Chapter Seven:

A Perfect Circle

A sick and miserable Ishizu looked up from her phone book as Malik walked into the apartment, looking like he had just conquered the world and seen a ghost while doing so. "Back so soon? What happened?"

Malik sat down on the coffee table, running unsure hands through his hair. "You'll never guess who I ran into in a million years."

"I'm inclined to say the Pharaoh or Kaiba," Ishizu replied slowly.

"I did run into the Pharaoh and his little hikari. I was just making general conversation with them and suddenly, Yugi challenges me to a duel and allows me to use Ra."

Ishizu raised an eyebrow, closing the book and setting down on the floor. "Keep going."

"When we were dueling, Yugi used a completely off the wall tactic. He used Exchange and took Pot of Greed. I didn't realize it, but he had Relinquished and Slifer in his hand and I took the Change of Heart."

"Relinquished? I thought only Pegasus possessed that card."

Malik buried his head in his hands. "Stop complicating things with logic. At any rate, he waited... no, he baited me into summoning Ra! When I did, he summoned Relinquished and took it!"

"I don't see where that would be a problem. I don't believe Yugi knows any of Ra's verses."

"Well, he doesn't know the first two..."

"I have a feeling it gets even more complicated."

"Exactly! Yugi activated Ra and chanted the third verse! For the love of the gods, not even I know it!" Malik exclaimed. "Well, I do now, but the point is that Yugi knew it!"

"The Pharaoh probably told him," Ishizu reasoned.

"Point taken. But, Yugi did win." Malik looked up, his lilac eyes holding a haunted light. "Sister, I... Somehow, by a trick of Fate, that wasn't Yugi or the Pharaoh I was dueling."

"Then who was it?"

Malik shook his head. "It seems impossible, but I was dueling Ryou Bakura."

* * * *

"I CAN'T BELIEVE THAT STUPID, CHEATING, LYING, UNDERHANDED SCARAB BEETLE!"

Bakura and Yami watched in subtle fascination as Ryou stormed around their soul room, hitting at any walls he encountered and kicking up the bricks on the floor to use as projectiles at the walls he hit.

"I won! The Ring should be mine right now! I should be back in my own body, in my own house, in my own little world! BUT THAT'S TOO EASY!" Ryou threw a brick, almost hitting Bakura.

"Your hikari is rather frightening when angered," Yami pointed out dryly.

"I know. Aren't you- STOP THROWING THINGS AT ME!- proud of him?" Bakura replied, dodging another brick.

Yami chuckled. "Yes. But I'm quite thankful I have the nice, quiet, inoffensive hikari." The former Pharaoh ducked another projectile brick.

Bakura did likewise. "I swear he's throwing them at me on purpose," the thief pointed out, diving down the stairs to avoid a quartet of rectangular stones. "Good Ra, Ryou! Stop it!"

"THIS IS YOUR FAULT!"

"Not this again." Bakura sighed, again ducking another brick.

"I guess my theory about letting Ryou calm down was wrong," Yami pointed out as he moved down to join his thieving crush.

"Ah hah!" Bakura seized the former Pharaoh around the waist and held him like a human shield. "Now I'm safe!" The tomb robber grinned when the bricks stopped flying at him.

Yami was glad Bakura was facing his back or he would have to explain the beet red blush dusting his cheeks. He leaned against the Spirit clutching his middle. "This is highly amusing."

"What?" Bakura asked, peeking through fronds of hair. Hey, he smells good. The thief reviewed what thought had just flitted through his mind and he found himself fighting a flush.

"Ryou's tantrum and you holding me like a safety blanket," Yami replied, settling down on the ground between Bakura's legs. "I never knew you to be the cuddling type."

Bakura faked a gag. "I'm just using you to stop the bricks from punching a hole in my head," he defended weakly. Damn it, he smells really good.

Ryou crashed his foot into another wall before arming himself with another brick. He turned to throw it at his dark side, an eyebrow raising when he saw said tomb robber and Yami in a snuggling sort of position, staring at him owlishly. "What?"

"Nothing," the two Spirits replied.

Ryou rolled his eyes, throwing the brick over the pair so the debris rained down on them. "You two look cute together," he stated before continuing his rampage on the soul room structure.

"...My hikari did not just say that," Bakura muttered. But, he wasn't about to let go of his "shield". He smells good, is blocking Ryou's attacks, and doesn't seem to mind.

Yami sighed. "Maybe we should calm him down."

What in the hell am I thinking?! You're talking about the same moronic Pharaoh that you've been trying to murder for, well, all of your existence. Or, at least I think that's what I've been doing. With no real memory of his Egyptian life, Bakura could only guess that he hated Yami his whole life.

"Tomb robber, let go of me. Your hikari's going to destroy my soul room if I don't stop him."

