Author's Note: HOLY CRAP – it's been a year since I posted on this last?! TT-TT Well . . . as my bio says, I have a chronic disease that's been kicking my ass for over two years now, and this past year especially, but that no matter how long a story sits fallow, it's not abandoned or even really properly "on hold" unless overtly marked so. It's just been that long since my body and brain have played nice and decided to let me think straight well enough to be creative. I know this chapter is short, maybe disappointingly so for having waited for so long, but if it's any consolation, the next chapter is completed as well so you won't be waiting near as long for it – I just need to check one detail against canon first . . . and it's obscure enough I'm not even sure where to look, but I'm anal, so…LOL Anyway, hope you all enjoy! Thanks for your patience!

Disclaimer –"Yu-Gi-Oh!" and all related characters, events, and concepts belong to Takahashi Kazuki and any other related owners/distributors/producers. I get no monetary benefit from this. My benefit is the enjoyment of dealing with beloved characters.

"The Definition of Family"
by DragonDancer5150

Chapter 11 – Truce

"B-BAKURA!?"

Dark Bakura chose not to resist when hands grabbed his arms, Jonouchi and Yugi's grandfather hauling him back from Honda after he'd grabbed at the Puzzle to get Host's soul into it.

"Bakura-kun, what do you think you're doing?" Mutou Sugoroku demanded.

Dark Bakura shrugged, looking from the old man to Honda with a wicked smirk. "Sorry, knee-jerk reaction. Just a little surprised to see the Puzzle on someone else . . . "

The fools weren't blind – had they not been sure before, they had to know with that exactly who was in charge. Proving him right, he watched Jonouchi's eyes darken further as he put a hand to the back of the embodied spirit's shoulder and shoved, no doubt intent on getting the "dangerous snake" away from innocent bystanders: namely the Mutou woman, another woman Dark Bakura was fairly sure he recognized from the few visits his host had made to the Honda residence, and a new face entirely – a spindly young man a few years' Host's elder who sat nearby on one of the waiting room chairs looking more than a little shell-shocked. Dark Bakura decided he was of no more consequence than the women and allowed himself to be led away.

He saw Honda and Anzu follow them, while Sugoroku stayed behind to handle the women. The spirit knew that the old man had finally learned quite a bit about his grandson's secret life in the weeks following Battle City, mainly prompted by some comment he had reportedly made, something that had the Pharaoh's Vessel realizing that the man who had given him the Puzzle to begin with knew a little more about what he had done than the boy ever realized. "All I know is, the one who solves the Millennium Puzzle inherits the will of the Pharaoh . . . "

Keh, not to mention all the arrogant bastard's problems. But that was not the Spirit of the Ring's concern. Anything that threatened the Pharaoh or his Vessel – well, except him of course – threatened the spirit's chances at getting what he wanted, and therefore would not be tolerated, and since he had learned that he could not simply gather the Millennium Items to get what he wanted – to open the Door to the Underworld – but also needed the Pharaoh's true name from the depths of his memories, Dark Bakura had quietly sworn himself to protect that damnable fool until such time as the other did finally get around to recovering that. And do so he would.

He felt his fists clench at his sides. It would all be for naught if that idiot Vessel died on some operating table where there was nothing the spirit could do.

The shift of Jonouchi's hand on his shoulder – back to front and gripping to turn Dark Bakura to face him – pulled him from his frustrated thoughts, and his eyes snapped up to meet the former street punk's.

"All right, what are you doin' here? And where's Bakura?" They had withdrawn across the waiting room so as not to be heard by those who did not know the supernatural side of everyone's lives, but Jonouchi's voice was still a harsh whisper to further ensure they were not overheard.

Dark Bakura leaned back, arms crossing as he smirked at the three of them, deliberately flashing a bit of fang. "Isn't it obvious? Someone has to man the body while its primary spirit is otherwise occupied. And as for Host . . . " His arms uncrossed coolly as he shifted to point at the Puzzle. "He's in there, with your precious Pharaoh."

