Chapter Nineteen:

Aishiteru?

After Bakura had pointed out the possibility of Seto and Joey dating, he had taken to lying on the floor and staring up at the ceiling. Or was it really considered a wall because of the doors... Maybe a hallway taking the stairs into account? "The Pharaoh's got a fucked up mind."

Yugi looked up from his notepad, tucking his pencil behind his ear. "Thine is not to question."

Bakura glanced over at the small teenager, shaking his head. "And I see it runs in the family."

The small Puzzle holder waited a beat before throwing a spare pencil at the lounging tomb robber. "I don't even want to know what you mean by that?"

Bakura turned to set his eyes squarely on Yugi. "Think about it. Technically, Yami is the start of your family line so you're his grandson... In some sort of twisted way."

"And you said Yami's mind is strange."

"No. I said it was fucked up."

"Same difference." Yugi rolled his eyes. "But, here's a real strange case for you. Now, bear in mind that Yami doesn't know this."

Bakura sat up, smelling the blackmail already. "Do share."

"You know that Kaiba is one of Yami's High Priests reincarnated, right?"

"...I do now."

Yugi shrugged. "Okay, so Seto once served Yami. But, on top of that, they're cousins-"

Bakura started laughing heartily. "K-Kaiba and Ya-ami?! Cousins...? Ri-ich!" he choked out.

"It gets stranger. When Ishizu told us about Malik's past, she worked her magic with the Tauk. Now, Malik and Ishizu's father looked identical to the former holder of the Millennium Eye."

Bakura regarded the mortal with interest. He could sense this was going to turn delightfully strange in a second. "Go on."

"Don't tell Yami about this, but I was searching around his soul room and I found the hallway where all of his known memories are. There's one that sketchily outlines some dispute he had with his Priests." Yugi's grin looked slightly unhinged. "At one point, the holder of the Eye and Kaiba started fighting with each other and Kaiba told his father to shut up."

Bakura suddenly put it together. "So that would somehow make Malik, Kaiba, and Yami related. Hell, even Kaiba's kid brother would be related to them." The snow haired thief smirked lazily as he laid back down, using his arms for a pillow. "Kaiba and Yami were cousins, the Eye holder was Malik and Kaiba's father... That would make them all cousins or something."

Yugi nodded. "Something like that."

Bakura looked over at the grinning teenager with his own dark smirk. "You're okay, kid," he praised, turning russet eyes toward the ceiling in time to see a two doors materialize before on disappeared and the other was surrounded in a hazy violet light.

"What in the Hell is that?" Yugi wondered aloud, looking up with furrowed brows. "I've never seen that happen before."

Bakura got to his feet, scouting around for any signs of Marik's handiwork. When none presented itself, the thief guessed the Puzzle was up to it's mysterious tricks. "Let's go find Yami."

"Um, okay. But-"

Before Yugi could finish the thought, a panicked scream sounded through out the Puzzle's corridors.

* * * * *

"Hold on a second!" Joey suddenly stated.

"What now?" Ryou asked.

"You and Malik still hafta play DDR. You did challenge him before me!" the American replied, throwing a smug smirk at Malik.

"Actually, Yugi only suggested that Malik play against me," Mokuba pointed out calmly. "Though, I wouldn't mind seeing how good you do."

Malik shook his head vehemently. "We've been there before. Absolutely not. I do not want to get anywhere near that game, even if my life depended on it."

Seto crossed his arms, still feeling out of place and completely foolish in what Mokuba had labeled "normal clothing". "What's wrong, Ishtar? Afraid of modern technology? How about I draw the arrows in the sand with a stick?"

Malik took a solid swing at Seto, which Ryou intercepted by grabbing the Egyptian's wrist with a barely perceptible twitch of his arm.

Mokuba's eyes narrowed, watching as 'Yugi' and Malik glared at each other, interest spiking when he saw the former shoot the latter a suspicious look and get him to back down. "Don't start, Seto," the pre-teen warned. Only Kami-sama knows what'll happen with Malik in possession of an Item again.

