The Pharaoh still hadn't quite gotten used to having possession of the Eye. Still hadn't gotten used to the feel of it between his fingers, the glimmering gold that caught the light and danced the yellow glow around every room he was in. Sure, the Puzzle did the same thing, but the Eye was different. It was small and yet it cast a glow so much brighter than that of the Puzzle.

He guessed it was probably because, while Pegasus was undoubtedly evil, and whoever had had the Eye before him likely was too, they were nothing in comparison to the Pharaoh who'd once held the Puzzle, or to Yami or Atem. Pegasus had a good reason for being an asshole, Yugi'd learned, but Yami simply enjoyed the suffering of others and Atem wasn't one to let his morals stand in the way of his Penalty games. He knew that the shadows on one's soul clung to the Items long after the owner was gone.

He wondered, idly, how much more darkness he'd bring to the Puzzle and how long his presence would cling to it.

And would his ownership dim the Eye as much as Yami and Atem had dimmed the Puzzle?

It was hard telling. He turned the Eye in his fingers again, watching it shimmer in the afternoon sun. Dust still sat in the design, but he was too lazy to carefully dig it out, bit by bit by bit. He'd go crazy long before it was completely clean.

He hummed and tucked the Eye into one of his pockets. Footsteps sounded behind him, the first set soft and easily missed if one didn't listen close enough - that would be Ryou. He was followed by two sets of louder steps - likely Malik and Seto.

"What're you doing?" Ryou's pleasant lilt was actually a bit of a relief to him.

"Getting some fresh air." Yugi rolled his eyes as he turned to look at him. "I haven't been outside in days."

Not since me and 'Tem got back from Pegasus' island.

"So you went to the roof?" Malik asked incredulously.

"Maybe I wanted to watch our men work while I took some time to breathe." Yugi retorted, sticking his tongue out. "Why does it matter, anyway?"

"You sort of just disappeared on us." Ryou shrugged as he took up a position next to him, gazing down at the streets. "Believe it or not, we were worried."

"And I have a hard time believing you just wanted fresh air." Malik leaned next to him. "What did you really come up here for?"

"Would you believe me if I said 'peace'?"

Both of them snorted, while Seto leaned against the wall next to the door.

He sighed. "Yeah, I didn't think so." He leaned against the rails again and gazed down at the teeming masses of troops. They'd long since moved to the actual hostile takeover part of the plan. He'd already finished his part - he'd been finished since before he took the Eye. It hadn't taken long to buy out all the companies he needed to in order to create civil unrest and now everything was up to Malik, Spectre, Joey, and Zen.

And, sure, Ryou had a part too, but it wasn't like he really needed to tell his troops what they already knew. The Bandits always knew what they were supposed to be doing. They never had to be reminded of their orders - Yugi guessed they just had a stronger work ethic than the Immortals or the Ghouls.

Either that, or they actually wanted to do what they were doing. Yugi wouldn't be surprised. The Bandits seemed like they were all pretty much ruthless psychopaths with a collective agenda. If Ryou gave them an order as destructive as the one they were currently under (that being, of course, "Help the others take over Domino and the surrounding farms. If you encounter opposition… End it."), they would not hesitate to follow it. And they'd grin the whole time.

Aside from the differing outfits, it was easy to spot a Bandit just from those smiles.

Well… Aside from one or two of them. Camille and Vanilla, for example, tended to stay on the sidelines and take care of injuries. They worked well with Aura and Ether, two of Malik's healers, and Nao and Kimiko, two of his own more skilled medics.

Speaking of his own men along with those of his friends however, he did wonder what exactly their Lieutenants had gotten themselves into over the past couple of weeks. They were no longer obligated to report in every time they did something important and as far as any of them knew Joey hadn't even been back to Kaiba Mansion since he'd left on his newest assignment.

Dimly, Yugi hoped that he was alright.

He'd be sad if he lost Joey. It was doubtful, however, that Ryou and Malik would be quite as affected by the losses of Zen or Spectre. That was… Almost sad, really.

On the East side of Domino, the very three he wondered about had set up a temporary base of operations together. Unintentionally, they'd set up a rather rudimentary hierarchy for the time being, as well.

