It like just turned midnight and I feel like a loser for putting this up so soon, but I'm bored. I'm alternating between doing nothing and finishing up a Thiefshipping oneshot I wanna get online either today or tomorrow. It will be titled Three (hint hint check it out hint). But at the moment, this chapter takes precedence. Interesting fact, this chapter was originally supposed to come out a little bit before Christmas, if I had followed my updating schedule correctly. Nothing like being seven months late! ...I wish I knew how to keep deadlines... And on a completely different note, this chapter is happy again! And there's some Thiefshipping and Deathshipping in it.

Disclaimer: Still not the owner of Yu-Gi-Oh. Or "Friday". But that last one is okay.

Chapter Twenty-Five: Today I-is Friday, Friday (Partyin')

Today was the big fucking day, all right. Second Friday of the month of December, and there had been a blizzard the night before. Just in time for Domino's annual snowball fight.

Bakura burst out of his room the moment he had put on clothes he deemed reasonably clean and banged loudly on the door to his brother's room. He heard the crash of his brother fall out of bed as the sound woke him. This was the one day he would always wake up before Ryou. Every other day it was his older brother that woke him up, constantly telling him that he needed to get ready for school, tuck in his shirt, his jacket wasn't buttoned correctly, oh no he spilled juice on his shirt, blah blah blah, who cared about any of that shit? This was what mattered, and Ryou had better get his ass out of that damn bed or he'd leave him.

"I'm coming, please stop banging like that, you'll wake up mum and dad!" Ryou called, finally making his way to the door and opening it.

"They sleep through anything!" Bakura scowled, darting into his brother's room to jump on the mostly-made bed and mess it up, to his brother's chagrin and his enjoyment.

"Come on already, you're not even dressed! Get your ass up and start moving! We've gotta get there before everyone else so we can scope out the arena and get our supplies ready!" Bakura yelled. Wasn't any of this obvious to Ryou yet? They'd been doing this for how many years now, and he still didn't know how the procedure went?

"Bakura please, calm down a bit! Before we go running off, I've got to get dressed, we've got to eat, we should really let mum and dad know where we're going to be, oh, I still need to fix my bed…"

"Well hurry it up then! Get clothes on already, jeez! What are you waiting for?"

"Well I'm not going to change with you in the room," Ryou muttered, pale face lighting up with red. Bakura rolled his eyes and jumped off the bed.

"Prude," he called out to his brother. "If you want something to eat, then get downstairs fast! Forget about the bed, the parents will fix it! If you don't show up, I'll leave without you!" He raced out of the room before Ryou was able to open his mouth again and blab some more useless junk.

Downstairs in the kitchen, he quickly popped some toast into the toaster. He could have made something better, but he didn't have time to waste. He needed to get to the park fast. This year was going to be his year. Nothing was going to change that. He'd trained for this all year, throwing around an old tennis ball to increase his aim and his throwing arm. Ryou had sported several bruises on his arm that would attest to his strength, at least until the parents had told him to cut it out, and he'd had to go back to throwing the ball at the tree out back.

Ryou made it down right as Bakura was finishing his first piece of toast. He slid the plate with the bread he'd prepared over to his brother, and then sent the jam on its way as well.

"Bakura, you know mum doesn't like it when you slide things on the table like that! It leaves scratches!" Ryou fretted.

"Just eat the damn bread already, and be glad I even made you any!" the younger of the two snapped. He hardly ever made food for himself, much less for anyone else, but today was special. Today, both he and Ryou needed their strength if he wanted to win this. And oh, he was going to win this.

The moment Ryou had closed his mouth around his last bite of toast, Bakura was dashing out of the kitchen, grabbing their winter things from the closet and throwing them on the floor at Ryou's feet when he came into the living room. While he'd been waiting for his brother to hurry up, Bakura had already yanked his boots on and was strapping them up. Ryou rolled his eyes at his brother's anxious behavior, but thank god didn't open his mouth up again. Instead, they dressed quickly and quietly, and Bakura rushed them both out the door the second they were done.

