper vocabulary. "One," he said dryly, "If you're asking what I would like you to call me, you can call me Phantom." He paused and smirked, seeing Valon look slightly miffed and Ryou, Mau, Yami, and Maria trying to hold back their laughter. "And secondly," Phantom continued, pulling down the brim of his hat a little farther in a slightly mocking gesture, "There's no need to use such vocabulary during an informal meeting such as this, patron"

Yami, unable to take seeing his normally serious and strong-willed brother falter under Phantom's piercing stare, basically jumped to his defense. "And you want us to believe that you're actually a phantom? There's no such thing!" he replied indignantly.

Phantom let slip a low growl and an eerie light reflected in his eyes. "If I'm not a phantom," he started in a dangerously smooth voice, which Mau was inclined to recognize but couldn't place where. "Then how do I do this?" he finished from suddenly behind Yami, close enough to breathe down the younger Patron's neck.

Yami spun around, but Phantom had moved again soundlessly. "H-How are you doing this?" he demanded turning to find Phantom directly behind him once more.

Phantom enjoyed this immensely. "Perhaps," he mocked stepping towards Yami, who took a stepped backwards for each of Phantom's steps, "There is a such thing as a phantom, but you're too bull-headed to believe that, now are you."

"Enough Phantom," Ryou called out in a surprisingly firm voice. Maria looked at Ryou in wonder and then remembered that Bakura was overstepping his boundaries the two had set.

Phantom looked over at his brother, grinned, and disappeared only to immediately reappear a second later in an obedient kneel behind Ryou. Ryou scowled at him and then turned back towards the group.

"Forgive Phantom, it's not wise to get him mad at you," Ryou said glaring at Phantom over his shoulder. Phantom just smirked in a sarcastic way and bowed his head. "Yes, master," he said in the same silkily dangerous voice that he used to scare Yami with.

Even Maria looked confused, so Ryou elaborated. "Me and Bakura saved the phantom, so he's technically our humble servant with a bad attitude."

Valon nodded. "Well, Phantom, I must thank you for bringing out my cousin's full potential."

Phantom laughed lightly. "Full potential? She hasn't reached that yet. Your cousin still has room for perfection. I aim to pull that perfection out."

"How do you know that Maria's not perfect already?" Yami asked trying to be polite.

Phantom snorted. "Maria is basically the reincarnation of Christine Daaé, is she not?" he asked. Yami nodded and Phantom continued, "Then it can be assumed that she has just a beautiful voice as Christine, and she's not there yet."

Valon and Yami stayed only a little longer before they left for home. After they left, Phantom, forgetting Mau was there, dropped his fake voice/accent. "Your cousin is a nasty little bugger, isn't he?" he asked with a laugh.

Mau gasped lightly. "B-Bakura?" she asked fearfully.

Bakura smacked himself on the forehead with a hand for being so forgetful. Turning after he finished swapping his masks, he smiled at Mau. "I didn't mean to do that," he said sheepishly taking off his hat and removing the rubber band in his hair.

Mau smiled in response. "I was terrified of you. You have no idea how bad I was shaking when you first appeared," she gently scolded.

"So what's this about Phantom obeying Ryou?" Maria asked skeptically.

"It's something that we cooked up once for when we're seen together," Ryou explained with a light laugh, "It's even more interesting when Bakura and Phantom are seen together."

Bakura snorted. "That's when Ryou's superior acting skills come into play. Ryou, why don't you give them a demonstration," Bakura suggested tossing his hat, cloak, and mask to his little brother.

Turning his back to the girls, Ryou rubber banded his hair back and slid the full-face mask on. Brushing his bangs under the hat, Ryou finished the ensemble by putting on the cloak over the ponytail. "Hello girls," Ryou said turning around, imitating Phantom's voice and glittering eyes perfectly, and walking towards them with the same air that Phantom had.

Maria and Mau shrieked in delight, clapping while Ryou continued. "I," Ryou continued drawing himself up straight, "am the self-centered, egotistical Phantom of the Opera who- oof!"

Bakura sat up from where he had tackled Ryou and took back his items. "That's quite enough," he growled while Maria and Mau continued to laugh.

"I was only stating facts," Ryou replied sweetly and was forced to roll out of the way as Bakura tried to cuff him across the head. Getting up, Ryou dashed off, Bakura not far behind him. Maria and Mau couldn't help but laugh at the sight of Ryou leaping seats and reversing directions, trying to keep away from Bakura. Unfortunately, Bakura used his phantom ability and appeared about two inches from Ryou, causing the younger brother to plow straight into him.

Both tumbled to the floor, and just before Ryou could scramble to his feet and run off, he felt a hand close over his wrist. Looking up, Ryou blinked curiously at Maria. "What…" he started to ask before he saw the laugh in Maria's eyes and felt arms around his waist pulling him back down. "No fair!" he cried as Bakura pinned him and started tickling his younger brother.

After a few minute of 'torture,' Bakura stopped and let Ryou catch his breath, still pinning him. "Learn your lesson?" Bakura asked. Ryou nodded and Bakura let him up.

"I must go see Seto about something, so I'll meet up with you three later," Bakura said before transporting himself onto the stage and switching back to phantom garb before disappearing.

Seto sat in his office looking at his list of actors and singers, wondering how he got himself into this mess. Since he was the technical owner, he had to make the decision of which singer was going to sing as the lead. There were two choices, and both had drastic consequences. The first was that he could cast Maria as the lead, but then Téa would mutiny and possibly harm Maria. The other option would be to cast Téa in the lead role. However, if he chose that, he'd have Bakura on his ass.

"Good, I caught you at an opportune moment," came a voice, startling Seto out of his thoughts. Looking up into a corner, Seto saw glittering brown eyes staring at him from the darkness.

"What do you want Phantom, or should I say, Bakura?" Seto demanded.

Bakura bit back a growl. "Look," he snapped, "I came to see that my latest pupil gets the lead."

"You know I can't just hand her the lead. I don't want a mutiny on my hands," Seto protested as Bakura sat in the chair across from him on the other side of the desk.

"Would you rather I cause something devastating?" came the replying hiss, causing Seto to shrink backwards.

"No, you won't. Téa will get the lead in the musical that we'll be starting in two days. However, Maria will get the musical after this new one. I need to keep the peace here Bakura, even though I want to give Maria all of the leads," Seto declared, steeling himself for the explosive outburst that was bound to, and usually did, follow.

"Do you honestly think I'd buy that bullshit?" Bakura demanded.

"Listen to me Bakura!" Seto pressed, leaning over the desk and grabbing Bakura's arm so the phantom wouldn't turn away, "I know what Téa is capable of. She'll harm Maria. You don't want that, do you?"

Seto's words had an immediate effect on Bakura. The fire died in his eyes and his skin paled to the same color as his mask. "No," he murmured sliding his hat off and bowing his head, switched his mask.

Seto's voice gentled slightly. "Then trust me, I'll tell Téa, and you tell Maria. It'll work out, I promise. But before you go, I have a favor to ask you."

"And what would that be?" Bakura asked softly, raising his head.

"This musical is going to involve quite a lot of acting, so I was wondering if Ryou would like to have the lead male part since he is exactly what I'm looking for. He's both an excellent singer and excellent actor."

"I'll tell him," Bakura agreed and as Seto bent his head to fill the cast list, he saw Bakura disappear out of the top of his vision.

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Yay, it's actually finished! Sry 4 taking so long, heat fried my brain. Read and review please!