"I'll play R-Yugi," Malik ground out, now determined to make Seto eat his words. "And I'm not afraid of modern technology. I did wear your tin cans for Battle City, didn't I?"

Seto just smiled poisonously and motioned back to the DDR machine.

Joey looked down at Mokuba, shaking his head. "I think we're the only sane ones here, kid."

Ryou jumped onto the platform, turning back to Seto for a second as he put in the ordered amount of money. "Any rules?" he asked, adding under his breath, "Bloody git."

Seto stiffened for a beat, swearing he heard a definite British accent under Yugi's own Japanese inflection and a flash of brown through the teen's eyes. "No. I just want to see Ishtar put his foot in his mouth at the end of this."

Ryou nodded and selected a song. He cast a quick glance at Malik and saw him watching the screen intently. "Remember, hit the arrows when they all line up," he reminded the Egyptian softly.

"Yeah, yeah, I know."

Mokuba, Seto, and Joey held their breaths as the song started and the two dancers started moving.

As Ryou started moving to the beat, Malik was staring at the screen in confusion, finally putting two and two together by glancing at Ryou and following the arrows that appeared. Up and right, left- Thud!

Seto nearly keeled over in hysterics when Malik fell flat on his ass.

"Shut the fuck up, Kaiba," Malik growled darkly as he jumped back to his feet and kept moving. He followed the arrows well until they seemed to group up in impossibly fast tempos. The Egyptian tried, but when he when to hit the down arrow, he went down on his face.

This time, both the Kaiba brothers were chuckling and laughing at the unfortunate Item holder, Seto truly enjoying Malik's utter humiliation at the proverbial hands of a machine.

Ryou would have liked to try and comfort his tomato red crush, but his pride wouldn't let his feet stop moving until the song was over. "S'okay, Malik. It's only your first time."

Mokuba made a comment out the side of his mouth to Joey, who in turn yelped a girlish, "Hentai!"

It shocked Malik just as he was getting up and he went right back down. "Oh, screw it!" The seventeen-year-old knelt in the middle of the arrows and started hitting them with his hands until the song was done.

Seto studied Malik carefully, seeing the Egyptian trying his best to keep his temper under tight reigns as he called, "It's a wonder you lost at Battle City with the advanced knowledge of video games you just displayed."

"Kaiba, you make one more crack like that..."

"And you'll what? Slit my throat with a card?"

Malik bit his tongue hard, hands curling into white-knuckled fists.

Taking pity on the irate teenager, Ryou asked, "You want to try again. I'm sure you'll get it this time."

"Sure."

Ryou smiled brightly at Malik as he set the song and got ready again. Hopefully this one's easier. If I could barely keep up, I could only imagine what it was like for Malik.

Malik's lilac eyes darted over the screen, slowly realizing that he couldn't really see the arrows against the constantly shifting background, knowing that was what was screwing him up last time. Aside from having two left feet, of course.

"It'll get faster," Ryou warned, turning to face away from the screen and towards Malik. He knew this song by heart and wanted to see how the older teen would do this time.

"I noticed," Malik grunted, nailing the left and right arrows at the same time before forcing himself into a full three-sixty 'til he was facing Ryou as well.

The trio watching was shocked past all remarks when they noticed Malik moving more confidently while watching 'Yugi'.

Ryou too was surprised, feeling a little nervous with the Egyptian's intense gaze following his every move. "Why can't you look at the screen?"

Malik started parroting the Brit's every move, praying to whatever god was listening that the sixteen-year-old wouldn't pull a handstand or something flashy like that. "Too many distractions." He smirked wolfishly. "You learn more watching people anyway."

Ryou nearly tripped, going bright scarlet. He would have liked to remind Malik that he wasn't really himself at the moment, but didn't want to risk having to yell and alert the Kaiba brothers and Joey to his dilemma. So, he kept moving, flowing through the memorized steps while trying to throw Malik off.

