Disclaimer: *dances* I got volume 30! I got volume 30! But now I want volume 31! *FAINT* STUPID CLIFFYS!

Repost of chapter 11 of Fairydust

PM: Okay, I've decided that I would split chapter 11 into two chapters, which means that this story will be 17 chapters long. Fun. *small sigh* Anyhow, this chapter caused me plenty of stress, so I'm sorry if parts seem to be a bit tedious… (see? I didn't say it sucked!)

Yami: Denial is the first step…

PM: Speaking of which, I'm going to write a Yuugi*Yami fic! *grin* Not Yami*Yuugi fic, but Yuugi*Yami!

Yami: *pause* Help…

PM: *sheepish grin* Anywho, getting back to topic, this chapter is written in Yami no Yuugi's POV again. And for those who might be wondering why I don't write in Kaiba-kun's POV… well, as I explained to Kei-kun, I wanted an outsider POV who can observe without becoming a part of the relationship. By writing in Kaiba-kun's POV, it ruins the rest of the story because then you know what he's thinking, rather than simply speculation from both Yami no Yuugi and Ryou. ^_~ See? I did have reasons! *grin* And for the people who asked what yadonushi means… this is the third time I'm stating it (:P Don't worry about it). Yadonushi is what Yami no Bakura calls Ryou… it means king's property or king's home. Etc. ^^;; Anyhow, this IS the REPOST of chapter 11 because of all the niggling mistakes I found that demanded to be corrected… -_-;; Sorry if I raised your hopes, but I need the time for chapter 12.

And yes, still going to have to beg off when it comes to that mightily long paragraph of thank you's. But thanks to those who reviewed chapter 10 and the old chapter 11. :) Arigatou na! :P And as Wildwolf-chan pointed out… Friday was my two year anniversary on FF.net. *toots horn* Okay, that's enough celebration… ;)

~ Sun and Moon ~

Yoru no sora ni kagayaku

Tooi gin no tsuki

Yuube yume de saite 'ta

Nobara to onaji iro

~

Yasashii yoru ni

Hitori utau uta

Asu wa kimi to utaou

Yume no tsubasa ni notte…

~ Yoru no Uta [1]

There's a crystal moon dangling from the lamp, hanging above the mess on Bakura's desk. It catches the light from the miniature Ra (another grand invention that would have been highly useful in Egypt, along with staplers, clocks, paper shredders… and of course, dental floss ::PM: Gomen, mina-san, but I had to do that one for Wildwolf-chan… :P::), casting colorful light rainbows on the piles of paper that seemed to become miniature mountains of terror for all college students.

Perhaps I am more tired than I had previously suspected.

Not that it's surprising, since everybody's been asleep for a couple hours while I have been acting as personal secretary and doing all the errands… Or as aibou commented, I've been running around like a chicken with its head cut off (something that I find particularly fascinating, seeing that people seem to expire quite quickly soon after losing their heads) since Kaiba came along with his news… But frankly, with aibou sleeping quite peacefully in his soul room, I don't think he is really one to talk.

Anyhow, that previous long explanation might help explain why I've decided not to get up from Bakura's desk… I am too tired to care about anybody finding me here and am also getting rather grumpy.

Even with a certain millionaire/billionaire/somebody-with-a-lot-of-money sleeping on the bed next to me.

Next thing you know, one of Kaiba's little followers will come in and think we're getting together. As if I needed anymore problems, especially if they were to concern him.

I suppose that explains why Jyounouchi-kun is sleeping in the common room rather than in his own room. I had been wondering about that… and no, I have no idea why Kaiba would want to sleep in Bakura's bed… besides the obvious reason that still seems so outlandishly impossible that should I voice it, I'll be locked up in a mental institute before I can finish the sentence. Well, at least they'll try to lock me up. Whether they succeed or not is a completely different story (no, of course that is not mocking and evil laughter that I'm mentally indulging in right now).

After Kaiba's unexpected emotional outburst that resulted in his no-longer-very-precious cell phone being broken, the others spent several fruitless moments(about an hour) trying to psychically put the pieces back together. At least, that is what I'm guessing, seeing that it is one of the only plausible reasons for staring at something for such a long period of time… note that I say plausible, rather than reasonable. I believe that we have all run out of that interesting attribute, especially considering what this past week has been like.

