Chapter Twenty-Five:
Kiss and Tell
"Stupid, rotten, cheating, fern headed, dustbunny dope!" Yugi growled, shaking the Puzzle vigorously. "I know you can hear me, Yami, and mark my words! When I get my hands on you, I will make sure that you die!"
Ryou chuckled, having taken up a position on the arm of the couch with his laptop. "Calm down, Yugi. I'm sure he had the best intentions in mind," he soothed, typing away on the keyboard.
Yugi glared daggers at the Brit. "From square one, it was a known fact that your other half was a psychotic, unhinged, fruitloop bent on revenge. It was also established that Marik was a complete wackjob complete with the world domination feature." The spike haired teen glared at the Puzzle. "I thought it was established that my other half was calm, caring, and didn't endanger his hikari!"
Ryou sighed deeply, glancing sidelong at his friend as he finished typing out a return letter to Malik. "Think about it from Yami's perspective. Year after year trapped between worlds still thinking that he was a living god that could do with other people as he pleased. Wouldn't you be disoriented to come into a world where you're no longer the supreme being and no one fears you?"
Yugi shrugged. "It's still no reason to try and get my head blown off!" A second later, the sixteen-year-old's eyes went china-plate sized, his mouth dropping open.
Ryou looked over at him curiously. "You look like Christmas was cancelled this year," he noted, putting his computer down on the coffee table.
"...It's like an obscene late night movie in my mind!" Yugi gasped, calmly setting the Puzzle down on the coffee table. "I...I'll never be able to rid my mind of that image."
"What image?" Ryou asked, trying not to laugh. Yugi looked downright comical with his already wide eyes looking three sizes too big for his head. Before the Brit could laugh though, his own mouth fell open. "BAKURA!"
Said thief appeared with little bravado, his hair more of a mess then usual and his clothes off center. "Yes, hikari dearest?"
"Don't 'dearest' me!" Ryou shot back. "Contrary to popular belief, we really don't care what you do in your spare time."
Bakura shrugged. "Then Yugi should shut his trap and be thankful that Yami is a good Shadow duelist." His face fell into a smirk.
"Say a word about my skills and I'll lock you both in separate rooms," Ryou threatened.
"I was going to remark about Yugi's abilities."
Ryou crossed his arms. "No, you aren't. We can both duel fine if our overbearing yamis would back off long enough to let us try."
Another shrug. "We were leaving you alone!"
"Not by scarring Yugi and myself." Something dawned on Ryou and his smirk now matched his other half's. "The Ring, Rod, and Puzzle are still connected. I have no doubt that Malik's got a pretty good idea as to what's going on in the Puzzle."
Bakura's eyes widened fractionally. "That's impossible. We-"
"According to Yami no Yugi, once the Items are linked, it's permanent. The link can fade, but it's never gone." Ryou smiled merrily. "So, next time I see Malik and he demands to know why he's suffering nightmares of thieves and Pharaohs, it's you two whose going to answer."
Yugi bit on his lip to stop from snickering at the smug Brit, failing when Yami appeared next to Bakura looking just as rumpled as the thief.
"Why don't you two do something constructive?" Yami asked bluntly.
"Like you and Bakura?" Ryou muttered.
Yami leveled the snow haired teen with an unsettling smile. "How about Battle Ship? That was constructive."
Suddenly, Ryou wasn't laughing. "Y-You saw that!"
Yami shrugged, looking more and more sadistic as the seconds ticked by. "Maybe I did, maybe I didn't."
Ryou held his hands up in surrender. "You win, you win! Yugi won't bitch about his thousand and one deaths and I won't make fun of you."
Following the downtrodden statement, there was a quick knocking on the front door. Ryou relinquished his perch, Yami following in his wake, to see who was at the door. He undid the chain lock and peeked between the gap. "Joey!"
Taking that as an invitation, Joey pushed the door open, Tristan, Duke, Tea, and Serenity in his wake. "I told you Yug'd be here," the Brooklyn teen gloated at Tristan.
"What are you guys doing here?" Yami asked.
"Wow... Yugi got tall all of the sudden," Tristan commented.
"That's Yami, nitwit," Tea reminded him with a flick of one ear. She scowled at the brunet a second longer before turning to Ryou and Yami with a smile. "We thought we'd go out and celebrate," she stated.
"We just got home," Yugi pointed out, appearing around the corner.
"So? It's an excuse to party!"