The cold weather hit him the instant he walked outside, and he grinned. This was perfect. The snow was deep and lie undisturbed on the front lawn. Bakura raced down to the street and burst out laughing as Ryou tried to do the same and wound up tripped and falling into a snowdrift.

"You're supposed to wait until after the fight starts to fall, Ry!" Bakura grinned.

"Yes, well, it's very high!" his brother protested, face burning as he too joined his brother on the street, walking in an exaggerated fashion to not fall over again. Which just made him look more like a loser than he already did with snow clinging to his pants and jacket.

Luckily enough for Ryou, he had no further accidents as they made their way to the park. There were a few kids milling around, some getting started on building forts and such for the upcoming fight. But for the most part, the place was theirs. Bakura grinned like a maniac.

"All right Ryou, you know what to do, right?" he demanded. His brother sighed and nodded. "Then get scoping out all the good areas by the river and I'll start over on this side!" Ryou nodded again and then walked off, still in that stilted fashion of his as he tried not to fall again. Bakura didn't bother being careful. He wasn't a loser like his brother; he knew he wasn't going to fall.

A few kids by a fort watched him as he ran past, and he smirked at them as he went. They were obviously new to this. Forts were only useful if you were planning on staying in one area, and no one did that. The ones who holed themselves up were always the first to get out. This was a game of planning and skill, and you needed to be fast on your feet.

Bakura and Ryou had been participants in this snowball fight since he'd been seven, and he'd learned a lot since then. He knew all the good spots to hide, and where the most battle-heavy areas were. Most of the work would be done when the game actually started, but for now it was good to get a lay of the land and prepare some snowballs in various hidden caches for later use. He was going to win this year. He'd been close to taking it all last year, but one team had beaten him and Ryou out. It had all been Ryou's fault.

With preparations done, he rushed back to the center of the park where the fight would officially begin. As he'd been going to different hiding spots, more and more kids had begun showing up, forcing Bakura to be sneakier as he went around the park. It wasn't against the rules to give yourself a head start before the game began, but he didn't want anyone else knowing what he was doing.

Ryou was already there by the time Bakura got back. So were most of the neighborhood kids, children he recognized from school and ones he hung around with. There were several minutes left before the fight officially got under way. Anyone who had not arrived by then and gotten his or her team set up would be disqualified.

"Have you seen them yet?" Bakura hissed to his brother, looking around at the competition.

"No. Maybe they aren't here," Ryou suggested. Bakura laughed. There was no way those two wouldn't be here. They had been last year's winning team, and like him and Ryou, had gotten close to winning the past two earlier years. They wouldn't miss this. And though they had beaten him before, Bakura didn't want them to miss this. Winning wouldn't be anywhere near as much fun if he didn't squash those two in the process.

"All right everyone, it's time to start! Get into your teams and write down the name of you and your partner! Once we've got everyone registered, the game will begin!" Cheers went up from the crowd of kids gathered in the park. Bakura grabbed Ryou and went to the closest spot he could find to sign up. He looked at the names of the kids who'd gotten there before him, recognizing a lot of them, but none of them being the two he was looking for specifically.

"They better show up," he growled to himself. The game would begin soon. Officials were explaining the rules to those who were new while the last few fighters signed up. He still didn't see the team he was looking for.

"There you two are! The albino freak team!"

Bakura spun around, eyes narrowing when he beheld the two boys in front of him. Dressed just as heavily as he was, grinning and with faces slightly tinged from the cold, were the Ishtar brothers.

"Hmph. You two almost didn't make it," Bakura scowled.

"Aww, were you worried we wouldn't be here to beat you, little baby?" the eldest brother, Malik cooed at him. Bakura grit his teeth.

"No!" he yelled. "I just wanted you to be here to watch me win!"

"Like that will ever happen! Little babies like you can't do anything!" the younger of the two brothers, Marik, laughed. Bakura's face burned brightly and he took a threatening step toward the two. A hand on his arm held him back.

"Bakura, calm down, we can't get into a fight here!" Ryou advised him from before.

"Yeah, listen to your older brother, little baby," Marik said. Bakura wrenched Ryou's hand off his arm.