For one reason or another (perhaps he was bored with staring at a bunch of people staring at a broken cell phone, or maybe he was simply having an allergic reaction to being in the same room as Jyounouchi-kun and myself?), Kaiba excused himself to do something else, whether that was regret that he no longer had a cell phone to scream at unfortunate subordinates (aka police… is it just me or is Kaiba better trained than most security forces?) or jump off the nearest cliff. I did not know at the time, nor may I profess that I actually cared at the time.

Now… well, I really had no idea why I came here (I probably had some semblance of a reason, but that reason went out the window when I saw who was in the room). Although I must confess that I did indeed have some curiosity in why Jyounouchi-kun would rather sleep on a couch rather than in a bed (no need to point out that he sleeps like a rock no matter where he is sleeping). Certainly though, I did not expect to stumble across Kaiba sleeping in Bakura's bed…

If I was feeling a bit more sadistic, I might seek to exploit Kaiba's helplessness as revenge for all the times he tried to use his advanced technology as an advantage over poor technology-deprived me (okay, so I might be just a bit ticked about that Death-T gig too [2]). But remembering his expression when he told us what had happened to Bakura and Otogi, I can't find it within my heart to do so.

Yes, I do realize that if I was mummified, my heart would most likely (if not pilfered by some thieving tomb robber… will not mention any names) be a shriveled lump currently located in a pretty jar with an animal head. No need for anymore depressing thoughts right now though, especially since there's more than enough of that to go around right now.

I'm tired and for the oddest reason, the crystal moon is exerting some magnetic force and I can't take my eyes from it. I seem to remember Jyounouchi-kun telling me that Bakura's okaasan gave it to him soon after the divorce…

Not that I cannot see why she would give him that, especially since Bakura seems to be a human version of the moon [3] sometimes.

From watching nature programs (which causes aibou to start complaining quite loudly… that is, until I mildly offer to look at his memories in order to educate myself… for some reason, he immediately fell silent after that delicate offer), I've learned that the moon gets its light from Ra! It really was a surprise, since I always thought that the moon created its own light… but a lot of my assumptions have been turned upside down since I've started to take an interest in educating myself… seeing that I have nothing else to do since no more psychotic beings have shown up recently… (How this deals with my odd musings about how Bakura is like that crystal moon from his okaasan, I'm getting to it, really.)

Bakura… although he catches the eye easily, he tends to sink into the crowd personality-wise. When the moon has no reason to make a statement, it too fades into the background, does it not? If I remember correctly, it was called phases…

In no way am I saying that Bakura is a pushover, although I do suppose that I am certainly implying it. But without a cause… without something to spark his inner fire, he'll let the whole world pass by him without ever once blinking as the colors rip by at amazing speeds.

Luckily, that doesn't happen to the point that I need to worry myself about him (unless a certain tomb robber is involved, of course… but that's a completely different story).

What I am saying in overly vague terms though, is that because of Kaiba, he's been thrust into the limelight, something I'm sure (in no uncertain terms) he is not comfortable with.

I can't help but grimace.

Am I somehow implying that Kaiba is the sun? That seems to be a paradox upon all paradoxes…

For the benefit of Yuki and Black Magician, who are probably finding me confusing and overly cynical at the moment, I will explain the previous statement.

Kaiba does stand out in a crowd, and I mean this both physically and personality-wise. But his personality is what gives me reason to pause:

How can anybody with such a cold and distant demeanor be the sun?

Even if he has been brightening these past few days, something that I attribute to Bakura. Which is also implying that in a way, the roles are switched. Or blurred.

I run a finger along the smooth surface of the crystal. It is not a full moon and most certainly not a new moon. It's a… crescent moon, I do believe that's what it's called.

A crescent moon is not yet completely exposed, but there is enough light to force it out of its hiding. But some of it is still hidden from the world.

Does this mean that they have yet to finish the job?

My brow furrows and I scowl. How can a piece of glass cause me so much trouble? I'm sure aibou will be laughing at pitiful me if he was witness to my helpless perplexion… if I don't threaten his life (not sincerely, of course) beforehand…

Besides, one cannot expect somebody to ever completely reveal themselves. We all have our secrets, whether they are intentional or not.