Joey, who they knew as Bruiser just as everyone else did, was their leader. He liked that, but he refused to admit it. No use letting the power go to his head when it would be over very soon - hopefully.

Spectre had conceded the second-in-command position to Zen, less out of a desire to not be in power and moreso because Zen was taller and more intimidating than he was. If Joey didn't know better, he'd have assumed that Spectre, himself, was intimidated by the Bandit.

He was sure that wasn't the case, but maybe it was.

It wasn't like it mattered, really, but Joey really just needed something to distract himself while they weren't working. After all, there was only so much they could do in terms of advancing their mission per day and usually they got everything done quickly. You could say anything you wanted about them, Joey thought, but saying that they were slow and didn't work well together was a blatant lie.

And while they worked well together, he wasn't exactly sure that that sense of close-knit teamwork extended outside of their mission.

It was hard to tell, seeing as Spectre was a very quiet guy and Zen was almost never around.

He heaved a sigh and looked out the window, frowning. Spectre looked to him, almost surprised. Maybe he'd forgotten that he was there… It seemed likely. He wasn't always a loud obnoxious idiot, after all, though he was sure Spectre and Zen both thought he was.

Spectre frowned, after a moment. "Something on your mind?"

"There's lotsa things on my mind." Joey grunted.

"Anything in particular that's bothering you? Your aura seems… Muted."

"I thought you were a telekinetic." Joey narrowed his eyes at him.

"I am, but I also see auras." Spectre waved a hand. "Yours is gold, usually a lot brighter too. Sparkly and shit." He made a 'come here' motion with his finger at a teacup, which floated up off the table to and to his hand. "Right now it's kind of a dull brown." He took a sip, then said, "You never answered my question."

"How perceptive of you." Joey muttered, then sighed. "Honestly I dunno, though. I'm sure somethin' is botherin' me but mostly I'm just bored. I don't like sittin' still. 'Specially not when I'm stuck in a fucking shack with two people I barely know."

"You're more than free to leave." Spectre's eyebrows knitted together. "So why not go if you hate it here so much?"

"Cuz if I go home I won't come back here." He couldn't help being honest. What was the point in lying about it. "Sappy as it is I'd really rather be curled up with my man than be doing any of this shit."

For the first time, he saw the other man's lips twitch upwards. "Believe me, I know the feeling."

He regarded him for a moment. "Yer gay too?"

"Bisexual." Spectre shrugged. "But currently committed to a man, so…"

He nodded in acknowledgement, directing his gaze back out the window. Conversation was nice, but he couldn't think of anything else to talk about.

Well… That wasn't strictly true. He could easily continue the conversation for a couple of seconds by asking who Spectre was banging - not that he was likely to get an answer. But, no, he wouldn't ask a question like that. If Spectre wanted the conversation to head to that area, he could get it there himself.

It was silent. Joey could almost hear the wheels turning in the other's head.

"Who are you with?" The man eventually sighed, clearly resigning himself to the question.

Joey almost let himself look surprised. Instead he raised a brow. "Why do you ask?"

"Boredom." He shrugged. "And curiosity."

"Fair enough." He looked back out the window, swallowed, and said, "And it's Seto Kaiba."

Spectre spat out his tea.

"Yugi~!" Ryou waved a hand in front of his face, "Earth to Yugi! Hey, you in there, mate?"

He swatted the thin man's hand and looked at him. "What is it?"

"Looks like Atem's here." Ryou chuckled. "And you've been spaced out for like 10 minutes."

"Whoops." Yugi muttered without much remorse, turning toward the stairs. "Bottom of the building?"

"Yeah."

Malik and Seto were mysteriously absent now, he noted. He'd risk a guess in saying they were probably headed to meet Atem downstairs. After all, it would be rude of Seto not to greet a guest at his tower and Malik had probably wanted to make sure Atem had done his job.

He was, after all, supposed to be bringing Noa.

Or, maybe, Malik had gone to get Atem and bring him up and Seto had gone to get Mokuba and make sure he was there to meet Noa. That seemed just as likely, if not more so. But he really shouldn't get too distracted. Spacing out now wouldn't really do him any good.