"Don't touch me," he said lowly. "And you two! Laugh all you want! You'll be crying when I beat you into the ground!" Then he stomped away, leaving his brother and the Ishtar boys laughing behind.

He hated those two! They weren't that much older than him, but every single time he saw them, they always started with that baby business! He wasn't a baby! He was two years younger than Malik, and only one younger than Marik. That didn't make him a baby! He would have shown them, but fighting, unless it was with snowballs, wasn't allowed. He couldn't do anything to them until the match started. Then he would show them.

"Bakura, will you please stop! The match is going to start soon, and we don't want to be separated!" Ryou called from behind him. His brother was trying to catch up with him, and failing. Bakura stopped and rolled his eyes, then turned to face his brother.

"Why don't you ever tell them to stop?" he questioned. "Why don't you ever stick up for me?"

"It's not good to get into fights, Bakura," Ryou explained slowly, like he was a little kid. He sounded like the parents did whenever they were trying to explain something to him. Ryou was older than him, but he hadn't ever called him a baby like the Ishtar brothers did. But he didn't need to. It was all in that attitude of his, and it was bothering Bakura more now than ever.

"God, Ryou, can you just stop already? You aren't an adult, okay! You're a kid, so stop complaining and bitching all day and just act like one!" he yelled. Ryou drew himself up to his full height, which was about an inch or two taller than Bakura.

"Well actually," he started, "I'm not a kid. I'm a teenager now."

"You're thirteen and only a year older than me! Stop acting so high and mighty!" Bakura snapped.

"I'm not! I'm just trying to get you to calm down so you don't do anything too rash!" Ryou argued. His own voice was rising as well, and kids around them were starting to stop and look.

"I'll show you rash," Bakura growled, walking up to his brother.

"Hey, the match is gonna start!" A kid ran past the two of them and anyone else who was standing by watching the two brothers. Bakura raised his head and looked to the center of the park where everyone had gathered. Then he turned his attention back to his brother.

"Don't mess this up, Ryou. We're going to win this time," he said. He was still angry, but Ryou was his partner now, and it was important that the two of them stayed together. He would show his anger to all of his opponents.

"You be careful too," Ryou said with a bit of a smile. "If you want to win, you're going to have to keep an eye out for those Ishtar brothers."

"They won't be a problem," Bakura grinned. Back in the center, he heard the alarm go off that meant the match had began. They now had three hours to win the match.

"Let's go! Head to the river!" he yelled to Ryou. Ryou nodded and they took off together and began running. Bakura scooped up a handful of snow and formed it into a tight ball, ready for anyone who looked his way.

Back in the center, things had exploded. It was mayhem. Kids were pelting each other left and right with snowballs. Teams were falling like flies. All it took was three snowballs to the chest, and you were out. Then it was left to your partner, and if he got out too, then the team had lost. There were officials all throughout the park, watching to make sure that no one cheated and acted like they weren't out, though each year there were only a few counts of it. Cheating carried the penalty of not being able to participate in the game ever again. No one with a brain dared to think they were smart enough to get away with it.

He and Ryou slid down past the dead bushes that lined the river to the first of their hidden defense positions and grabbed a handful of snowballs each. The river was a prime location to destroy some of the other teens. Each year kids ran to the river to find hideout in the bushes and trees that lined it, and each year a lot of them got out. The ones that remained would find different areas to hide, but he and Ryou had their other hideouts for that point of the game. Right now they were focused on the river.

Bakura threw one of his snowballs at the first kid he saw come into view. It hit him dead in the chest, and he spun around wildly, looking for where it had come from. Bakura grinned. This was too easy. This kid was obviously a newbie. He didn't even have his partner with him! Only the new guys thought it would be a good idea to split up and conquer. In some instances it was a good strategy, but most of the time it just got rid of the guy who watched your back.

He threw a second snowball, and Ryou threw the third. All of them hit the kid directly. He was out before he even knew it. He looked down at his chest, counted the impacts, and then lowered his head and sulked away back to the center where the losers went to wait for time to run out.

"One out," Bakura cheered.

"And a million more to go," Ryou finished. Bakura rolled his eyes.

"What, you already scared?" he taunted.

"No. Just reminding you not to celebrate too early," Ryou said.