Also, I cannot help but appreciate the surreal beauty of the crescent moon. It has that kind of glow that inspires poets and artists to create their most heartfelt works. The sun gives life, but the moon gives meaning to life… a need to keep going in order to see the beauty of the night.

"Mm… Ryou?"

I jump up in a blind panic. Great, just great! Normally this type of thing would not cause me to react in such a manner, but I will simply blame this on a decided lack of sleep…

Before the frayed and unworking nerves in my brain (is it true that they in all likelihood extracted my physical brain through my nose?!) can start to function from the permanent siesta it just had to take, the before mentioned rich egoist stirs and opens hie eyes, staring at me through blurry eyes.

"Ryou?" he slurs almost to the point of incoherency, causing me to sweatdrop. Maybe he got drunk and is now hungover? Because I find it absolutely impossible that he can actually get Bakura and me mixed up otherwise… unless it is the height thing? Hmm…

I can't help but smirk lightly at the knowledge that Kaiba is not going to be very pleased with me when he wakes up. Of course, he rarely is pleased when I'm involved (and no Magic and Wizard cards…).

"Not exactly."

There's this long silence as I look back at Bakura's desk in an attempt to haughtily ignore him (and I'm doing a pretty good job!). There is a paper corrected in red ink.

Upon closer inspection, I discover that it's corrected in Kaiba's handwriting… Was he really that bored?

"Yami?" There's a definite scowl in his voice. Well, I certainly feel loved now. Unless his scowl is due more to the fact that I have caught him in a potentially embarrassing moment. In which case, I can only wonder if this will be good blackmail material?

"Aa," I reply nonchalantly, struggling to keep my expression stoic, "You were bored, Kaiba?"

It's not exactly a question since I already know that there is no way in the eyes of Ra (and mighty former pharaoh's, but that's a different story) that he could not have been bored if he randomly decided to proofread a two-hundred-page-or-something-similar-to-that term paper, which is rather discreetly sitting before me.

"What the hell do you want?" he scowls at me as I turn to look back at him, glaring at him sternly. Am I really that detestable to him or something?

I merely shrug, wondering if he will kill me after I ask something that has been bugging me since Monday.

"Do you love him?"

Silence. I haven't heard silence like this since the time aibou wouldn't speak to me for a week since I told Anzu quite frankly that he was madly in love with her and he was too busy trying to make everybody else happy to worry about himself. Well, this of course caused the poor guy to go a bit off the deep end, which is a rather mild way of putting things when you consider how long he screamed at me before sulking. And the only thing I can ask is why he would feel that way especially since that was how the two finally got together. Either that, or it might end up being like the on-going soap-operaish relationship of Honda-kun and Otogi, who will be my next victims after Kaiba and Bakura if they haven't gotten together by the time I'm done.

I'm really degrading myself, aren't I? Yami no Yuugi, the matchmaker fairy. Oh Ra, strike me dead now…

You're already dead, aibou interjects sleepily. Before I can open my mouth (kinda), he yawns and goes back to sleep as if he had not said anything. And frankly, I don't think it's very nice to wake up only to tell somebody that they are already dead, but that might just be me.

"Why should I answer you?" Kaiba snarls, jerking me out of my silent pouting at mou hitori no ore, who really is asleep already. Got to give my aibou a medal… I've never seen someone wake up for such a short period of time and fall asleep so quickly.

I smirk… this one was going to be easy. And I was expecting a challenge?

"Better me than Jyounouchi-kun."

You can just see his eyebrow twitching at that statement. Must resist the urge to yell out triumphant cries, seeing that it will probably be detrimental to my unemotional façade that I think I'm quite good at pulling off. I have a feeling that the superior duelist is always better than the annoying make inu… to him, at least.

"Why would you ask such a thing?" he snaps, looking about ready to go in a corner and sulk. I wouldn't be surprised if he did that, at least… it'd certainly be quite amusing in my opinion.

"It's a fair question."

He continues to give me that glare that has long ago lost its effectiveness, as I've tried to point out to him repeatedly by yawning in his face when he does that to me (this time is no exception, although I'm more tired than out to annoy him… still, his eyebrow twitches again and his hands clench).

