Marik spent most of his life underground, and came to us with dark skin, so I guess it's in his genes more than from being out in the sun. Tou is a mixture of both, inheriting our mother's more olive complexion, but picking up some colour from his years as a mercenary keeping him outside, baking and burning in the hot weather.

Seeing Marik this pale, gods…it's scary. He's like a ghost, and Tou isn't far off, worry evident in every fibre of his being.

Kek and I are hanging back at the entrance to the infirmary tent, just watching, observing. It's a huge tent, spacious, but almost deserted. Marik is the only one who's in need of any treatment, and a single woman has been tending to him – a quiet and polite young girl named Isis. Yep, the same as Marik's horse. She's one of Atem's priests, splitting her time between the infirmary and protecting her prince. At the moment, she's come in to see to Marik, though she said to us that there wasn't much she felt she could do, that he seemed stable despite his unresponsiveness. The rebels have little working knowledge on how the Millennium Items could affect those who weren't compatible with them, so all we can really do is cross our fingers and hope he wakes up without any lasting damage.

"I've never seen Tou like this before," I whisper to Kek. He looks down at me with a grimace twisting his handsome face, and I reach out to grip his arm, longing for something to anchor me. Does he blame himself for what happened? He wasn't to know, though. None of us did. Despite the power I felt from it, it never even occurred to Tou or I that wearing the Pendant could be dangerous.

How stupid of me, to be so naïve.

Now, here Marik is, still as a corpse, and he could have been as dead as one, had he not still been breathing steadily. But there's no signs of life behind his eyelids, no twitch of his fingers when Tou takes his hand in both his own, no response at all when Tou brushes his lips over Marik's. Just…nothing. Not a damn thing.

"Marik…you'd better be able to hear me, wherever the fuck your mind is right now," I hear Tou murmur quietly. He has his forehead pressed to the back of Marik's hand, still grasping it firmly with his own. "We made it to Kul Elna, and you're being looked after now. Whatever's happening with you, we'll get to the bottom of it, alright? We don't know what's going on and neither does anyone else around here, but just…just hang on for us. Don't fall into the shadows. Give us some time to bring you back."

He sighs, the little breath making his shoulders shake. "I'll be damned if I made it this far, just for you to up and disappear on me…hang the fuck on…I'm not doing this without you, Marik. I can't…"

All Tou's earlier calmness has gone, and soft sobs drown out what else he would have wanted to say. It's obvious his heart is breaking. Not the way it did when Amane died…no, this is different. This is a different kind of love, a different kind of despair.

I can't stand to see him like this.

Kek glances back down at me. "We should go," he mutters. "This is uncomfortable as hell."

"You can say that again," I sigh, "but he's hurting, Kek. Can you blame him for being upset?"

"No. We shouldn't be intruding, though. They deserve some privacy."

I suppose he's right. Slowly, I nod, and Kek wraps an arm round my shoulders, steering me away from the tent.

Yugi showed us earlier where most of the soldiers slept, which turned out to be the old town hall. I never went in there much as a child, but I remember hopping up the entrance steps two at a time with my father, holding onto his hand so I wouldn't fall over…I was four, and Touzo would have been eleven, Amane just a year old. Tou had walked on our father's other side up those steps, carrying Amane in a woven sling on his back, hands in his pockets and whistling merrily. He used to be so happy back then, without a care in the world, back when our family was whole. After our parents died, he never smiled the same way again.

I barely register that we've reached our room till I feel soft warmth around me from the bedclothes. Kek fusses around me, wrapping me up securely, but there's no joy in his actions. He can hardly even look at me. "Are you okay?" I ask gently.

Kek just frowns, running his hands down the sheets, smoothing out non-existent creases. "I don't know," he murmurs. "I don't…I don't know what this is."

"Talk to me." I sit up in bed, keeping the blankets round my shoulders. "Tell me what you're feeling."

"That's just it, snowflake. I don't know." Kek drops his head into my lap, the same way he did that first night. Almost instinctively, my hands snake out from the blankets to weave through his coarse tangles of hair, stroking back stray wisps from his face. "It hurts," Kek whispers, "in my chest, and in my stomach. I won't throw up, but it feels as though I might."

Oh, Kek. Even after all those years of strengthening yourself on Marik's emotions, you never had the chance to know just what it was you were taking on. You could feel every emotion in the world now, and not have a clue what labels to put on them.

"I don't want to assume," I say quietly, "but it sounds as though you feel guilty."

"Guilty?" Kek raises his head a fraction. "How so?"

"You told Marik to wear the Pendant, and he passed out as a result. You probably feel guilty for being the cause of it."

Kek gives a little shudder, burying his head back into my lap. "I hate it," he whispers. "Feelings are…so detrimental. I don't want to feel. Ryou…I want it to go away. Make it go away."

"I'm sorry," I sniff. "I'm the one who brought you into the world. I forced this on you. I should be the one feeling guilty."

Purple eyes blink up at me in surprise, and before I know it, I'm flat on my back with a bulky weight on top of me. Fluttering kisses are pressed all over my cheeks, my forehead, my lips, and I feel hot droplets splash onto my skin. Kek is crying, sobbing softly and clinging to me as he continues to smother me with kisses. "I should have known what this feeling was," he whispers. "I killed my father. I put Marik in a coma. I should have known!"

There's no use in telling Kek to calm down. It would only make him worse, at this time when he's still figuring out his emotions himself. I wrap my arms around him and draw him closer, nuzzling his shoulder and murmuring soft words of comfort. Eventually, his tears dry, and he settles against me, tender and quiet. His kisses become deeper, slower, focusing on my lips now, and I respond in kind, simply allowing myself the luxury of exploring him. The other night, we…we were drunk. There's surely no other explanation for the way we ended up sleeping together. I don't regret it, but I just wish I'd have gotten to know him a little better first. Now's our chance, while we're truly alone.

"Would it be weird of me to say I think I'm falling for you?" I giggle when Kek eventually gives me some breathing space. He smiles down at me, shakes his head, and comes down for another kiss.

Oh, gods…I'll never tire of his lips, I just know it. Mmm…please don't ever stop…