No reviews...:( I feel so unloved...*huggles Cthulhu* *sighs heavily* Stupid computer, had to reboot...now I have to retype what I just wrote. >_

But in any case.

On a slightly unrelated note, I think that the comment I'm most proud of about this story was said by Saria-chan, who emailed me: "*shiver* I'm definitely not going down any dark alleyways anytime soon." Or something along those lines, anyway. ^_^ Which reminds me, go read Saria-chan's fics. Her penname is Sage Saria.

Blood and Tears
Chapter 3

It was a morning like any other, to the average person. The sun was shining, it wasn't too cold or too warm; the toast landed butter-side-down; people had died and been born, and the world was in balance.

To a select few residents in a medium-sized city in an out-of-the-way corner of the world, though, this morning was very wrong. And to an even selecter few people of those residents, this morning was dreadfully wrong.

Other residents in this medium-sized city shared that sentiment, of course. The type of thing that causes this wrongness tends to leave residues; and in any kind of civilization, you get those people who were just dumped and think it's a crime against humanity for the sun to be shining. These select residents, however, had...more important reasons to believe that this morning was dreadfully wrong.

For one thing, a friend had just been killed for no apparent reason.

For another, their lives were in danger.

For a third, there was a sincere danger that the world was going to come to an end within a month, although only two of them suspected this.

Wonderful thoughts to start the morning off with, aren't they?

But in any case, let us continue with the story.

Yugi, Joey, Tea and Tristan were walking to school, like they would do on any normal morning. What was not normal, though, was the permeating silence that no one dared to break, not even Ryou, who joined them about five blocks away from the school.

The silence was eventually broken, however. "Ryou, can I talk with you for a second?" Yugi asked.

Ryou nodded, and they fell behind the group. Yugi cleared his throat nervously. "Um...did you notice your yami doing anything...suspicious last night?"

Ryou looked at him. "Not really...unless you count telling me to warn you to be careful as something suspicious..." He paused. "He wants to talk to your yami."

Yugi closed his eyes. /Yami?/

//Mm?//

/Bakura wants to talk to you.../

Yugi could feel his yami's indecision, as caution warred with curiousity and a need for information. Then, with barely a word he found himself in his soul room.

Back in the real world, Yami opened his eyes and looked at Ryou. "Do you think he's trying anything?"

Ryou shook his head. "He seems more preoccupied than smug right now...and-"

He was cut off as Bakura forced his way out. "You felt it last night, didn't you?"

"Yes," Yami said slightly dubiously. "I thought it was you..."

"It wasn't me, but I know what spell it was-"

"Whyever am I not surprised-"

"Stuff it, Pharoah," Bakura snarled. "In case you hadn't noticed, I am trying to help here-"

"Yeah, so you-" Yami clenched his jaw. "Might I propose a truce for the duration of this conversation?" After a look from Bakura, he hastily added "We can extend it afterwards if we deem it necessary."

/Spoken like a lawyer,/ Yugi put in.

//Is that supposed to be an insult of some sort?// Yami asked innocently.

"As I was saying," Bakura continued, "I know what spell it was, and I can track who the caster was. But it'll take me about a week. It's a very complicated spell."

"Isn't there anything you can do to speed it up?" Yami asked desperately. "Tombrobber, I fear we may not have a week. This is important!"

"I know this is important, Pharoah!" the tombrobber hissed. "I would think I should know how important it is better than you! Do you want to know what that spell does? It takes the life of another human being and adds it to the caster's power! All of their energy, Pharoah!"

Yami was slackjawed - or as slackjawed as the former Pharoah would let himself be, anyway - as Bakura continued. "Even if these killings continue at the rate of one every other night, we don't have a week. Two more lives will see him strong enough to take on me and my twerp of an other, and the Ishtars, and then he'll be more than strong enough to take you on. But this is the only thing I can think of to do - unless you want me to start killing everyone in the city," he added with a challenging stare. He looked rather hopeful to Yami's eye.

Yami sighed, shaking his head. "Truce until we see the caster dead?" he offered.

"Truce," Bakura said, and Pharoah and tombrobber shook hands. "We'd better switch," the thief added, eyeing the approaching school building.

"You first," the Pharoah replied.

(*)(*)(*)(*)(*)

When they walked into the Game Shop that afternoon, the news was on again. Mako Tsunami, on a visit to a relative in the city, had been found dead in an alleyway.

One.

And that night, Bakura initiated the first stage of the location spell.



*shivers* Please review!

Much later editor's note: Not *much* change here. Just little bits. Overall I think this chapter was fairly good. Ja!