"Why would it matter to you anyway?" he finally realizes that I'm not about to get impressed by glaring and has settled on his own emotionless expression that is not as superior as mine (have I grown egotistical from living in a golden trinket for 5,000 years?), "Or is Jyounouchi setting you up for this?"

"Jyounouchi is asleep in the dorm room since you decided to sleep in his roommate's bed."

"I didn't ask him to leave, did I?" was the flat reply as Kaiba looks past me, "Tsuki… [4]" The word is whispered, but in the resounding silence that was left by his previous remark, I can hear it easily.

"What do you think of when you see the moon?"

"What is it with you and questions?"

I shrug again, "I was jut wondering, Kaiba. There is no need to get so upset. It's not as if I'm attacking you, am I?" The expression on his face conveys his belief otherwise, but I just ignore it. As usual.

"Will you leave me alone if I answer your question?" I guess he's too tired to argue with me today, but I readily accept his offer. I know it's the best I'm going to get, and that there really is no reason to push him any further when he's in this type of mood. Who knows, he might challenge me to a duel or something…

"Aa," I reply, although I'm still not very surprised when he gets up and walks right past me. But because of the void left by the pure silence, I can hear him perfectly when he whispers that single word.

"Ryou."

I blink but in that fraction of a second (don't quite understand that concept, but aibou uses it quite often and I suppose that if he uses it so often, it must have some meaning), he disappears as if he is a specter. Which kind of makes me want to pout, seeing that I'm the spirit/specter who should be doing the disappearing… except since I'm occupying aibou's body, I can't do that since it's a solid body.

It's amazing that even when you expect something, it's still a complete surprise when you actually hear it.

The only sign now that Kaiba was here is the slight indentation of his body on the bed, and the slight swinging back and forth of the crystal moon from the wind created by the force of Kaiba slamming the door to the room.

Aibou, luckily, has not waken up by the ruckus caused by Kaiba slamming the door (good for him because if he had waken up mou hitori no ore, body parts would have been flying). After checking to make sure that he's still sleeping peacefully (quickly handing him Yuki and smiling as he snuggles with him… it's always the simple pleasures that make me grateful that I've been given a second chance at life), I decide to shrug off Kaiba's deliberate snub (not that I'm unused to it) and walk out the door that Kaiba just exited from, although I take the care to close it gently behind me.

Then I turn around and nearly jump out of my skin when I find myself staring at a see-through Yami no Bakura.

As if my day couldn't get any worse already…

~ * ~

Although I manage not to make an embarrassing spectacle of myself by jumping out of my (or to be more correct, Yuugi's) skin, I do manage to make an embarrassing spectacle out of myself by falling on my ass. This, of course, causes Yami no Bakura to burst into loud peals of laughter, which makes me wonder if that is sufficient reason for me to banish him to wherever I sent Yami no Malik. I bet those two will get along quite well together if they don't manage to kill each other off before… something that I'm pretty sure that they've already tried to do to each other.

"I gave you much more credit than you deserved, or so it seems."

My eyes narrow as I peer at the tomb robber. There is no way this can be good… I know for a fact that the tomb robber will not lift a finger, to be cliché, unless something was in it for him. While some of the others might have wondered why Yami no Bakura did not help Bakura and Otogi, I know that he would not help unless his precious host was in danger of death. And even then, it would be a close call unless he no longer needed Bakura. That would mean he wouldn't even bother helping.

Which brings me to this point. Why would he be here now? What could he possibly want, and why on earth does he think he'll be able to get it?

"What the hell are you doing here?" I manage to grit out, with much more civility then that… that… tomb robber certainly deserves. The Black Magician was telling me about one of his memories of the past… apparently, the two of us were in a very compromising situation when none other than that fool tomb robber decided to stick his nose in our business. Which, of course, resulted in a perfect opportunity for blackmailing… and most certainly not on my behalf. Apparently, he managed to keep us both quiet while he pilfered a certain priest's store rooms… leaving the two of us for the blame. I wonder how sore my butt was after that?