Bakura was snapped out of his thoughts and did as asked, getting up to follow the Pharaoh. "Are you sure this is safe?"

Yami nodded. "I have an idea anyway." He slowly approached Ryou, who was now sitting in a corner picking at the fabric of his jeans. "Can I talk to you?"

Ryou looked up. "Sure."

Yami and Bakura sat by the distraught Brit. "While you were dueling Malik today, I was thinking about something," the former started. "We don't need the Ring."

"What?" Bakura and Ryou demanded.

"To restore Ryou, all we need is his body. If we can get that much done, it'll be easier to track down the Ring to restore-"

Bakura's face suddenly lit up. "If we can restore Ryou to his body, then all I need to do is go into the Ring. If it's not around his neck, it'll materialize in its proper place!"

Ryou looked between the two Spirits like they had just suggested holding a mass murder. "And who's going to dig up my dead body?"

Bakura raised his hand happily.

"I should have known." Ryou looked down at his hands. "Wait... It won't work."

"What do you mean?" Yami asked.

"The Ring no longer belongs to me. Malik beat me in a duel, so it rightfully belongs to him," the Brit pointed out. "That is how the rules work, right?"

Yami sighed. "Yes, Ryou. I didn't think of that."

"What about the duel he fought with Malik this morning?" Bakura asked.

"It technically belongs to me and Yugi now," Yami replied despondently. Which means I'd probably have to duel Bakura for it. The former Pharaoh, with all his scant knowledge of his past life, had a particular memory of a Shadow duel with Bakura that ended in disaster. He wasn't going to repeat history.

Bakura raked his fingers through his hair. "Hikari, would you be willing to go back to your body alone, until we can get the Ring?"

Damn. I knew this would happen. Ryou was torn. He was enraged at Bakura for getting them killed in the first place, but he also knew that it wasn't the Egyptian's fault. If I go to my own body again, I can help look for the Ring more actively.

"Ryou?"

And if I do that, it'll crush Bakura. He won't admit it, but it will. I can't do that to him. Ryou offered his tomb robber counterpart of small smile. "I'm not going to go anywhere without you, yami."

Bakura looked stunned and a touch annoyed. I guess Yami was right. He looked over at the grinning Pharaoh. "Looks like you're stuck with us for a while longer."

The Puzzle Spirit shrugged his grin widening. "I'm not complaining," he replied easily.

Bakura got the sneaking suspicion that that was a doubled edged statement.

* * * *

Ishizu could only stare at Malik, trying to comprehend what the younger Egyptian had just told her. "There is no possible way for that to be true," she finally muttered.

"That's what I thought at first! But there was just something in his eyes that was so undeniably Ryou!" Malik shot back. "He dueled like Bakura, using just as underhanded tactics to secure a win. Not only that, but he let me use Ra. No way in hell would Yugi or Yami let me use him."

Ishizu had to concede on that point. "If what you're saying is true, then... how? How did the thief and his hikari retreat to the Puzzle?"

"Again with the logic." Malik tugged at his hair in frustration. "I don't know how and I don't want to know, but Ryou and Bakura are alive and well."

"And I would think that they want the Ring back?"

Malik nodded. "It was on the line in our duel, but I want to see if I'm right. If I'm wrong, the Ring's staying with me. If I'm right, I'll give it back."

"Care to explain?"

"I'm not just handing over my Item, unlike certain siblings of mine. If Ryou and Bakura are indeed alive, then I'll wait until they figure out how to restore themselves to their body before giving it back."

"Why not just give it to Yugi. I'm sure he wouldn't hold the Ring back from Ryou," Ishizu pointed out.

"But the Pharaoh wouldn't and I don't want that to happen." Malik sighed. "I need to track them down and lure them into reviving Ryou."

"Why's that? Are you that anxious to be rid of the Ring?"

Malik scratched the back of his neck. "It's a little deeper than that," he admitted in a whisper. He looked up at Ishizu, guilt shining in his lilac orbs. "A lot deeper than that."

"Well, I can't stop you from doing what you want to," the older Ishtar replied evenly. "Just don't kill anyone, please."

Malik winced and nodded, getting up. "I guess I'm going to go out again and see if I can think of something non-lethal."

Ishizu nodded. "Be careful."

"I always am," Malik replied before closing the door behind him. Once outside, he tugged hard at his hair. This is so screwed up! Why in the hell is it always me!

[[Again with the whining? You really should learn to take things in stride,]] Marik taunted.

Malik growled and sat down on the front steps. [How much of the conversation did you hear?] he asked emotionlessly.

[[Enough to allow me to formulate at plan,]] Marik replied easily. He appeared next to Malik a second later. "But first, why do you want to give back the Ring?"

The younger Egyptian shrugged. "It doesn't feel right to have it," he replied honestly. He figured, given he played his cards correctly, he would be able to avert many beatings in his new quest if he just played along as his dark side's faithful lap dog.

