She woke up not too much longer later and sat up rubbing her eyes, "where the hell am I?" she thought looking around. /oh yea, virtual world/ she couldn't find either of the boys and sighed bringing up a virtual screen activating the tracker she had on them.

Both of them were a few miles off near a stream. By the way the dots were positioned, they were both swimming.

She re-summoned the stardust dragon and got on it as it took off into the sky, flying high, towards the stream

The white-haired boys had taken off their shirts to swim and both of them were surprisingly smiling. Ryou was splashing Bakura lightly and the older boy only chuckled darkly, dumping a huge bucket of ice water onto Ryou. On both boy's pale chests were cuts, scratches, knife marks, and stab wounds.

The dragon flew overhead of the stream and she glanced down, "I don't think we should bother them. We'll just keep an eye on them." the dragon hovered for a moment as she brought up the screen and clicked a few things. "Let them have their fun."

Bakura tackled Ryou and dragged him underwater, laughing evily. He did, however, lighten his grip so that Ryou could pop out of the water and turn to tackle Bakura back.

The dragon roared and she glared at it, "stay quiet alright?" shaking her head she removed the screen, "go land over there, I have a few things to test out while I'm here." the dragon roared again and she growled as the dragon landed on the opposite of the tree lines

Bakura froze, hearing a roar from above. "Aww, what's wrong 'Kura?" Ryou asked, and received a glare. "Not here," he hissed.

She landed just in front of a small town and sighed, "I hope to God Seto built some decent NPCs," she muttered and looked at the dragon, "stay here, and don't eat anything." she walked towards the town

"There's no one here," Ryou said. "Come on, I was having fun!" Bakura, however, got out of the water and mumbled, "Stay here," before walking away.

"No," she growled scratching her head, "command override, command list," she said and a screen popped up beside the NPC and she began moving things around. "Seto can't even program a character right!" she growled.

After a little bit of walking, Bakura found himself a few feet from Aura. He stood watching her.

She was cursing under her breath and shut the screen, "alright, take four." she muttered, "How much for the Niwatori?"
"1000 battle points."
"Thank you! Finally got it right!" she exclaimed then turned and saw Bakura standing there then rolled her eyes, "I left you alone, so what do you want now?" she asked moving around the counter

"Left me alone?" he asked, standing and coming over to her slowly.

"That's not what I meant, you two disappeared and I was going to find you, but I didn't." she rambled quickly then picked up one of the cards looking at it, inspecting it, anything then watch him.

He looked at her for a moment before, "You spied on us, didn't you?"

"No." she lied quickly then placed the card down turning from him to look at the others.

"Your lying is worse than Ryou's," Bakura said simply.

She looked at him, "I have no idea what you're talking about, really." she said standing upright.

He rolled his eyes, sighing before coming closer to her.

She narrowed her eyes on him, "if you're going to hurt me, don't bother, you couldn't kill me here even if you wanted too." she said a slight stutter in her voice as she watched him move closer

Bakura stopped. "Who said I was going to hurt you?"

She couldn't help but smile, "you've had it out to kill me since I met you, I only assumed." she looked away from him.

He bit his lip, then murmured, "I made a bet with Ryou."

Her eyes met with his, "a bet? May I ask what can off bet?" she asked politely resting back on the counter.
"Please do not lean on the counter." the NPC said and she shot him a glare.
"Shut down," she ordered and the NPC disappeared leaving them alone.

"With Ryou," he continued. "So I'm calling a truce of some sort until it ends." He leaned on the counter next to her.

She couldn't help but smile shaking her head, "alright, then I'll try and not be such a nuisance." she looked down.

Bakura followed her gaze. "I will tell you this now though. Don't you even think of doing anything to Ryou. If you do, I will snap your neck without a second thought."His voice was laced with an undertone of care, but masked with anger.

"What do you mean do? I don't have any intention of hurting him." she looked up at him.

His eyes only narrowed. "I've heard that before."

"Would I have saved either of you if I had any intention of harming him? He's my friend and I wouldn't wish anything bad on him, or you." she crossed her arms turning her head away.

Bakura glanced at her before turning his head away as well. "Thanks," he muttered after a long pause.

"Now that we're alone." she started, "may I ask again, why I stress you out? It's really be bothering me." she said with a soft chuckle.

He glared at her. "what do you mean?"

She shook her head, "never mind, forget I brought it up."

He took her hand, digging his nails into her flesh. "Tell me."