"Entertainment, or so it seems," he grins. I grimace as I notice for only the millionth time in a row that his canine teeth are slightly pointed. Now, I suppose I can understand why aibou's friends didn't notice for an excruciatingly long amount of time that he changed height, got a lower voice, different hair, and so on when he switched places with me, but how could anybody not notice the change between Bakura and Yami no Bakura? For example, one of them is completely insane, and I in no way mean this jokingly.

"What do you want?" I repeat flatly, hand edging for the Sennen Puzzle to hold it protectively. I managed to expel his soul the last time, and if my knowledge serves me correctly, mou hitori no boku hasn't gone around breaking the Sennen Puzzle again (okay, that was cruel of me to say, especially since it was not his fault that the Sennen Puzzle got broken the first time). But who knows, especially when Bakura really does live right across the hallway?

He shrugs dismissively, inspecting his immaculate nails as I growl and my nails dig into the palms of my hands as I resist the urge to strangle him.

Okay, I solemnly promise not to ever annoy anybody as much as this tomb robber annoys me… then again, just knowing that he's breathing is enough to send me into an attack of what Jyounouchi-kun terms as 'twitchy eye'.

"I might as well get this over with," his red eyes look into mine, "I'm supposed to show you where the yadonushi and Otogi are, apparently."

My suspicions merely mount higher, although my heart (or is it technically aibou's heart, seeing that it's his body and I only have timeshare on it? Or do I create a new body? Is my heart really in a jar with an animal head on it?!) jumps to my throat in naïve hope and anticipation.

Could it be that the tomb robber has turned over a new leaf?

Yeah, and maybe the sky will be maroon with hot green stripes and sewage colored polka dots tomorrow.

"Why?"

Note that I don't say, 'why should I believe you' or 'why are you doing this' because I have so many questions that start with 'why' and all of them want to be answered.

But do I really expect Yami no Bakura to answer any of the questions? To be frank, no. However, this doesn't mean I'm about to trust him blindly.

"I don't have to explain myself to you, pharaoh." I have to bite my tongue to keep myself from issuing a sharp remark. What is it with stubborn people who seem to have unwarranted grudges against me? Is it merely that the whole world is against me or something of the sort? I don't quite understand all this negatively, but I can't help but find it rather annoying, "Do you really think I would risk the health and safety of the yadonushi merely to play a prank on you?"

To be frank? "Yes."

He sighs, sounding very annoyed with me. Well, the feeling is mutual here.

"Look, I'm not going to waste my time convincing you that my intentions are… real…" he looks angered by the word, as if it took him a great deal of pain to say it, "I don't have to do this."

"I know you don't. That's why I'm suspicious," I reply flatly.

Mou hitori no boku…

I flinch, something that I hope Yami no Bakura doesn't notice but I know he will, Yes, aibou?

Maybe we should listen to him… I mean, I know you don't like him and trust him, but maybe he is really trying to help Bakura-kun and Otogi-kun?

Sometimes, aibou is too kind for his own good. I don't wish to sound cynical when I say this, but half of him is grown up and the other half is still stuck in his childhood. I don't know how he does it… I would think that having his life threatened several times by psychopaths would take away his naïve willingness to trust so easily. But over and over again, he manages to surprise me with how gentle he can be at the oddest times.

You do understand this is Yami no Bakura we are talking about? The guy who has tried to kill us several times, perhaps?

Hai.

I sigh as I run a hand through my bangs, watching in absolute fascination as the strands fall back perfectly into place. If I didn't know better, I would think that mou hitori no ore pasted his hair together… even then though, I know that others must think that when they see us.

"All right, Yami no Bakura," I look at him. Give him credit, he still has the same bored expression on my face, something that is rather detrimental to my pride. People are supposed to flinch from my oh-so-frightening glare, but I think Yami no Bakura is too insane to notice, "Convince me. Tell me why you are doing this."

Mou hitori no boku! You know he won't tell us!

I shrug mentally, You'll be surprised.

Yami no Bakura raises an eyebrow as he looks away, "I thought we already established that I'm not going to explain myself."

"And I believe that I've established the fact that I'm not going to believe you until you tell me why you are doing this."

Mou hitori no boku!

"You've never cared for Bakura except as your tool, why start now? Certainly you would not care for his friends, seeing how many you have killed or trapped within game pieces. So why now? What reasons do you have to suddenly want to help? Why do you care now?" I question, watching for any reaction in his movements to give me any indication of an answer.