"You think I'm an idiot or something? I know that we haven't won yet," Bakura said.

"Got another team coming," Ryou stated. They ended all conversation and concentrated on eliminating these two as well. Which they did, no problem. Bakura was a pro at this. Ryou was, well, he was just pansy, pathetic little Ryou who hated hurting others and violence, but he was at least worth something. He had good aim, and he had a competitive streak that shone in games like this. He wanted to win as much as Bakura did.

With the river area mostly cleared out (those who had not fallen in battle had realized it might be in their best interests to clear out), Bakura and Ryou cautiously emerged from their sixth hideout along the river's banks.

"Okay, time to head to the other side. Keep your eyes peeled for any stragglers," Bakura instructed. Ryou nodded and held up his two snowballs. He had a couple others stuffed in the hood of his coat.

"The two of you aren't going anywhere yet!"

Bakura seemed to spin around in slow motion. His eyes widened and he screamed for Ryou to run as he caught sight of the two Ishtar brothers running towards them, holding snowballs in each hand, laughing manically. It was too late. The snowballs flew, one after another. One smacked Bakura in the chest. Another two hit Ryou, making the boy stumble and drop one of his own snowballs.

Bakura threw his weapons, not concentrating on aiming at the two approaching enemies so much as just trying to scare them off. His eyes darted across the environment. They were too far away from the river to run back to the protection it offered now, and by the time they got to where they were headed, it would already be too late. They had to drive the Ishtars back now. This was no spot for a fight! He'd had everything planned out in his head, and now those two brats had ruined it! This wasn't where he'd planned on crushing them!

"The baby hit me! He actually hit me!" Malik's voice came across the stretch of snow, sounding incredulous. Then he gasped as a second snowball of Ryou's hit him square in the chest and knocked the wind out of him. Bakura dodged a snowball aimed his way that could have only come from Marik. He turned briefly to see the blonde glaring at him and getting ready to throw a second snowball in revenge. Bakura threw one of his own, turned, and kept running.

"Bakura!" That was Ryou, the idiot! He'd stopped running and was pointing. Bakura ran to him and got ready to grab him by his arm and drag him away if he needed to. They couldn't stop for whatever stupid thing had caught his attention!

"Wait, Bakura, look! It's Malik!"

He spared a glance behind him for a second and stopped running so quickly he almost tripped as his body realized it had come to a stop. Malik was looking down at his chest, which was covered in snow. Malik had also stopped at staring at his brother with the same look of wide-eyed disbelief.

"He got me out," Malik said. His voice sounded small and tiny compared to the way he usually yelled everything. "The baby actually got me out. That can't be possible."

"You're right, that's impossible," Marik frowned. "Are you sure you counted right?"

"He got me out," Malik responded. He looked up at where Bakura and Ryou were standing wearily together, ready to bolt at any moment. "You got me out!"

Bakura smirked tiredly. He was still ready for action, and this whole standing and waiting for what would happen next was both tense and draining. "Told you I'd destroy you both."

"But that's not possible! You're just a baby! You can't beat me!" Malik protested.

"Well, it looks like he just did," Ryou informed with a bit of a grin. He squeezed Bakura's arm and Bakura didn't punch him for it. He was feeling pretty good about himself right now. He would tolerate the brotherly thing with Ryou for a while.

"I wouldn't get so happy if I were you," Marik said darkly, raising his hands. "You might have gotten Malik out, but you've still got to deal with me!"

It all happened too quickly. Bakura cursed himself for not having assumed it would. Marik clutched two snowballs tightly in his hands. He threw them both simultaneously. Bakura shouted at Ryou to run, but it was already too late. One of the snowballs had hit him. It was his third. His brother was out. The second Bakura barely had time to dodge. He glanced behind him at Ryou, who was falling too his knees in the snow, hands outstretched, and to Marik, who was coming his way with another snowball.

"Run!" Ryou yelled to him. "Run, Bakura! You can't lose here! You have to win! For the both of us!"

"I will!" Bakura shouted back, and then he ran. He tore across the snowy field to the closest hideout he could think of. Marik followed close behind him, but the distance was widening some. Right now he didn't care if that hideout was nowhere near the battle; he just needed to get away from Marik. And if he couldn't, then he needed to get ammunition.