But, the Egyptian seemed to read Ryou's moves before he made them, countering the teenager's attempts to screw him up and create and interesting mirror effect.

"This is creepy," Joey muttered. "I mean, Malik's creepy all by himself, but this just isn't right."

"Cork it, Wheeler," Malik growled, glaring over at the American for a second.

"It's assumed that Malik doesn't know how to play most or all of the games here, right?" Mokuba asked. "I mean, we just saw him score an E last song!"

Joey and Seto nodded.

"Then how is it that he's playing like a professional?"

At that point, the song had come to a conclusion, the final score gave Ryou an A and Malik a B.

Mokuba stared hard at the Egyptian as he got down off the platform. "How did you do that?" he demanded brazenly.

Malik smiled in a demonic sort of way and replied, "Let me answer your question with one of my own. Do you think some people possess ESP?"

"Um..." Mokuba was stuck for an answer. He knew Seto didn't believe in any sort of magic, even if it was staring him in the face. But, what did he believe?

Malik patted the twelve-year-old head, grabbed Ryou's arm, and started out of the arcade. "When you can answer me question, you can answer your own."

Ryou freed his arm with a quick yank, glaring half-heartedly at the seventeen-year-old. "Psychic, huh?" he chided. "You can only read my thoughts, can't you?"

Malik shrugged. "Yes, no, maybe so," he replied. "C'mon guys! I'm not going to wait for you to pick your jaws up off the ground all day."

Seto, Joey, and Mokuba shared an uncertain look before following after the Rod and Puzzle holders. "Lunch!" the latter two piped up.

Seto looked down at his watch, the only thing Mokuba had let him keep. "I guess it's late enough. Wheeler, there's a trash can over there. Mokuba, I'll get you something in town."

"Kaaaiiibbaaa," Joey drawled, not angrily, but rather quite sweetly. "Keep it up and I'll make sure to leave you alone for a good long time."

"I wouldn't want you to be in the dog house with your master," the CEO shot back.

"It's cold and lonely sleeping alone," Joey hissed.

"I wouldn't know. I always have a warm roof to sleep under."

Joey's smirk was downright catty, his coffee eyes narrowed happily. "At least I have the guts to sleep on top of the 'roof'," he replied easily.

Seto bit back a gasp. "Kisama no make inu," he mumbled. At this point, the CEO was sorely regretting surrendering seme to Joey the night before last.

All the while, Malik and Ryou were watching this exchange with blatant interest, the older of the pair already knowing about Joey and Seto's relationship and enjoying the not-so subtle hints they were throwing at each other.

Joey smiled triumphantly. "So, back off."

Seto stuffed his hands in his pockets, oceanic eyes trained on Joey's with a cat-like glint. "Celibacy," he whispered.

That one word sent Joey into 'stiff as a board' mode and caused him to instantly back down. Based on the last time Seto used that threat, the American had been forced to stay at his house for close to two weeks. Not only did he not want to miss his koi like that again, but he didn't want to have to deal with his drunkard father.

Mokuba was nearly blue now, trying not to laugh. I've never seen Joey look so pale! Hopefully that'll keep him from getting on Seto's back for a while.

Malik looked over at Ryou, muttering, "It would be less apparent if they just started making out."

The Brit eyes grew a little round. "How do you know?" he whispered back.

"I found them on the Battle Ship in the middle of a little midnight rendezvous."

Ryou smacked Malik's arm. "Never knew you were into voyeurism."

Mokuba snickered when Malik's jaw dropped and he started spluttering out excuses. Wonder what they'd do if I told them the whole story?

"Mokuba, urusai," Seto warned under his breath, seeing his younger brother bursting at the seams to make a comment that would give them away. His gaze snapped to Ryou and Malik when he heard a chuckle. "What's so funny, Ishtar?"

Malik crossed his arms, leaning on Ryou easily. "Tact is defined as a sensitivity to the proper course of action and being able to deal with it accordingly." He grinned. "I've decided that you two definitely lack tact."

Joey looked panicked. "What are you saying?"