She winced, though she specifically turned down her pain levels she could still feel it. "Alright, Ryou passed out after your late night escapade and I brought him home, he said something in his sleep that you drink because you're stressed and that I was one of the reasons you get stressed."

He glared. "...Fuck," he murmured.

"sorry," she said gently.

"You... irritate me," Bakura replied slowly. "A lot."

"I'm sorry." she attempted to pull her hand away. "Really, I am."

"But are you truly..." he murmured coldly, his grip tightening.

She winced, "yes, I've always been nothing to a burden on you. And I truly am." she bowed suddenly closing her eyes.

His grip loosened suddenly and he bounded away from her.

Slowly she stood upright and turned to hide her face. "Back then I kept getting in the way, like a wayward child, true I stopped Seth from killing you once or twice, but I always got in the way." she moved towards the door.

Bakura stopped. "You do always get in the way."

She chuckled, "Yea, I'm good for that." she looked back at him a weird emotion running through her eyes, "once I get you back to your body I'll leave you alone, and Ryou." she glanced down, she didn't want too, but if it was for the best.

"You best," Bakura said lowly, then disappeared.

Once she was alone she slumped down in a nearby chair and cried, "it's for the best," she assured. "He's happy, right?" she looked toward the ground, "yea, happy."

Bakura met up with Ryou, who say his face and frowned. "What?"

She quickly wiped the tears away taking a deep breath, "no weakness." she stood and walked outside to her dragon with her head low. The dragon caught onto her emotion and coed worriedly nudging her with its snout

Ryou got out of the water, frowning. "What did you do?" Bakura didn't reply.

"We should leave," she said softly and the dragon backed away not allowing her to get on. "I'm not in the mood for games."

"What. Did. You. Do!" Ryou shouted again; He lept out of the water, running off to find Aura.

She dragon roared as if arguing with her. "If you don't fly me, I'm walking." she growled and the dragon growled. "Fine," she walked around the dragon and the dragon turned following her on all fours

Ryou continued searching for her. "AURA!"

Aura ignored the shout and continued walking the dragon however didn't. He wrapped a tail in front of her to stop her and she shot a glare back, "I'm not going back." she said and the dragon hissed

Ryou, running as fast as his legs could carry him, found Aura walking away. He screamed her name again.

Aura turned away from Ryou and the dragon hissed again moving in front of her then swiftly knocking her back so she landed by Ryou, "I swear to god when I get home you're card is being ripped to shreds." she growled looking at the dragon.

Ryou, in a bust of adrenaline, tackled Aura the moment he got close enough.

She fell back, "uh...Ryou..." she stuttered.

"Why did you ignore me?" he asked, tears falling down his cheeks. "Why? Why? Do you not like me? Are you leaving me here? F-Forever..." he ended at a whisper.

"I told Ba-" she stopped and wiped his tears away frowning, fighting her own tears. "I like you Ryou, I really do. And no, I'm not going to leave you here, I promise you that."

Ryou felt tears fall as he whispered, "Why can't you two get along?"

"I don't know," she said softly looking away. /I wish we could though/

"Please... Why can't you try?" Ryou murmured.

"It's not up to me," she chocked on the words still fighting tears /no weakness/ she thought and the dragon coed coming closer.

Ryou gripped her in a hug. "You don't need a poker face around me."

She smiled holding him close, as if this was the last time she'd see him, "yea I do, it was how I was raised." she whispered burying her head in his fluff of hair.

Ryou stoked her back tenderly. "Come on... I'm different."

She wanted to argue, but she couldn't and a coupe tears fell down the side of her face as she held him closer.

Ryou gripped her tighter. "It'll be okay..." he murmured into her ear.

/I wish everything was a simple as that Ryou/ she thought dropping her head

Ryou massaged her back wordlessly.

She backed her head away, /why hasn't Bakura pulled us apart? Surely he's watching his Hikari/ she thought looking at Ryou, the brushed more of his tears away

Ryou leaned back slightly, and smiled lightly. "I don't like it when you frown," he told her simply.

She forced a smile, "I'm sorry." and wiped her tears away.

"Don't be," he told her. "Why would you be? I should be sorry for letting Bakura go away... did he make you sad?"

Her smile faded for a moment, "no, he didn't, he's fine." she looked back at him smiling brighter

"Are you sure?" Ryou asked her slowly. 'He better not have...'