He spotted one of his hideouts. This was one he had prepared himself; he knew exactly what was in there and where it was. It was located just under a bare tree. Nothing about it stood out, which was why it was perfect. The tree was located on a bank, and on the south side the roots were exposed, leaving a perfect little niche for some snowballs. Bakura glanced behind him, saw Marik was still following, and ran faster.

He dashed to the side of the tree where he'd hidden his missiles and grabbed as many as he could. One dropped as he got to his feet, then a second. He managed to scoop the second back up, but there was no time for the first. Marik was already here, looking angry.

Marik threw the first hit. It missed, and Bakura exchanged a blow of his own. He smiled grimly when it hit. Marik scowled and threw another, which also missed.

"What's wrong, Marik? Your aim not as good as the 'baby's'?" he taunted.

"I'm just warming up," Marik growled. But his third snowball missed as well, and he only had one more left in his hands. Bakura readied one of his own, and Marik turned and bolted. He threw the last snowball behind him for good measure, but his aim was off, and the action gave him a few seconds head start. Bakura grinned savagely and chased after him. Now he was the hunter, and Marik was his prey. And he was going to win. Once he got Marik out, no one would be able to stop him. He still had two more hits left, and he couldn't imagine that there would be anyone out of the remaining teams able to take him on, even without Ryou. He was the best. He wasn't some baby! And he was going to show it now!

Marik came to an abrupt stop. Bakura stopped a bit in front of him, grin still in place. Until he noticed the reason why Marik had stopped, and then it fell, just a little. Another boy was coming toward them, walking slowly, snowballs in hand, smiling. He was trying to look cool and failing. Bakura rolled his eyes. Just another annoyance for him to deal with before he could claim his victory.

And then the others came out, and the annoyance was a bit bigger than Bakura had initially assumed it to be. There were suddenly a dozen or so kids surrounding the two of them, each holding at least two snowballs. This was suddenly not a coincidental meeting with another team, but an ambush. And he only had two more hits left before he was out of the game.

"Looks like we got ourselves another team to annihilate, boys!" the first boy cheered.

"And girls!" a call came up from the left, followed by the hoots of two more girls who apparently didn't want to be ignored.

"And girls," the boy added, rolling his eyes. Then he grinned again. "You two ready to eat snow?"

No, he was not ready to eat snow, Bakura wanted to say. He was going to win this, no matter what damage these punks thought they'd be able to do. But the boy's words gave him an idea. He didn't want to, but he moved slowly until he had sided up to Marik.

"Temporary truce," he suggested. The other boy looked down at him.

"What, don't think you can beat them all by yourself, baby?" Marik sneered. Bakura bristled, but controlled his anger. He knew he could take them all himself. But he wasn't going to be stupid about this. Ryou was already out, and he only had two more hits left before he lost as well. He wasn't concerned about any of these losers, but it would be difficult to pay attention both to the ambushers and Marik. Marik was the one out of any of the people here who could get him out. And he wasn't going to lose to Marik.

"I can beat them by myself," he said. "I just thought you might want the reassurance of knowing you wouldn't be losing to just anyone. I've got the honor of beating you, and no one else. So what do you say?"

"I say if you stab me in the back, I'll kill you," Marik growled. Bakura grinned.

"Same goes for you!"

Marik had enough time to grab a handful of snow before all hell broke lose. Bakura darted quickly out of the center of fire. Everyone had thrown his or her snowballs at once, not a very smart move. He heard one of the ambushers complain to another that his ball had hit them. Bakura took one of them out himself on his first throw. Apparently the boy had already gained two hits. Bakura gave him his third, and that left him down and out for the count.

He caught sight of Marik bending and scooping up some more snow. The blonde was at a disadvantage. He barely had time to form his weapons while he was still trying to dodge the incoming missiles. Bakura darted to his hideout and grabbed several from his stash, stuffing what he couldn't carry into the hood of his coat.