Atem emerged from the doorway a moment or two later. In tow was a young man with mint green hair. Malik was behind the boy, watching him like a hawk. What had him looking so suspicious, Yugi wondered? Why was he staring at the kid like he was a dangerous criminal?

Eh.

Malik probably just didn't like new people.

"Hey," Atem grinned at Yugi.

"Hey." He smiled back as the taller male took his place beside him and wrapped his arm around his waist. "That's him?" He asked.

"Yep. Noa, this is the Pharaoh."

Noa paled slightly and bowed his head. "Hello."

"Hello. Don't look so worried - it's the Bandit and Phantom Kings you should be scared of. I'm just a simple businessman."

A weak smile was Noa's response.

"Speaking of them…" Atem looked to Yugi.

"Oh, yes, of course. You haven't been told yet…" He looked to Ryou with a smile.

Ryou's lips split into a grin as he bowed to Atem and Noa, "The Bandit King, at your service."

Atem's jaw hit the floor and Noa merely raised an eyebrow.

"I don't mean to be rude," He said, "But you don't look like anything I should be worrying about, sir."

Ryou gave him a smile, and in turn Malik gave the young man a sympathetic look. "Oh, I get that a lot." He lilted pleasantly, "But you'll learn soon enough."

"For your sake," Malik said, "I hope you don't have to learn."

Noa hummed.

"... And the Phantom King?" Atem eventually asked.

"That would be yours truly." Malik seemed disinterested in the whole situation, now, picking at some black nail polish on his middle finger. "I don't exactly make people quiver in their boots either, I know."

Noa shifted. "I dunno. I find you very intimidating. And now that I've been around the Bandit King for a while he's starting to get somewhat unnerving."

"It's the smile, isn't it?" Ryou asked with mock sympathy, "It's always the smile."

"It's more the eyes," Noa said, "They remind me of someone I met while I was on the island…"

Ryou cocked his head to the side. "Oh?"

The boy nodded. "Yeah. He had hair like yours, too. Super rude."

Yugi stiffened up a bit. Eyes and hair like Ryou's? Rude? That had to be Bakura. And, apparently, Ryou had the same thought, because his narrowed brown eyes had widened and turned bright green. He'd noticed that happened every once in a while - who knew why. A grin split the pale man's face.

"I know him." He informed the boy, "In fact, I've been looking for him. Do you know if he's still on that island?"

"He might be." Noa shrugged. "I haven't seen him since he first got there three years ago. He almost bit me for asking what was wrong."

If Ryou's grin could have grown, Yugi had no doubt that it would have. The boy didn't seem particularly thrilled about the change in expression, but he did look somewhat less scared of it. Well, Ryou was in a much better mood now. It would be safe enough not to be afraid of him for the time being.

He didn't get to ruminate on it for long. In fact, as soon as he began to, Seto emerged at the top of the stairs with a clearly uncomfortable Mokuba. They were muttering quietly to each other. Mokuba's eyes landed on Noa, however, and widened immediately.

"You're…"

Noa grew uncomfortable quickly. "I'm what? Is there something on my face?"

Mokuba shook his head. "Noa. I… I didn't really think they'd find you."

Noa's eyebrows furrowed. "Who are you?"

"Well, Noa…" Atem said, patting his shoulder, "These are the boys your father adopted after you disappeared."

His eyes widened. "So they're… They're like my brothers, right?"

Atem, Mokuba, and Seto all nodded.

"Well damn, that sucks." And before they could ask him why that was, he winked at Mokuba. "Cuz you're cute."

Mokuba turned beet red. Noa chuckled softly, cheeks tinting red. Yugi cast a glance at Seto to see how he'd taken the comment, only to find the man valiantly suppressing a smile. He quirked a brow at him, causing Seto's lips to press closer together in their attempt not to curve upwards. After a moment, the man mouthed, "Mokes has never blushed like that before."

Yugi couldn't help smiling in reply and mouthing back, "I ship it."

Seto's attempts not to smile were dashed, then, as a laugh accompanied a distinct upward pull of his lips.

