Chapter 4 "Dirty games."

Sasha: *runs out of her soul room* YAHAHAHA! I got out! Um, yes … I apologise for the last chapter; it's mushy angst stuff and really weird…I'll make up for it! Sorry, sorry about the confusion, I'm going to rework the third chapter sometime later, but for now, accept my apologies? I was having a bad writing day. A REALLY BAD writing day. Here's where things are going to get kicked up a notch. And to stave off more confusion, this chapter begins in Yami Malik's perspective and stays so until otherwise noted.

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Through my mind's eye, I could see Bakura's frustrations come to the surface, not quite believing that his lover could pull a 180 quite like that. It was all going smoothly so far. But I couldn't wait for this to go on too long. For something like this, it needs to be quick and sudden, so that any second doubts will not arise. My Aibou wasn't sure about hurting his friend, Ryou, but I assured him that it wasn't Ryou we were hurting, it was Yami Yugi. And the bonus of this was that not only do we get the revenge we so hungrily desire, but we also get the one soul that whose former thirst for blood rivalled my own.

I closed my eyes slightly, letting the rush flow through my veins. I let out a small breath of air as I opened them again. Controlling Yami took a lot power, more so than it usually did for mortals, because he was the Pharaoh and had extraordinary control over his mind. Surprising since he had such a feeble one to begin with. But it was all worth it for the end result. I would have to be in control in order to take control of Yami's mind, but my Aibou and myself were willing to do whatever it takes to accomplish this plan.

The next morning I kept in control of my Aibou, going to school, as I had done the previous day. Only once had he gone in control, and that was when we had registered. I made sure to keep out of sight from Yami, his Aibou and their friends. The day passed by quickly and I noticed that in my 3rd period class, Ryou got transferred into it. Shit. This wasn't going to play out in my favour. My Aibou liked Ryou as a friend, but his feelings about Bakura were stronger than friendship. Bakura shared a bond with us—a bond fuelled by revenge and blood. I stayed hidden in the back of the room, keeping my head down.

Idly, throughout the class, I found myself staring at Bakura's Aibou and becoming more and more angry; noting how much Bakura had turned into his light. There was going to be no more thinking of this, there is only going to be action. As soon as the class ended, I rushed out of the class, ignoring the girl who was tugging at my sleeve. Finally I stopped and glared at her. "What the hell do you want?" I demanded.

She didn't seem at all phased by my snap, and pointed to Ryou. "I saw you were glaring at him throughout class. How could you hate Ryou so much?"

"I don't hate him," I blurted, cursing at my Aibou for taking a liking to the kid. "And it's not like it's any of your business." Abruptly, I turned and walked down the hall to where the Chemistry lab was. Immediately, I sat down in my seat, and smirked as I saw Bakura step into the classroom. The evil glint that was always evident in his eyes until recently had returned. He sat down and stared at the board with utter hatred. "Something the matter, Bakura?" I asked innocently.

"Fuck off," Bakura said without hesitation, gripping his binder's spine until his knuckles turned white. "I don't want to deal with you."

"Like I'd ever take orders from a softie anyway," I snickered, running a hand through my hair. Bakura turned with a jerk towards me and glared.

**Bakura's POV**

My day had been utter shit, and now it had gotten worse when Malik decided to talk to me. "Don't even fuck with me today, Ishtar," I said evenly, determined not to let him win. "I've had it up to here…" I put my hand to my neck, "with everything. I don't need you on my case as well so just do me a favour and do the one thing that you never seem able to do—SHUT UP!"

"You're creating a scene," Yami Malik pointed out, smirking.

"I don't give a rat's ass if I am!" I snapped. I glared down at my binder. "You're the cause of all my problems."

"Oh, I am?" Yami Malik feigned shock and smirked. "Just because I'm here doesn't mean you can blame your failures on me. You've lost your edge, Bakura. You used to be feared… everyone that came across including your Aibou used to tremble at the mere mention of your name. Now you're a loser. It's understandable you'd have a short temper."

I clenched my fists, restraining myself from knocking him on his scrawny ass. I breathed out evenly, and looked back at him. "Just shut the fuck up." As I said this, I found Yami Malik's hand on my own. "Get your filthy hand off of me."

"I don't want to," Yami Malik shot back, causing me to raise an eyebrow. "You do realise who's causing all of this pain to you?"

"You?" I asked wearily.

"No you fool, Yami."

I stared at him like he had three heads, not even bothering with his hand on my own anymore. "How is Yami the cause of all this? You're the one who fucking came out of no where and disrupted everything. YOU are the cause of my grief, Ishtar."

Yami Malik held my eyes with those devilish purple orbs of his and shook his head. "You've been blinded, Bakura. You've been blinded by those whom you deem your friends…the guilt that you feel, you wouldn't feel it if it weren't for Yami's hold on your spirit. Nothing's happened, yet you feel like you've done something wrong. But you haven't done anything wrong, only Yami. He's accused you of something, hasn't he? It's written all over your face, Bakura. You used to be a mystery, an enigma, and now you're wearing your emotions on your sleeve…and you think I caused this pain to you?"

I stayed silent as Yami Malik laid out his argument. It made my skin crawl to admit it, but he had some very good points. Wearily, I rubbed the sleep that was creeping to my eyes and sighed. "I must be severely sleep deprived if your demented logic makes sense."