Ryou jumped, looking down a little to see Mokuba standing in Joey's shadow. He shot Yugi a look when he saw the smaller teen was going to question the younger Kaiba's presence, shaking his head slightly.
Yugi's eyes lit up as he remembered that no one was supposed to know about Joey and Seto. "I guess it wouldn't hurt."
"Besides, you an' me still have one more duel to go before Battle City's over," Joey spoke up, looking strangely solemn.
Yugi nodded, grinning. "Yeah, I guess we do."
Serenity, who had been standing quietly by Duke, cleared her throat. "Who do you have to duel?" she asked uncertainly. So far, the petite redhead could only associate her brother dueling to life-or-death scenarios; if this was the case once more, she was going to put her foot down.
Joey looked back at his little sister. "I promised Yugi that'd we'd duel one more time after the finals. It's complicated, but I know that no one's gonna die."
"I did happen to notice that," Duke piped up. "Your first duel with Yugi almost got you drowned. You and that creepy Malik double-"
"Rishid," Ryou automatically corrected, going bright red when everyone looked at him funny. "Sorry."
"I'm not going to ask how you know," Tristan sighed.
"Anyway," Duke continued. "You and Rishid didn't fair to well against Ra and you definitely didn't get anywhere against Malik. As usual, Kaiba flattened you."
"I let 'im to make 'im feel better about his loss to Yug' later," Joey defended himself, face falling when Serenity giggled at him. "Well I was!"
"Kinda like you knew Malik was Namu?" Tristan taunted.
"I told you all about that and you said I was nuts!"
"So you let me win too?" Duke joined in. "You just wanted to see if I would put you in a dog suit or not? That's rather kinky of you."
Joey's face colored. "Shaddup. You just got better cards then me. If I had my real deck, I'da crushed you in a heartbeat!"
"I'm sure," Duke replied skeptically.
"Jump off his back, guys," Mokuba pitched in. "Now, are we going to go out and party or stay here and fight like little kids?"
"Party!" Joey and Tristan chorused.
Ryou, who had been quietly reminding himself that killing people was a damning offense, even if it was in Malik's defense, joined in the conversation again. "There's supposed to be a festival of sorts taking place. Maybe we could see what's going on there?"
Yami glanced at the teen with a small smirk. "Sounds like fun. What do the rest of you think?"
There were mottled replies of "yeah" and "let's go!" from the others.
Ryou bit his lip to keep from grinning. "Let me get into something clean and we can head out," he said, shooting over to the living room to grab his computer again before dashing upstairs.
Mokuba watched the Brit with a raised eyebrow. "Um, okay. We'll be waiting outside."
Ryou nodded and went up into his room. This is so weird... I'm back in my own house, in my own body. It'd be perfect if I still had the Ring. The Brit sighed and peeled his shirts off, tossing them on the bed as he went over to the closet, pulling out a white muscle tank and a black dress shirt. Shit, I've lost weight, he noted, looking in the mirror attached to the closet door as he tossed his shirts on.
"This isn't a beauty pageant!" Yami called up stairs lightly.
"I'm coming, I'm coming!" Ryou replied, tugging his jeans off and going for a black pair in the back. "I need to eat... A lot," he muttered, searching for a belt to hold the baggier then usual jeans up. "Ah hah!"
"C'mon!"
"Gimmie a sec!" Ryou dashed over to his bed and started his laptop back up, writing a brief e-mail to Malik before going back over to his closet to get a belt.
"Let's go!" Yami called impatiently.
"Ugh! Coming!" Ryou growled, grabbing his belt and putting it on as he headed back downstairs. "I didn't take that long, Yami no Yugi."
Yami shrugged, in the process of lacing his boots back up. "I never said you did."
Ryou rolled his eyes, peeling his socks off in favor of sandals over sneakers, giving his hair a quick check in the mirror. "Done yet, Goth King?"
Yami stood, fixing his belts. "Quite done, thank you. Ladies first."
Ryou sighed dramatically and shoved the former Pharaoh out the door before running into the kitchen to grab the yen his father had left. Grabbing a set of house keys off of the rack near the oven, Ryou ran back outside, closing and locking the door after him. The Brit smiled to himself at how strange being normal felt but decided that he could definitely get used to it.
* * * * *
Malik had just about fallen back to sleep when an annoying little voice from Ishizu's computer alerted him to the presence of new mail. The Egyptian growled and turned over before it occurred to him that it could possibly be a reply from Ryou. He's probably mad at me. Leave the death sentence for after your nap.