There is a long pause, in which he continues to inspect the posters on the wall critically. Although I know for one that he is not an art lover… unless it's going to bring him a sum.

Just when I'm about to give up on him, he cocks his head at me slightly, speaking in the same, bored monotone voice that he has used this entire time.

"Despite what you might think, Yami no Yuugi, I am also plagued by that troublesome burden we term as emotions. Only the gods know why they were determined to force me to deal with them, and I curse them all to eternal torture for doing such a thing." The words are spoken calmly and simply, without a hint of emotion so it makes it stunningly hard to believe the words coming out of his mouth.

He smirks lightly, probably noticing that I'm openly staring at him.

"Is that a good enough reason, pharaoh?" he questions.

"You do realize that if you think you had a hard time convincing me to listen to you, that I'm going to have an even harder time convincing the others to believe me when I say you told me where Bakura and Otogi are," I reply flatly, staring at and through him… seeing that he is translucent.

"That's your problem."

"Can anybody else see you?" I ask quizzically. It's something I actually wondered about but never tried, seeing that I have no reason to separate from aibou. But it'll be useful to know, and since the tomb robber appears to be in a more giving mood, maybe I'll get something out of this besides a headache.

"Why do you want to know?" he smirks. I groan mentally as aibou sighs softly. He shrugs and continues, "The priest could probably see me."

"Why didn't you try it then?"

"Well…" he pauses as he searches for the right words, "I already know he can see me. And what would be the fun of traumatizing him for life if he can see me?"

Why can Kaiba-kun see him? aibou wonders.

It is because Kaiba also lived in the past. I explain quickly, although I have other theories…

I look at Yami no Bakura, and he smirks at me knowingly. He knows what I'm thinking, and this is his way of showing me that I'm right. Not that I particularly enjoy having Yami no Bakura assert my feelings, but I'm feeling rather pragmatic and it's better than nothing.

Kaiba, in all likelihood, would not have been able to see Yami no Bakura in normal circumstances.

But I have a feeling that since he cares for Bakura, he's able to see a lot more now.

~ * ~

I will resist temptation. Temptation to mind crush them all at least!

"Are you sure you haven't been feeling sick lately, Yami?"

My teeth clench and I glare at Jyounouchi-kun, no doubt in my mind left of him surviving our next encounter. Once I convince them that I'm not insane and persuade them to follow Yami no Bakura to wherever Bakura and Otogi are being held.

Calm down, mou hitori no boku.

Would you like to take my place?! I shrill loudly, causing aibou to wince at the intense emotions weaved through my voice.

Not really…

… I roll my eyes and turn back to the others, who have the presumption that I'm mentally unbalanced even more firmly lodged in their minds. Well, nothing a simple mind crush will not cure, I am sure! After all, rearranging their minds will make them open-minded… hopefully. Who knows with this group?

"Would I joke about something like this, Jyounouchi-kun?" I bite out, already feeling very short-tempered. I've had enough trouble speaking to Kaiba and Yami no Bakura, and I don't need anymore trouble! I can't help but wonder that if the Sennen Eye should start to glow on my forehead if it would help convince them that I am not joking around.

He shrugs, a gesture that does nothing except to piss me off even more, "You are the one who came bursting in here saying that Yami no Bakura is here and was going to give us directions to where Bakura and Otogi are. But there's nobody here, and certainly not Yami no Bakura."

I'm starting to get a headache, especially as an uncomfortable pounding starts to echo in my temples. My eyebrow twitches, a sign that I'm starting to get extremely pissed off.

"I already explained that you that when a spirit separates from his host, they take a translucent form which cannot be seen except by other spirits or those who have very close connections to ancient Egypt." Will not bother to elaborate on that, seeing that Kaiba appears to be half listening and half dead.

"Even if what you're saying is true, why would Yami no Bakura want to help them?" Anzu speaks up for the first time in a while, voicing the question that I've been continuously asking. And have yet to find a sufficiently decent answer for, by the way…

Maybe I should just blame it on you…

That's not nice… aibou pouts, and I can only grin crookedly before returning to my present predicament. It's so much easier to deal with aibou in that detached reality which I have grown so used to… after all, one does tend to become close to their surroundings in 5,000 years.