"Hey Marik!" he called. "Catch!" He threw two snowballs up into the air, and the blonde caught them, then looked at Bakura for a split second. There was confusion on his face, and Bakura felt accomplished for being the one to put it there. Now the asshole owed him, and they both knew it. Then in another moment Marik's attention was torn away from him as he snarled ferociously and attacked one of the three girls in the ambush.

Bakura scooped up some more snowballs when his current supply ran out, and continued going on with business. There were only four kids left, and the majority of the ones that had gotten out were standing around the sidelines, cheering for their teammates to win. Which wouldn't be happening. The blood was roaring in his ears and he'd built up a steady heat that was warming his whole body and freeing his muscles from the cold that had descended on them earlier. He couldn't lose. Bakura was in his game.

So was Marik. From the little he had caught, the blonde was doing good. Much like Bakura, he took no prisoners in this match. Now that there were fewer opponents to worry about, he had time to make his own snowballs as well.

Bakura was just thinking that he actually made a pretty good team with one half of his rival team when the snowball hit him in his side. He gasped, eyes wide. He turned and saw a snowball fly at the boy who'd hit him with such force it knocked him over onto his butt. At the other end of that snowball was Marik. The blonde breathed heavily and looked positively livid. For a moment, Bakura was almost afraid, before he remembered that that was stupid and he was better than everyone here.

"What number was that?" Marik called out, turning his gaze on to Bakura himself.

"Number two!" Bakura replied. He threw the snowball clenched tightly in his hand and took out the bastard who'd hit him. Then he checked on Marik, who'd just gotten out another boy himself. That was when he noticed the other boy, the one who'd first cornered them, sneaking up on Marik with a snowball between his hands.

"Look out!" he yelled before he was even able to tell himself that this was Marik, and he should not care as much as he did. Marik turned too slowly. The ball hit him dead center in his chest and knocked him over. Bakura ran to his side and bent to help him up, glaring at the three boys who were again surrounding them, daring them to even think about attacking.

Marik grasped his hand and allowed the acceptance. He crouched low to the ground, eyes darting to the three boys, ready to run if he noticed any of them getting ready to throw.

"You were out," Bakura growled at the leader. The boy smirked.

"You only thought I was! I've only been hit twice!"

"That's cheating!" Marik shouted.

"No it's not," the boy argued, shrugging, a movement that was supposed to indicate that the two of them knew nothing. Bakura was starting to feel that familiar rage that burned at him whenever someone called him a baby.

"It's against the rules to act like you haven't been gotten out yet when you really have. There's nothing in the rulebook about doing the opposite. That's just called strategy." The other two boys in the circle sniggered. "You two might be dumb, but you're also pretty good, I'll give you that. Maybe next year you'd want to join us."

"I don't think so," Bakura said. "I don't think you guys would want to join me next year. You'll be too upset over the fact that I beat you all. Because I'm going to win this!" Before anyone could react, he grabbed the last snowball out of his hood and threw it at the leader. He fell to his knees with his eyes wide. Marik threw a ball he'd made when he'd fallen to the ground and got a second boy out. Bakura took out the last and laughed as they all went running.

"That's right! Head toward the losers where you belong! That's what you get for messing with us!" He laughed and laughed and realized his mistake only when Marik's eyes went from mirthful over their victory to dark and stormy. They were not a team. Even if they were good together. They were enemies.

He jumped away from the blonde and hurriedly grabbed at some snow and formed it into a ball. Across from him, Marik was doing the same.

"You fought pretty well, for a baby," Marik taunted.

"And you fought well for a pansy!" Bakura threw back. Marik's grin became a frown. His fingers drummed against the snow in his hand, but he didn't throw it. He was hesitating. Bakura mirrored his expression. His own weapon was cold as it melted beneath his gloved fingers, reminding him that it was now or never. This was as good a chance he would ever get to ruin Marik right here and now. He didn't hesitate. He threw the snowball and watched as it cost Marik his victory.

The blonde scoffed and wiped the snow off his coat. "I didn't think you'd actually do that," he mumbled. Bakura walked up to him and shrugged.

"Told you I was gonna win," he said. "I can't believe you didn't do it yourself." Marik shrugged and let the snowball drop.