But maybe he said yes.
"Ugh!" Malik sighed, glaring at the back of the couch. He didn't say yes! I tried to kill him once and then gave him a heart attack after the "I'm dead" problem was rectified. I shouldn't even have asked. The seventeen-year-old jumped with the alert sounded again, officially peaking his interest. Just go see. The worst he can say is no.
Malik rolled off the couch, lazily crawling over to the desktop by the window. Using the desk to get up, the Egyptian plopped onto the chair. Okay... Now what did Ishizu say to do to retrieve the messages? ...Why does she even bother with these damned things? The technologically deprived teenager sighed, running his hands through his messy hair.
Oh yeah... Press the button in the middle! Rolling his eyes at the stupidity of computer, Malik managed to get to the inbox with little hassle, a grin breaking out over his features when he saw the messages were indeed from Ryou. Now, let's hope he doesn't want me dead as soon as possible. His lilac eyes scanned the screen, opening the latest message labeled "Read Me First!"
Hey,
Read the other e-mail later. The others and me are heading out to the festival you mentioned. Whereever the entrance may be, meet me there at six. I promise I won't bring the others with me. See you later.
Sincerely,
Ryou
Malik read the short message over again, a brilliant grin lighting his face up. "He said yes!" The Egyptian looked at the clock in the right hand corner of the screen, eyes widening some. It's already four?! I only have two hours!
Taking enough time to close out the e-mail program properly, Malik high-tailed it to his room to get ready.
* * * * *
"Fifty bottles of beer on the wall, fifty bottles of beer! You take one down and pass it around, forty-nine bottles of beer on the wall!" Joey and Tristan trilled, staggering around as if they had really just binged on fifty bottles of beer.
"Would you cut that out?" Tea asked tryingly, azure eyes following the strange teenagers narrowly. "You're making even larger idiots of yourselves."
"OOOOHHHH! FOURTY-EIGHT BOTTLES OF BEER ON THE WALL, FORTY-EIGHT BOTTLES-"
Duke, near his wit's end, threw a die at Joey and Tristan's heads with enough force to leave a bruise. "You can stagger around all you want, but stop the wailing."
Joey glared at the sable haired teen. "Where in the hell do pull those dice from?"
Duke rattled his pocket. "I always keep a few on hand," he replied with a smirk. "Why? Doggy can't handle a little smack upside the head."
"I'm. Not. A. Dog."
"Stop whimpering like one."
"I don't whimper!"
"Down boy."
"I just said I'm not a freaking dog!"
"You looked like a natural in that suit."
"Grrr!"
"Aw, he even growls like a dog."
"I'm not A DOG!"
Duke bent down to pick up a stick, tossing it over Joey's head. "Fetch boy and I'll give you a bone."
Joey glared daggers at his antagonist. "Shut the hell up, Devlin."
"Big brother, be nice. Duke, stop teasing Joey," Serenity broke in. "We're out to celebrate, not try to kill each other."
"But sis-"
"Who's the older one here?" Mokuba muttered to Yugi, who stifled a snicker.
"That's not funny!" Joey shot back, turning his gaze to the younger Kaiba. "I just don't want to upset Serenity is all."
"Thank you, big brother!" the petite redhead beamed, moving away from Duke to give Joey a hug. "I can't wait to see you and Yugi duel!"
"Yugi'll win and there goes another card," Tristan joked.
"Joey is a just fine duelist," Yami argued. "If he can keep focused, he'd be even better though."
"You too?!" Joey sighed, hanging his head. "And I can so keep focused!"
"Not against Kaiba, you can't," Mokuba shot back smugly.
"That's 'cause he..." Joey growled, resisting the urge to kick the pre-teen. "He's just got better cards then me."
Ryou shook his head, having wisely kept silent whilst everyone else bickered and teased each other. Joey would beat Kaiba once and a while if he wasn't so busy drooling.
"Wait a second!" Tristan suddenly piped up. "Duke, why do you have your arm around Serenity?"
Duke grinned at the brunet, emerald eyes narrowing in a cat-like manner. "Just protecting her from the likes of you. No big deal."
"Why you-"
Joey grabbed Tristan's collar before he could relieve Duke of his head. "Bloodshed later buddy." He glared back at Duke. "And I get first dibs."
"Can't you guys act civilized for more then three seconds at a time?" Tea demanded, glaring at the three troublemakers in turn.