"You're sleeping with the richest bastard in all of Japan," Malik replied, being tactless to prove a point.

"What a load of shit!" Seto growled.

"I'd never...!" Joey stuttered.

Mokuba sighed and shook his head. "Malik, you're wrong," he stated seriously. "Joey is not sleeping with Seto."

The older Kaiba and Joey looked at the pre-teen in something short of relief.

"It's Seto sleeping with Joey."

"MOKUBA!" said couple exploded, jumping forward to get the wry chibi-Kaiba.

Mokuba yelped and barreled out the doors at top speed.

Sighing, Ryou started to follow after the trio. "Let's go Malik. Only god knows what sort of trouble they'll cause if unattended."

Malik nodded, wrapping an arm around the Brit. "Do me a favor. Never tell Mokuba that we're dating."

Ryou blushed brightly and headed out of the arcade a little faster, a chuckling Malik quick on his heels.

* * * * *

So far, Bakura had followed the Pharaoh's aura through a twisted labyrinth with stairs leading to nowhere and doors in all sorts of unusable places, like the ceiling for example. If the structure was any indication of Yami's sanity, Bakura decided the spike haired Spirit was in desperate need of a therapist.

Bakura stepped over a trap and dodged another, stepping through an open door to find himself in a wide, ebony-bricked room. The walls were lined with doors, each one nondescript and plain to behold compared to the other, strange features of the Puzzle.

Seeing no Pharaoh, but sensing his presence somewhere, Bakura took a seat and raised his hands to his face studying his nails. This place feels like a graveyard, he mentally noted, wishing he hadn't told Yugi to stay put at the start of the maze. There's a few bright spots, but most of this area is black as night. A shiver crawled up the tomb robber's back as he stretched his legs out in front of him, sensing a change in the aura. Strange. I wonder what's behind those doors?

Before Bakura could gather up the will to explore the strange room, Yami all but barreled into the thief, slightly winded and looking a mix of scared and excited at the same time. "Shit, Pharaoh, what's wrong with you?" Bakura demanded, picking himself up off the floor.

"I-I... Another door opened. It's another gate to a memory world and I-It's not my memory that was revealed," Yami rambled.

"Talk sense, Yami. What did you find?"

"The answer! Or, the last part of the puzzle we've been trying to put together!" If his ego would have allowed it, Yami would have been jumping around and clapping his hands. "I know what Marik meant now!"

"...Good for you?" Bakura replied slowly, not really following the former monarch's ranting.

"Be serious, Kasirika! I know how we reanimated Ryou! Oh, and Marik is the key! So's Malik! And, Kaiba was a Priest who held the Rod but gave it to contain the Ring holder but it wasn't you it was a Priest gone mad. Then there was the other part where the one duelist who looked like Joey was murdered and it sent Kaiba's Priest self into a fit-"

"PHARAOH! SHUT UP!" Bakura yelled, shaking said Spirit hard. "I do not speak maniac. If you want to keep rambling on, I know that Marik speaks the same language you just were!" The thief paused to stare Yami in the eye. "Are you going to slow down now?"

Yami nodded, taking a deep breath. "Sorry. That was just... What a rush of information." The Puzzle guardian closed his eyes and gathered his thoughts. "What I found wasn't just my memory. It seemed like it was a collection of mine, yours, and Marik's."

"Mine?" Bakura questioned. "I don't think the Ring has any memory rooms like yours does. I'll be damned if I know if the Rod does, but I'm almost sure that the Ring doesn't."

Yami shrugged. "Maybe you just haven't found them yet." The Pharaoh shook off Bakura's hands from his shoulders, sighing. "I will tell you what I saw. But only when Ryou's done."

"Dear gods! That could take all afternoon!" Bakura shot back. "I want to know now!"

Smiling like he knew something the thief didn't, Yami started out of the maze. "Then you'll just have to wait all afternoon to figure out the puzzle of your heart."

"...Hey! Wait! What was that supposed to mean? Pharaoh!" Bakura growled, chasing after the impish monarch with an almost warm grin on his lips.