She nodded, "I'm sure about it, we only spoke briefly, and he didn't do anything. Trust me." she ruffled his hair lightly.

Ryou nodded, hugging her suddenly. 'Good..'

She smiled and hugged him back, at least she couldn't see through her like Bakura did. She then realized they were still on the ground, "Should we get up, what if Bakura see's us like this?" she asked just barely above a whisper, she was happy where they were but with him around she wasn't too cautious

Ryou sighed. "He's already here, Aura. Maybe a mile away or so I'm guessing to be exact. It's part of our... Bet."

"Yea, but he's not watching us, right?" she smiled reassuringly then thought, "and what bet?" she asked, acting like she hadn't just spoken to Bakura about it.

"Well, I... Uh... It's a long story," he lied.

She chuckled, "that's alright, we have time."

Ryou sighed. "Well... It's more of a threat than a bet, but still."

"Wait threat?" she looked at him, "did you threaten him or..." she looked off towards the woods.

Ryou giggled. "You could say that..."

"What did you say to him?" she asked with a chuckle

Ryou blushed. "I, uh, told him I wouldn't say anything about it..."

She grumbled, "alright, I won't push you any more about it." the dragon laid down curling around the two of them but she hadn't noticed

However, Ryou giggled and said, "Promise you won't mention a thing to Bakura? Not a peep?"

She gave him a firm nod, "promise."

"Well, Bakura is kind of... Haunted. Every night when he sleeps... He sees the destruction of his village. It wakes him up screaming every night in his soul room," Ryou paused, frowning. "So... I started sleeping with him in his room. It seems to calm him. However, I told him I'd leave if he continued treating you so poorly..."

She was at a loss for words staring at Ryou, /I never expected that of Bakura/ she thought and looked away from Ryou, "Kul Elna," she muttered softly. "I was too young to understand or know about it then but it was a massacre, it's good to know you can comfort him." she smiled, /I wish there was something I could do, but it seems Ryou is handling it fine./

Ryou nodded slowly, his head down. "His screams... It was so raw, so desperate, so... Alone."

She flinched slightly as if she had been hurt, "Back then, I wanted nothing more than to be able too..." she trailed off lost in her thoughts then hugged Ryou closer.

Ryou smiled partially, and allowed the hug. "He's just so..."

She dropped her head to his shoulder and closed her eyes, "I know." she whispered.

It was at that moment that Bakura came into the clearing and saw them together. "RYOU," he hissed and the boy shot up, frowning. "Here, now." Ryou complied.

Aura didn't say anything, only sat up a bit so she could lean against the dragon looking away, feeling cold all of a sudden.

Bakura glared at Aura. "Keep away from Ryou," he hissed. The protectiveness, though hazy before, was now clearly evident.

"Yea, yea, I know." she sighed keeping her head away from the pair, and the dragon growled at Bakura raising its head from the ground

Bakura hissed back at it, his eyes narrowed. Ryou only frowned.

"Relax," she said to the dragon, standing and resting a hand on the top of its head, "don't waste your energy."

Bakura took a step forward, but Ryou took his hand and tried to pull it back. Bakura glared at Aura. "I thought you were leaving," he hissed.

She studied him for a moment, wanting to argue, instead she only bowed her head, "yea, I am." she looked at the dragon, "let's go, we have more tests to complete and only." she glanced at her watch, "a half an hour before I need to get out of here."

Ryou opened his mouth, but Bakura cut him off. "Go."

She shot him a glare, "I'm sorry since when were you allowed to boss me in my own world. You're lucky you're even alive you ungrateful prick." she hissed getting onto the dragon.

Ryou frowned and, for the first time, glared at her. "Aura! That wasn't nice!" He then turned to Bakura. "You too!"

She looked away from him to the dragon, "I'm not arguing." she looked over at Ryou, "the reason I ignored you was because I promised Bakura I would never see you again. So, as soon as I get you back in your body I'll stop talking to you, as per his request. Don't think for a second it's anything I want to do but for him, I will." the dragon growled. "let's go." she spread her wings and shot into the air

Ryou frowned, tears stinging his eyes. Bakura walked away slowly, leaving Ryou all alone with his tears.

"That arrogant ass," she growled and the dragon looked back landing suddenly, not getting far at all, "what the hell do you think you're doing?" she jumped off, "I'm sick of you fighting with me, can't nothing just be good for once!" she screamed and walked off in a fit.