"What can I say?" he said. "You did pretty well, Bakura. I kinda want to see if you've got the skill to actually win this thing on your own."

Bakura grinned and picked up Marik's fallen snowball. Feeling silly while doing it, he gave the blonde a wink and darted off. "I'll see you at the center when I win!" he called back. Marik's laugh rang in his ears as he went.

00000

After he won, Bakura did find himself with Ryou in the center of the park where the two of them were crowned the victors of this year's snowball match. Most of the kids around them cheered, but a few—such as the kids of the ambush who glared sulkily up at the two brothers—chose to boo instead and go on about how they should have won. Bakura didn't give a crap one way or the other. He was the winner here, and he'd won using his own skills.

"We did it! We won!" Ryou cheered once the crowd had begun to clear up. Now that everyone knew who had one (and who to aim to beat next year), most of the kids were headed home, or fooling around some more in the park. Ryou yanked his arms up and down as the two of them walked further and further away from the center. Bakura let him do it.

"You mean I won," Bakura corrected. "You got out. I had to do all of the hard work."

"But you had help."

Bakura stopped walking, and Ryou stopped saying whatever nonsense he'd been about to say. The two brothers looked back as one and saw the Ishtar brothers standing behind them, grins on their faces. Ryou broke out into a smile and rushed over to Malik's side.

"Hi Malik!" he greeted cheerfully. Bakura started at the two in amazement. He went back from his brother to Malik, and back again. Ryou was still smiling, and Malik was grinning in a way that almost looked happy. What the hell was going on here?

"Ryou, what are you doing?" he demanded. "That's the enemy!"

"Malik and I got to know each other when we were waiting!" Ryou explained cheerily. "He's actually a really nice person! We've decided to hang out later this week!" Bakura protested loudly to the idea of such nonsense.

"Well you got to know my brother too, didn't you?" Malik questioned. Something about the way he asked it made Bakura blush deeply. It was like he was implying something more had happened, whatever that might be. When he looked over at Marik, he noticed he was blushing too.

"We just helped each other out a bit, that's all!" Marik protested hotly. A bit too hotly. Even Bakura picked up on that.

"Suuure!" Malik laughed. "From what I hear, the two of you worked well together! Maybe next year you two should be a team against little Ryou and I!" To prove his point, he grabbed Ryou and squished him up against his side. Ryou squeaked and Bakura squawked loudly. He did not like this, oh no he did not.

"Let go of him!"

"No, he doesn't mind, do you Ryou?"

"N-not really," Ryou responded timidly. He was still smiling though, and that angered Bakura more than anything. Bakura ran up to Malik and started pulling on his arm to release his brother, but the older boy just pushed him off on to Marik, who caught him in surprise. Their eyes met and they darted away from each other as quickly as they could. Malik's laughing rang in the background. Bakura ran up to yell at him once more, and this time Marik joined him, although neither of them looked at each other.

While his mind was mostly on the fight and getting Malik the hell away from his brother! somewhere in the back of his mind the idea of teaming with Marik stuck. They had made a good team, after all. Maybe he'd think about that for next year after all.

Yay snowball fight! On that note, let's pretend that there's snow in Japan. Yeah. A lot of snow.

I really enjoyed writing this chapter, it was fun! Making Bakura be the youngest, and (though this could be argued) in a way the most immature out of the lot was interesting to write. It made me enjoy him a lot, haha XD Also some of the scenes I kept picturing in my head as like, really melodramatic scenes from action movies or something, like the bit where Ryou got out. His face is drawn in something akin to pain and guilt at both being the first of them to go down and the knowledge that he is no longer there to support his brother. But he will do what he can. He throws his arm out on his way to the ground, screams at Bakura to run, who is staring at him with wide, surprised brown eyes, having not expected such an outcome for an instant. He turns and bolts after shouting some heartwarming words of continuing the fight, not just for him but for the both of them, for the brother that he has lost! and Ryou closes his eyes and rests with a smile on his face, knowing that everything will turn out all right. Yeah, just like that. But with slow-motion. And dramatic music. And some real long close-ups that reek of emotion.

So yeah, remember to review! Thanks!