I understand that change is not always welcomed. Being exposed to a world that was so fascinating and frustrating at the same time, it's a wonder that anybody can walk out into the world instead of just curling up into a corner and crying until they shrivel away into nothing.

Finally, I sigh and look at the small group in the eye. I know them and they know me, and I'm going to be frank with them. No frills, no decorations, no pomp, and no elaboration.

"You've asked good questions. Questions that I have asked." Then I shrug. "I don't really have answers to them."

"Then why…" Honda-kun starts, but stops as I look over at him in a quiet way of asking him to remain silent before I am done. He complies with my request, something that I'm thankful for.

To be truthful, I still don't quite know why I have agreed to this. Their questions have merely arisen new suspicions in my mind.

But aibou trusts him…

Then again, aibou does trust people too easily.

I can't help but jerk suddenly as I feel mou hitori no ore taking my hand, smiling his reassuring smile. There is one thing I must admit though… he hasn't been wrong that often.

I smile back, feeling that contented rush of emotions spreading over me in a rush that should be overwhelming but is merely soothing.

From behind me, I can feel Yami no Bakura smirking at me. I will be preceding to kill him later.

"I trust him this time. I don't quite know why I trust him, nor do I understand what he has done in order to warrant my trust. However, I also know that I'm tired of sitting around and waiting for people who we also cannot trust to return Bakura and Otogi. Who is to say that they don't continue to hold them and use them as leverage against you?" I no longer am speaking to the group, but looking directly at Kaiba. He doesn't flinch at my words, instead just watching me carefully as if waiting for me to explain such foolish-sounding words.

"I would rather trust the tomb robber, who has something at risk, then somebody who has nothing to lose but plenty to gain." Hmm, is it me or have I become a sprouting cliché machine? Perhaps aibou is correct, and an excessive amount of television really does turn the brain into mush.

"You're putting a lot of faith into that speculation, you do realize…" Kaiba's mouth quirks up slightly, something that has not and will not ever cease to irritate me. He always looks amused when he does that, and I really don't think I am an amusing person… Why is it that everybody forgets I'm pharaoh? Well, besides the fact that I don't remember much of that anyway… still, don't these people respect their elders? I'm certainly that, right?

"You have permission to punch me when I fail to realize that," I reply dryly.

He continues to look at me, and I can only raise an eyebrow. I know he'll do it… perhaps before, I would have doubted it, but I realize now that he has stepped over the barrier. He's given into his feelings, just as Yami no Bakura has.

The moon cannot live without the sun.

But the sun cannot appreciate the true beauty of life when it is alone.

Translations and Notes:

[1] In the night sky, it sparkles; the distant moon of silver; the same color as the wild rose; that was blooming in my dream last night. In the gentle night; I sing this song alone; Let me sing with you tomorrow; Riding the wings of dreams. (Song of the Night from Cardcaptor Sakura) The semicolons are simply saying where the line ended, although that might not necessarily be where the sentence ended.

[2] Reference to manga volume 4. Kaiba-kun wasn't too cute there, I can tell you that!

[3] *PM runs away from CCS Yue, yelping as she ducks a barrage of his ice crystals* (yep, I was a feeling bit silly when I wrote this part of the chapter :P).

[4] Moon

PM: Yeah, yeah, yeah, just small details but they were big enough to give me a headache everytime I looked at them. I also wanted to announce things. *glares at everybody* Pay attention!

I have finally figured out how to do chapter 12 (and whoohoo, it only took me a week to figure it out… yes, that was blatant sarcasm), so hopefully I'll be able to finish that and a couple of chapters by next week. Also, this ISN'T the last chapter with Yami no Yuugi POV. I decided to do some for about half of the next chapter… I'm sure you're looking forward to that, ne? :P I think that's it, but sorry if I heightened your hopes about a new chapter… not happening at the moment. *sulks* So busy with many stories. Bleh. Yuugi*Yami, with Yami as uke. Hmm. And by the way, sorry about the confusion… the story is 17 chapters, and I don't plan on stopping because I have a feeling that you'll come after me with pitchforks… -_-;;

Pikachumaniac