Marik leaned against the stair behind him, a look of pure curiosity etched into his usually scowling features. "Care to enlighten me?"

"I'm sure you're plenty comfortable with senseless murder and bloodshed, but I'm not," Malik replied, trying to be tactful. "I prefer psychological torture over physical. It lasts much longer."

Marik smirked. "You want the Item holders alive when we take over as Pharaoh so you can taunt them with what they were too afraid to capture."

Hook, line, and sucker! Malik crowed, making sure to throw his defenses up. "Precisely. If I...we can lure Ryou and Bakura back into their body and win the Ring back the right way, I would feel much better about our irrevocable victory."

"You're finally starting to see things in a clear perspective," Marik purred, wrapping a possessive arm around his hikari. "I knew you would finally yield."

Malik forced himself not to flinch. To play his farce correctly, he would have to act like he had given up to Marik totally. He leaned against the Spirit's chest. "We need to work together to set your plans into action, yami." The gods can strike me dead at any time now.

Marik drew back in surprise, a malicious grin forming. I think I've finally broken his fighting spirit. This will make my plans all the easier. He ran a finger along Malik's cut up jaw, tracing the gashes gently. "I'm glad you are finally willing to work with me, hikari." He rested his chin on Malik's good shoulder, blowing on the blond's ear to send an involuntary shutter through his body. "This will make things much more pleasurable for the both of us."

Malik nodded, biting back a few choice words. "I'm sure it will." He rested his hands on Marik's. "Now, how do you think we should address the Ring situation?"

"It's all a matter of pulling the right strings at the right time," the ancient replied. "We know that the Pharaoh is fiercely protective of his hikari's friends, correct?"

"True."

"But, we've tried that approach before and I never like to repeat myself." Marik freed a hand from under Malik's to run his fingers through his hair. "I say we strike deeper then that."

"How?"

"You were at Battle City, in the Pharaoh's knot of cheerleaders. You tell me what you saw."

"Their connections to each other run deep. Serenity and Joey Wheeler would die for each other. Duke Devlin is Serenity's fawning boyfriend."

"There's one approach," Marik stated. "But, go on."

"We've already preyed on Joey. I wouldn't touch the other two cheerleaders for fear of losing what sanity I have left." Malik searched his memory for any sort of information that would help him. There was Yugi, the Pharaoh, Ryou, Bakura, Tristan, Tea, Serenity, Mai, Duke, Seto and his brother Mokuba. But, the Kaiba brother's don't have... Malik suddenly remembered seeing Seto and Joey together during the semifinals.

"Drawing a blank, Malik?" Marik teased.

"No, no, no. I think I know where to strike next," Malik replied. "Seto Kaiba."

"Kaiba? He has absolutely no ties to the Pharaoh and his entourage."

"Oh, he does." Malik smirked. "He and Joey are just a little closer then everyone thinks." The Egyptian's smirk widened as the whole plan came into perspective. "If we take Kaiba, Joey will go to the Pharaoh. At that time, we can force him to revive Ryou."

Marik grinned. "I love the way you think, Malik." He placed a whisper soft kiss on his hikari's ear. "I believe you may prove more useful then I originally thought."

I did it again. [ducks head] I'm sowwie. We thought we were moving and now we're not, so I've been busy trying to help put the damned house back together. [sighs] Work sucks.

Monoshiri: lol! I think Malik's undergoing enough punishment for not giving Ryou back the Ring when he should have, don't you? [snickers] And it gets worse for the poor psycho. ^)^

Evaru: S'okay, chica. FF.N hasn't been quite partial to myself lately anyway. [ducks behind Malik] I'm getting this strong "kill Marik" vibe from you. [checks over chapter] Though, I can't see why. ^)-

Animegirl: Si, Ryou has a backbone! ^)^ I hate it when people make him out to be some third rate weakling. [hugs Ryou] Aaanyway, before I get off track… ^)^U If my 'rents found out I wrote sex scenes, they'd have me committed. If they found out the sex scenes were homosexual, I'd be committed and disowned. [sighs] Indeed, damn close-minded people.

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Chapter Eight Trailer:

"I never knew this was back here," Mokuba mused, looking around the small corridor with interest. He was trying to ignore the rapidly clearing sounds at the end of the way.

Joey stopped suddenly and turned around. "Mokuba, stay here. I'll let you know when it's safe to come in, okay?"

The smaller boy nodded and pressed his back against a wall so he could see from both directions for an attack.

Joey, frying pan and knife in hand, pushed the door before him open, standing up fully. This is where he disappears to! The teenager found himself in a downsized living room that looked like no expenses were spared. Chocolate eyes roamed the room, stopping when they hit the plush sofa. The knife wielding hand flew to his mouth and a gasp escaped.

"Oh dear God...!"

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