* * * * *

By the time Ryou and Malik had caught up to the insane trio, it was too late to divert a major uprising. Mokuba was stuck headfirst in a garbage can, contents of said can laying in a stinking heap on the curb. Joey was caught in a strangle hold, trying to get away from Seto and putting them in a rather interesting position.

"I knew Kaiba was an exhibitionist, but this is insane," Malik commented dryly.

"Get your mind out of the gutter for three seconds," Ryou shot back, going forward to fish Mokuba out of the trash can. "You okay?"

"Hai, hai," the younger Kaiba replied sourly. His ashen eyes darted over to his brother and his koi, a smirk appearing on his lips when he took notice to the position they were in. "Why don't you just screw him right here, nii-sama?"

Everyone froze for a second before Malik burst out laughing, clapping the twelve-year-old on the shoulder. "Bravo, kid, bravo."

"Mokuba, you little-"

"Aw, shove it, Kaiba," Malik intervened. "I saw you and Joey making out on Battle Ship and Ry-Yugi isn't as thick as he looks... I think."

Ryou hit the Egyptian more for almost spilling the beans and less for the assault on his intelligence. His amethyst/chocolate eyes settled on Joey, knowing he would have to play the part of the understanding friend to prevent any more conflicts. "Why didn't you want to tell me, Joey?"

The American looked guilty as Seto let him go, scratching the back of his neck nervously. "Well... I mean, Seto... er, Kaiba-"

Ryou smiled. "You can call him Seto."

Joey shrugged. "You and Seto are, like, age old rivals and I didn't want you to think that I was a traitor 'cause I was dating-"

"And sleeping with," Mokuba added sagely.

"-the same guy that you hate," Joey finished with a sullen glare at Mokuba. That little brat's gonna take this and run now, I know it!

"Joey, you're my best friend," Ryou replied, stifling a snicker when he saw a flash of Bakura strangling himself. (I have to if we want to keep this charade up.)

((Well, according to the loony Pharaoh, our farce is only going to last a little longer. He thinks he knows how to reanimate you,)) Bakura replied.

Ryou suppressed a shocked gasp and sighed. "I won't hate you or think you a traitor for falling in love with a supposed rival," he said softly, shooting Malik a wry glance.

"So you're not mad that I'm datin' Seto?" Joey asked hopefully.

Ryou shook his head. "Not at all." ((Yami, is Yugi listening to this at all?))

((Nah. He and Yami are off plotting or something.))

(You should get Yugi up to speed with current events so he's not having a fit on Joey when they talk next,)) Ryou replied.

Seto looked almost relieved as he looked down at Mokuba, who was removing an errant and quite stubborn banana peel from his mane of hair. "This is not a license for you to go making... mature comments every time one of us moves."

Malik was still snickering at Mokuba. "So you're raising a voyeur, Kaiba? How charming of you."

"I can't help it when they're raising a racket at three in the morning!" Mokuba defended. "They're a walking Sex Ed. class, I swear."

"Mokuba, do you want me to put you in dat dere can again?" Joey growled.

"That was you that stuck Mokuba in the trash?" Ryou asked, trying not to laugh. "That would explain why Kaiba was trying to strangle you."

"It's what he gets for being a perv," Joey retorted smugly.

Mokuba shrugged. "Okay, okay, okay! Joey, nii-sama, I'm sorry that I embarrassed you like that. It was inappropriate and ill timed."

"Damn straight, midget," Joey replied.

"Stop it," Seto warned.

Mokuba sighed, rolling his eyes. "But, Seto, I can't help it if you walked straight into a pair of handcuffs."

Malik bit his lip hard to stop from laughing. "Let's get some lunch for the dog and then we'll go from there," he suggested. "As much as I would love to discuss the rich bitch's sex life, there's better things to do."

"Charming, Malik. You're a real kindred soul," Ryou teased, nudging the Egyptian in the ribs. "Be nice. I don't want to have to scrape your pathetic ass off the pavement once Kaiba and Joey are done with you."