"You're not sleep deprived," Yami Malik whispered, squeezing my hand. "You know I speak the truth this time, Bakura. Yami is the one causing this." Was he right? Was I wrong? Was I wrong for believing that this was my fault? Now that I seriously thought about it, I had done nothing to incite Yami's wrath the day before. For most of today, he had acted like I had done something wrong when I asked what last night was about. Either he was playing stupid, or he had the worst memory ever imagined. "Just tell him what you feel. I know you don't like this deep down, Bakura. You're going to do something about it."

"You're right," I found myself agreeing, the confidence swelling inside me once more. "I have to do something about this. I won't be kicked around by anyone." I looked over at the teacher who had walked in, and failed to notice Yami Malik's lips curling into a smirk…

**Yami Malik's POV**

After school, I saw Bakura take Yami's arm and pull him out of sight and earshot of the group of idiots they called friends. I sat in a tree above them, hidden from their view and looked down. I smirked…these two were more entertaining than I first thought. Bakura pulled Yami over to him and looked pissed off. "I want some answers," Bakura started.

Yami looked at him oddly. "Answers for what, Bakura? You've been acting strangely lately. What's been bothering you?"

Bakura's hazel eyes flared, as if his intelligence had been insulted. "Your sudden mood swings have been bothering me, Yami. Or have you conveniently forgotten that you threw a PMS fit at me yesterday? That's the reason I wasn't in our room last night."

Yami's amethyst eyes clouded with confusion and I held back a laugh. I pulled out my Millennium Rod from my uniform jacket pocket and closed my eyes. I focused in on Yami's mind and quickly grabbed control over it. "I haven't forgotten, Bakura," I mouthed, hearing Yami's voice project my words, "but I still stand by what I said. If you don't know what you did, there's no reason for me to tell you so you can figure out your error on your own."

"Why do you still talk to me as if I'm some infernal child?!" Bakura demanded, almost letting his voice raise to the point where their friends could hear their argument.

"Because you are acting like one," I mouthed, keeping the smirk from appearing on my face. Bakura wasn't an easy person to fool, and I was surprised he hadn't noticed the change in Yami's eyes. But I wasn't complaining. I'll take anything I can fucking get. "You haven't been fully honest with me, Bakura, so why should I spill everything to you?"

Bakura recoiled at this, and I winced slightly, noting the hurt look that flashed across his gorgeous hazel eyes. Quickly though, he recovered and retained his usual expression. I kept my eyes closed, keeping my grip tight on my Millennium Rod. I could feel the power draining from me, but I would have to keep this going for as long as I could, to ensure the results I wanted. "What's the matter with you Yami? Why are you suddenly acting like I did something wrong when I've done absolutely nothing?"

I kept silent for a moment, pondering the best way to put this. I knew what I wanted to say, but the key was to say it in such a manner that Bakura would undoubtedly believe that it was Yami Yugi saying this and not me. He was used to Yami's style of speech, and he clearly knew what my speech was like. "But you have done something, Bakura. And what you've done … I hate you for it."

Bakura's eyes widened, not believing the words that had come out of Yami's mouth. For a split second I almost panicked, wondering if he had seen through the façade. "You hate me?" He whispered, his true vulnerability showing through.

"Yes," I mouthed, making Yami's voice sound firmer. "I hate you for it. Playing these games with me, I don't know what to expect from you. You've left me in the dark and you know how I hate to be kept in darkness."

Bakura's eyes flared now, and I idly admired how expressive his eyes were. Not only did they convey the bloodlust he had, in the past shown frequently, but also could allow me to see into his soul for the first time. A slight pang of guilt hit my stomach as I looked at his slightly hurt but even more so angry eyes. Argh, screw that! "Well maybe this isn't about you anymore Yami! I thought you had changed…but you haven't…by Ra, you haven't changed your fucking attitude one bit!"

"It's not me that's changed," I mouthed, making sure to make Yami's voice sound its usual 'holier-than-thou' tone. "It's you that's changed Bakura. Back to the way you used to be." I made him fold his arms and give a 'I look down upon you' glance that those Pharaohs often gave. "You were never that good to me."

"How can you say that … how can you fucking say that!" Bakura accused, clenching his fists to the point they bled. "Screw this … I don't…I can't deal with this." Turning on his heel, Bakura grabbed his shoulder-pack and stalked off. I opened my eyes and released control of Yami's mind. I refrained from groaning but put a hand to my head. Quietly, I got up and made a quiet exit from the tree, and walking away, eventually finding Bakura. "Just great… my day has officially been fucked up now!"

I ignored the remark, and kept my expression dark. "You know I'm not the one your frustrations should be directed at. Obviously, you're not going to go home tonight, are you?" Bakura raised an eyebrow, looking suspiciously at me.

"And just what the hell are you suggesting?" he demanded.

"Come with me to my house. You can stay there for the night. You do not want to stay in a house with someone who has clearly hurt you. I can tell there's been disturbance. Who would you rather be with right now? Someone who has taken advantage of your feelings, or someone who understands you better than you understand yourself?"

Bakura looked unsure at first, but then nodded. "All right, I'll come. But don't think this is making us friends, Ishtar."

"Friends?" I laughed at the thought, a smirk on my face. "Oh, I won't ever think we're friends, Bakura." On the contrary, I think we're something more…

-TBC-

Sasha: There! I'm pleased with this more than the ending of Chapter 3. I know this may be moving along a little fast, but please look past that; it needs to move fast for the sake of the plot. Please review with your feedback, and if you have any suggestions, please let me know! I'm open to anything. ^___^