This was nice, Yugi thought. This was really nice. Maybe meetings like this could continue after they found Yami and the others? He'd like that. That would be nice. He snuggled a little closer to Atem's side and thought about it.

Ryou curled up next to Bakura, brown eyes wide and sweet, a gentle smile on his face while he softly chided Bakura for being so rude. Bakura would roll his eyes, of course, because that was what he did. And Malik and Marik would be quietly arguing off in the corner, Seto would have his arm around Joey and honestly Mokuba and Noa would probably sit on the floor together and talk. And talk. And talk. And he would have a little bit of trouble figuring out who exactly he wanted to cuddle up with. If he was lucky, he could cuddle both of the men he loved.

How would Yami feel about that suggestion, he wondered?

"You still in there, daw' qalil?" Atem murmured softly.

He must have spaced out again. Damn. He nodded up at him. "Did I miss something?" He murmured back.

"No, but you were getting this far-off look in your eyes."

"I've been spacing out a lot lately." He shrugged as he laid his head against the man's shoulder.

He still found it unspeakably disconcerting that he was tall enough to do that. Atem had always been a lot taller than him but now suddenly they were almost the same height. He wondered if Atem thought it was kinda freaky, too. Probably not - Atem took most of these kinds of things in stride.

"That's not good." The man frowned at him. "You need to focus."

"I know that." Yugi frowned right back at him. "But most of the time I focus too hard and end up in my own little world."

He got a hum in reply, Atem's attention turning toward the others again. It was quiet for a moment before a thought came to him. Or, rather, it surfaced. He wasn't sure if it had been there before, but now that it was... Well, it was certainly interesting to think about.

He'd have to bring it up the next time he and the other Kings were alone. It would be rather awkward subject matter to broach around the Kaibas and Atem - at least it would be awkward for him to talk about in their presence and they would probably be uncomfortable hearing him talk about it. And Atem would probably be even more uncomfortable.

He snuggled a little closer, though he wasn't sure how it was possible to get any closer to the man next to him when he was already nearly skin to skin with him, and contented himself with staring past Noa Kaiba's head into the distance.

In his distraction, he of course did not see Noa ruthlessly flirting with and flustering poor Mokuba. But Ryou did, and Ryou had a hay day watching the boys interact.

Then again, he was a sadist and it was fun to watch other people suffer the way that Mokuba was. His face was bright red and his fists were clenching at his sides and honestly it was kind of cute. Ryou almost laughed aloud at the thought - since when did he think it was cute when others suffered?

Since we started getting more and more in sync because of that damned ring. Green-eyes supplied lazily, I'd say I'm sorry you got my weird opinion on the suffering of others but we both know that I'm not.

Aint that the damn truth. And before he really notices his attention shifting away from the adorable display of embarrassment, his gaze is on Yugi and Atem. Yugi's got that faraway look in his eyes again, and Atem is almost mirroring it, except Yugi's looking past the Kaiba brothers and Atem's staring right at the man next to him.

Atem's lips part once, then slide closed again. A few moments later, he opened his mouth again, only to click it closed. He frowned, that time, and moved his gaze away from Yugi to glare slightly out at the city. Ryou could almost see the wheels turning in his tanned head.

"Yugi," The man eventually murmured, giving him a soft nudge.

"Mm?" Yugi's attention snapped to him immediately. A soft nudge was all he needed. His attention hadn't been that far away, in that case, because to Ryou's knowledge it usually took at least three or four rough, sharp slaps and even then it was only through snapping in front of his face a little bit that you could fully get his attention back on you.

"I need to talk to you about something. You willing to listen?"

"Mhm."

Ah. His attention was still somewhere else, at least a little bit. He wasn't speaking.

"Good."

And Ryou stopped paying attention because suddenly he was painfully aware of Malik standing next to him.

And while Yugi listened, trying to bring his mind into the real world, Atem explained strange dreams he'd been having as of late. Dreams of Egypt. Of a palace and a meeting with the Thief King in the middle of the desert.

Yugi didn't have the heart to tell him that they probably weren't dreams.

Even if he could have said it, his throat had closed up again and he was pretty much helpless.

A/N: Make sure to tell me what you think, by the way!