"I could kick their asses in a heart beat!"

Ryou rolled his eyes. "As long as it wasn't a video game, I'm sure you could."

Malik bent down to whisper, "Ryou, you keep that up and next time we meet, you're going to find a squid in more unpleasant places then your shirt."

"Ahem... Are we interrupting anything?" Seto asked, trying to keep a straight face. Like Mokuba, he was entertaining the thought of Malik having his sights set on more then the Puzzle and couldn't help but listen in on their conversation.

Ryou shook his head quickly, starting forward. "Nah. Now, let's get some lunch." He licked his lips. "We're stopping at the bakery first, though."

"Why?" Mokuba asked.

"I want creampuffs for lunch."

Mokuba nodded as followed after his brother as the group headed down the street, trying to put things together in his head before he went crazy. Joey said creampuffs were Ryou's favorite food. I also heard what he called Seto in the arcade and I know for sure that Yugi isn't keen on British insults. The twelve-year-old watched Malik and Ryou, following the latter's movements and listening to the way he was speaking.

"You okay?" Joey asked, noticing that the smallest member of the group looked a little perturbed.

"Fine," Mokuba replied. Yugi's smart, but the way he's speaking is too loose and complex all at the same time. I remember Ryou's yami being like that... Shit, what if...? Mokuba bit his lip, his line of thinking overwhelming him. Bakura acted like himself mixed with Ryou. That's what Yugi's acting like; himself with Ryou's demeanor.

"MALIK!"

The cry from Joey brought Mokuba out of his dream world, though he was still shaken by the new possibilities. What if Bakura survived too... And what if Malik does have a yami and he survived? The pre-teen shook his head to clear it and decided he needed to talk with Joey as soon as possible.

* * * * *

"Pharaoh."

"What?"

"Pharaoh."

"What do you want?"

"Pharaoh."

"Dear gods, what in the hells do you want?!" Yami exploded, tired of Bakura poking the side of his head repeatedly.

"......Pharaoh?"

Yami cuffed the impish thief, or at least tried to. His wrist was caught before the blow could land and he found himself staring into a pair of bright chocolate eyes. "W-What's wrong?" he asked, getting lost in the dark depths of the Ring Spirit's eyes.

"You said you had the answer I want," Bakura replied simply, not breaking eye contact with the former Pharaoh.

"I did, didn't I?" Yami replied. "I told you to-"

Bakura suddenly leaned forward, catching Yami's lips with his own. He lingered long enough to relay how much he needed an absolution before pulling back.

"I-I-Um..." Yami did know what Bakura wanted to know, but he knew the answer would destroy the thief's confidence in what he wanted if he knew the truth. "I said you have to wait."

Bakura's eyes, having caught the spike-haired monarch's gaze again, darkened with anger. "If you're stalling, I don't appreciate it. You know the answer and I want it now," he almost growled. "I won't break," he added in a softer tone.

"I know that," Yami replied. "I just... Are you sure you want to hear it?"

Bakura nodded. "It would be nice to put a three thousand year old conflict to rest."

Yami barely brought himself to smile. Not that he would admit it to himself, but this truth hurt like no other. True, he did banish Bakura to the Shadow Realm a few hundred times for sneezing at someone wrong, but he knew the thief could return, otherwise, he wouldn't have done it. He loved... No, he adored Bakura but didn't know if he could say it with the weight of what he knew hanging over his head.

"Start talking," Bakura prompted, not liking the way Yami suddenly seemed to drop in a tailspin depression.

Just say it. Deal with the problems later. Spit it out! "Bakura, I-Iloveyou. I have since I first saw you."

Bakura would have smiled or made a remark, but he could sense a looming ramification to Yami's admission. "W-Who did..." He was pretty sure his heart belonged to Yami but Marik's nonsense still hung in the back of his thoughts.