He enjoyed the shock on their faces, idly wondering who would recover first. Apparently the girl was more resilient than her guy friends.

Anzu's eyes narrowed in anger, and she hissed at him. "You locked Bakura-kun into the Millennium Puzzle?!"

"This isn't some repeat of Monster World, is it?!" Honda growled, visibly torn between keeping himself – keeping the Puzzle – out of arm's reach and wanting to step forward and throttle the spirit.

Jonouchi did so for him, burying both fists in the front of Bakura's shirt. "Pull him back out – NOW – or so help me, I'll-?! Oww!"

Dark Bakura had interrupted the threat by reaching both his hands up over Jonouchi's, grabbing and squeezing the meat at the base of the thumbs, twisting out and down to force the hands painfully open and away. "You'll what?" he asked, sneering. "Challenge me to a Duel? Right here in the hospital? And what can you do against me without your precious Pharaoh?" He let his gaze take in all three, enjoying both the determination and the realization in their eyes – they'd certainly try to fight him, even as they knew the three of them alone didn't have the power to win. He snorted as he stepped a bit further back, crossing his arms again. "Besides, I just did that idiot a favor by sending Host in there with him."

Anzu blinked in confusion. "Did Yami a…favor?"

Honda eyed him speculatively. "You two came here knowing something was wrong. That was Bakura who first approached us, wasn't it? So he already knew you were going to send him into the Puzzle."

"Hn." Something like that.

The girl was wringing her hands now, some kind of little beanbag caught between her palms. "I-is . . . is there something wrong with Yami? Did one of you sense something?"

Dark Bakura considered for a moment just how much to reveal and what might be to his best advantage to keep for now. "Host has a strong connection with both the Pharaoh and his Vessel-"

Jonouchi's irritated growl interrupted him. "They got names, you know."

"The Pharaoh doesn't," Dark Bakura reminded him with a smirk. When the punk relented unhappily, he continued. "Host didn't sense anything from…Yugi" – He cut a glance at Jonouchi, conceding the name but almost as an epithet. – "but he could hear the Pharaoh . . . screaming in agony." He paused again, smirk deepening a bit, as he let that sink in.

Anzu's eyes went wide with horror, one hand clapping over her mouth as the other clutched that silly beanbag thing to her chest. Jonouchi reeled back a bit, eyes going hollow in shock even as he seemed to be trying to think what might be the cause. Honda grunted and caught up the Puzzle in both hands, staring down at it as though by force of will he could look inside to see what was wrong. Bakura bit back a chuckle at that.

This time, it was Jonouchi to find his voice first. "S-screaming? Yami?! No way!!"

Anzu's eyes had shifted to the Puzzle, her voice heartbreaking in its worry. "Yami-kun…" She turned back to the spirit and demanded, "What's happening to him?! What's wrong?"

"Thought at first that they'd been captured and someone was torturing the Pharaoh. Keh, turns out I was half right after all."

"W-what?!" Anzu choked.

Honda gasped in horror. "The surgery! H-he must…be aware…" The color drained from his face, and he looked like he was going to be sick.

Dark Bakura might have grinned in sadistic enjoyment were the knowledge that he shared the same weakness not grating at him just then. "Anesthesia knocks out the physical body and shoves the original consciousness into unconsciousness, but apparently the secondary one fails to share that benefit."

Jonouchi sucked a low gasp through his teeth, then breathed in horror, "Yami's feeling the surgery…" His sudden pallor matched his buddy's, and the girl's, whose legs went weak for a moment. Honda caught her.

Dark Bakura watched them for a moment, almost finding himself wanting to sympathize with them, recalling the experience of watching loved ones tortured and murdered. The memories were dusty with age, great distance and greater time passage having all but obscured them, but they were there. He remembered.

And if it meant now helping the one who had been responsible for that, even indirectly – after all, did not the son inherit the sins of his father? – in order to ultimately right that horrific wrong, then he would.

For now.

Author's Note: Please be sure to check my bio page for any updates, etc. Thanks!