Ryou wept silently, wishing desperately that someone would come to cheer him up, but knew that wouldn't happen. He was alone.

She growled, "fine, I'm done." the environment changed suddenly, not caring, "you want to fight, fine, we'll fight, but you're going to lose!" there was a violent roar that shook the land and the dragon looked around. "yea, I did." she said stubbornly. "shit...I did."

Ryou looked up, scared as the environment around him began to shift. "What the...?"

"God, I'm stupid, why do I let my anger get the best of me?" she sighed and drew two more cards, "Fuse my dragon with two more, come forth Ultimate Celestial Dragon," the large dragon took form where the first dragon was and there was another loud roar, shaking the ground, "so either I just called forth the leviathan or the God Dragon."

Ryou watched the ground shake, his fear at its peak. "What's going on!"

Aura turned and started running as the ground began cracking "shit, shit, shit," she growled trying to shut down the program. Then saw Ryou, "Bakura can be pissed later." she mumbled to herself, "Ryou who has your deck you or him?" she asked running up to him out of breath

Ryou looked up at her, eyes wide with pure fear. "B-Bakura," he spluttered.

"Ok, you need to find him, and stay with him. Until I can shut down this god forsaken program." she cursed and there was another roar. "I gotta keep my mouth shut," she sighed and the dragon she fused hovered behind her. "Protect Ryou but help him find his partner."

Ryou just stared at her. "What's g-going on...?"

"I was pissed and started program to get back at my dragon, but I forgot the program can only be shut down by defeating the boss." she chuckles and the dragon lowered to her side. "get on her, find Bakura, use my dragon as protection, she's pretty powerful so you should be fine."

Ryou shook his head stubbornly. "I'm not leaving you."

"I'll be fine Ryou, please, for me." she said giving him a hard look, "once you find him we'll meet back up, alright?"

Ryou stayed planted to the spot.

"I'm not giving you a choice Ryou," she glanced at the dragon who pushed its head under Ryou lifting him up onto its neck, "find Bakura." she summoned a smaller dragon and shot off into the sky as the Celestial Dragon took off towards Bakura.

Ryou frowned, but watched her go.

/I won't let you get hurt/ she thought and the dragon dived low, "good at least it's just the five headed dragon and nothing too serious." she sighed. /I could use help but I highly doubt Bakura will, so I guess it's up to me./ the dragon landed not far from the monster dragon and she took a deep breath

Bakura, meanwhile, was sitting by the stream he had been at before. He was deeply lost in thought, and hadn't even noticed the rumbling.

"How the hell am I supposed to do this without my Celestial Dragon?" she cursed, "I didn't think this out." an attack hit her small dragon and she growled in pain watching her life points drop, "one more attack like that and I'm out." she drew a card, "I hope this works for now, sword of revealing light."

Bakura looked up lazily to see a dragon overhead. He ignored it, figuring Aura summoned it

"I have got to be the dumbest person alive," she grunted sitting up from the ground just after an attack. "Really?" she forced herself onto her feet and looked at her deck

Bakura glanced up once more, bored.

"Alright," she drew a card. "Palace Defender, defense." she said and a large shield appeared blocking an attack that was aimed for her.

Bakura called up, "Aura?"

She was running now, "damn!" she fell face first as an attack exploded behind her. "hurry up Ryou I need that dragon!" she said spitting blood to the ground.

Ryou came almost at once, gripping onto the dragon for dear life. "ARRRAGGH!" he screamed as the dragon stopped suddenly in front of Aura.

"Oh thank god!" she sighed standing upright, "you find Bakura?" she asked offering her hand to help him down.

He shook his head. "I have no clue where he could be..."

"Alright, well stand back, cause I need to finish this." she said drawing a card, /hopefully my dragon will be strong enough to beat it on its own./

Ryou nodded slowly.

Aura raised a card into the air increasing the attack of her celestial dragon and the two dragons attacked one another creating a large explosion

Ryou jumped with shock. "Woah!"

Both of the dragons disappeared and she fell to a knee, "well that's new." she muttered grunting in pain. /so the pain limiter can only take so much before it activates again/ she thought holding onto her side.

Ryou rushed over to her, frowning. "Are you alright?"

She nodded, "yea, peachy." she lied "let's just say thank God this is virtual." she spit out some blood again and forced herself to her feet. "let's just get you back to Bakura." she summoned a small dragon and got on it, it was clear she was in pain and trying to hide it.