I can't. Maybe later, when things are back to normal. But I can't now. Yami shoved what he knew away from his mind, a genuine smile lighting up his formerly sullen features. He held his hand out, pulling the other Egyptian to his feet. "Follow me."

Bakura was about to sit back down, but something urged him forward also. "Where are we going?"

Yami looked over his shoulder for a second. "Throughout my time here with Yugi, I've found many different rooms hold various memories of my past life, as you've seen. On the day that I met you at Duelist Kingdom, one door that I could never unlock just opened itself. Do you know what I found in there?"

"Most of the treasure I stole?" Bakura quipped sarcastically.

Yami rolled his eyes. "Not quite, tomb robber dearest." The former monarch led them through a twisted labyrinth covered in doors that were stuck to not just the walls, but the floor and ceilings as well.

"You know, I haven't been in many labyrinths in my existence, but damn! You have the most screwed up mind I've ever seen!" Bakura pointed out. "I mean, you've got stairs that lead to no where, doors in the strangest of places, traps on the ceiling... I think you need to see a therapist."

Yami shook his head. "I do not. I just... um... Shut up." Suddenly, the Pharaoh stopped in front of a red and violet hued door, resting a hand on the knob. "Red pill or blue pill?"

Bakura looked a little phased before catching on. "What happens if I take the blue pill?"

"You wake up in the middle of a Blue-Eyes' stomach with a splitting migraine," Yami replied with a small smirk.

"Red pill," Bakura chuckled, knowing the other Spirit would indeed feed him to Fluffy for saying 'no'.

Yami opened the door and seized Bakura's hand, dragging him into a memory world he still wasn't quite sure he wanted to see.

Two teenagers, each about the same age, sat high in a palm tree on the palace's grounds, pointing out random things in the marketplace below.

The teenager sporting a bright red robe smirked as his bright amethyst eyes caught sight of something. "Look! There's the baboon I stole my breakfast from!"

The other teen, much more richly dressed then his companion, raised an eyebrow. "...But you ate with me, if memory serves."

"I was hungry before then!"

"You thief! You're hopeless!"

The amethyst-eyed boy grinned proudly. "You shush, Your Highness. One day soon, I'll have enough treasure to make me as rich as you! Then, I'll be able to be with you without worrying about getting us killed."

The young prince bit his lip, blushing shyly. "You could die before you become that rich."

Those glittering eyes shone with an unsaid affection and he drew his companions into a gentle hug. "I can't die, my little prince. And even if I do, it will be after you so you don't have to suffer without me."

The young royal blushed deeper as he hugged his obvious lover back, craning his neck up to plant a soft kiss on his nose. "I love you so much, you know that."

"I know. Otherwise, I wouldn't be here." The amethyst-eyed thief then leaned over and captured the prince's in a soft, demanding kiss.

Yami gently led Bakura out of the room, a soft smile on his lips. That memory was his favorite out of the handful he possessed. "You see what I mean, Bakura?"

The thief looked at a loss for words. "You... I... You did love me!"

Yami nodded slowly. "And I still do, Bakura. I have yet to know the full truth of your imprisonment, but I pray it was with good intentions. I loved you very much then and love you even more now."

Bakura licked his lips before gnawing on them. So the instant attraction to Yami wasn't just a fluke. I... He really does love me. It's not just a game or a facade. It's real. "Why... Why didn't you tell me before?" he asked.

"I thought I lost my last chance to make amends with you." Yami looked at the floor, quietly closing the door. "I just wanted to let you know that I love you in case you truly do leave me."

Bakura sighed. "You really confuse me, Pharaoh." The thief drew the other Spirit into a comforting embrace. "Obviously, I promised that I'm not going anywhere before you do." He smiled, without malice or sarcasm. "I still have some bones to pick with you-"

"And I you," Yami replied.

"But, I think we can get over that, don't you?"

Yami nodded and kissed Bakura softly, wrapping his arms around the thief's lithe frame. He felt warmer now somehow, safer. "I love you," he murmured as he pulled away.

Bakura suppressed a blush, not used to the contact but reveling in it either way. For once in his overextended life, something was going his way. And nothing could ruin it for him...

...Not even the nearly hysterical, reincarnated imp that watched the pair from around the corner, muttering, "One couple down, one more to go!"

……Ho-ly fuck. I never imagined that this story would hit the fifty mark for reviews, screw a hundred! [giggles insanely] God, you guys REALLY spoil me! Now I feel guilty for not updating sooner, but my laptop's screen busted and my beta reader skipped town to visit a girlfriend for the weekend. (Thanks a lot Sani.) Heh… Anyway, 101 reviews, 108 pages, and 19 chapters. ^_________^ This is too awesome! I've never done this before… Now I'm going overboard. I'll start thanking people now. -___-U

Andi-chan: Meep! Domo arigatou! [grins] I've got the plot all figured out. The problem now is writing it so it doesn't start getting messy. ^)^U

Akuro: No problemo! [grin] I love culturing people in the finer points of Malikism. (Yes, Malik now has a cult.) But, do expect Mokuba to have a hey-day with Seto and Joey from now on! ^)^ Oh, was Malik and Ryou's DDR match okay? Huh huh huh?

Roen: Your wish is my command! You ask for update, I give you update! New, with a spiffy ten pages of shounen-ai strangeness! ^__________^

blu chocobo: As you can see, Mokuba's almost got the puzzle put together. [looks shifty] He'll get things put together three seconds too late, making his migraine null-in-void. Heh, anyway, I'm totally addicted to DDR. I've got DDRMax and the dance pad at my place and a DDR equipped mall down the road. [grins] Can't play to save my life, but I like to pretend.

Celia: Damn, chica! I… um… Wow. Domo arigatou for all the kawaii reviews! I'm so glad you enjoy the plot and I can't thank you enough for the awesome feedback! But see, Bakura kissed Yami and Yami kissed Bakura! [giggles] I'm sorry about the whole Malik dating Ryou in Yugi's body problem. I swear I'll right the situation starting next chapter! ^_______________^

chibi suzi: I can't tell you when Ryou's getting his body back exactly, otherwise I'd have to kill you. ^)~ But, I can tell you the Puzzle Idiots get on the ball next chapter! And, forget what Malik wants. I don't want him kissing Yugi.

Arichan: Arigatou! Many more lavish reviews and my ego's gonna swell to new, all time highs! ^_____^ I have to commend your reading time though. That's about 100 pages that you got through. But, thank you for the excellent feedback and I hope to see you on the review list again!

tabby_cat: Everyone's reeeeeeaaalllyyy looking forward toward Ryou's reanimation, aren't they? [grins] Admittedly, I am too. The image of Malik flirting with Yugi (even though it's really Ryou) is enough to give me nightmares. [shutters] @)@

Dani: LOL! A-men to that! Actually, the lack of good Yami/Bakura stories and the general lack of Malik/Ryou in general is what got this story started. What was meant to be a little one-shot or something's now turned into a full-fledged novel. Reigning proof that I have no life whatsoever. ^)^U

Kana: I seem to have gotten a lot of people's attention with the last chapter. [looks sullen] Maybe I should have mentioned DDR sooner. -____-U [snickers] And if you try to smite me with your fire a la Hades, I'll… um… get out my gardening hose! ^)^U

Kelly-chan: Yay! I brought a lurker into the light! [dances around for a second] I kinda figured people would be busy with summer vacation and all, so I never imagined I'd get so many reviews at any rate! [grins] Hope to hear from ya again!

Thalia: Hope I didn't dash your expectations! [grins] The DDR matches between Malik and Ryou were fun; I can imagine the poor Nile child falling flat on his face then throwing a tantrum for some reason. ^)^U I'm so mean to Malik. But, the reanimation will commence in… one chapter!

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Me sowwie, minna-san, but the next chapter is confidential! ^)^ I can tell you that it's gonna be interesting and a chapter to be remembered!

Stay tuned!

Rock hard, rock long, rock out!

-Kiirar

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