"Um... No?" Joey replied with a dopey grin.
Tea rolled her eyes and flicked the American's ear hard. "Stop being such a ham and walk right before you smack into something."
"Yes mother dearest," Joey muttered under his breath.
"I smell food," Tristan pointed out a beat later. "Smell it, Joey?"
"Yep! It's drivin' me nuts! There's hotdogs, French fries, fried dough, gunpowder, cologne... Wait, that's one of us." Joey took a good whiff of the air, smacking his lips as if sampling fine food. "Damn Ryou! You smell really good!"
Ryou strayed behind Tea, looking at Joey strangely. "Keep that nutcase away from me."
Joey pouted. "I was only payin' ya a compliment, Ry! Oh! I smell Hawaiian Ice, a stir fry, shrimp, Ryou again..."
Mokuba snickered, seeing Joey wasn't paying attention to what was going on around him. "He doesn't smell as nice as Kai, does he?"
"Nope, pizza, sushi, tofu..."
Mokuba nearly fell down laughing while the others just looked at Joey like he had officially lost it. "What does he smell like?"
"Leather and spice, rice balls, steak on a stick," Joey continued on.
Mokuba could barely control himself as the blond kept sniffing the air and naming what he smelt. "What else does he smell like?"
"Oranges, onion rings, more sushi."
Yugi and Ryou were having as hard a time fighting off hysterics as Mokuba was. Knowing exactly who the younger Kaiba was talking about, they found Joey's brainlessness quite amusing.
"Hmm... Tea's perfume, egg drop soup, ice cream."
"What's he look like?" Mokuba asked through giggles.
"Teriyaki chicken..."
That did it for Mokuba, the image of a chicken leg dressed up as Seto too much. He found himself supported by Yami, who was silently laughing himself.
Tristan tapped Joey on the shoulder. "Um, who do you know that smells like a leather orange and looks like a slab of chicken?"
"No one. What the hell are you talking about?" Joey replied, turning to walk backwards again when he heard snickering. And eyebrow raised when he saw Yugi, Yami, Mokuba, and Ryou in near silent stitches. "What's up with you guys?"
"Do you even know who I was talking about?" Mokuba choked out.
"...No?"
The twelve-year-old bit his lip, weaving around Duke and Serenity to whisper into Joey's ear, "You said Seto looks like teriyaki chicken."
"I WHAT?! Mokuba, you little shit, how could you!? Joey trilled, picking the raven haired youth up by the collar and shaking him, somehow managing to keep walking at the same time.
"Who's this Kai the squirt was talking about? Secret girlfriend?" Duke broke in.
Mokuba fell into another round of hysterics, the image of his brother as a girly chicken lodging itself firmly in his head.
Joey flushed brightly. "Hey, look! I see the entrance! Race ya, Yugi!"
The small sixteen-year-old shook his head. "You'd win."
Serenity watched her brother carefully, trying not to laugh at his careless answers. "It's okay, big brother. We all have our little secrets," she comforted him, glancing up at Duke for a second.
Joey dropped Mokuba back to the ground, shaking his fist at the much smaller boy. "I'm going to kill you later," he promised.
While the group of laughing friends headed into the large fairground-esque area, they failed to notice the shadow that detached itself from a signpost to silently trail them.
* * * * *
An echoing slam sounding through the darkened room was the only indication that someone occupied it. Slowly, Bakura emerged from the shadows that just seemed to keep piling up in Yami's soul room, his face a mask of repressed pain.
He had been watching Ryou having the time of his life, enjoying his newfound freedom no doubt. And Yami... It brought an angry sort of grin to the thief's lips to see the Pharaoh act like the teenager he was supposed to be for once.
No mistake, Bakura was glad that Ryou and Yami were happy, but where did that leave him right now? While they were off having the time of their lives, the snow haired thief was trapped in the background with conflicting emotions and an aching heart. Like it or not, Marik's death hit the Ring Spirit harder then ever.
It wasn't just seeing it happen that set Bakura off. It was feeling that pain through the Items' link and watching helpless as the unhinged guardian disappeared in the Shadow Realm's shredding jaws. Bakura knew without a doubt that some part of him still loved the person Marik had been and that's what truly hurt him.
The thief had wondered in the course of the day if Marik could have been redeemed, dragged from the insanity he had been driven too with a guiding hand? Bakura had been brought around by Ryou's insistent kindness, showing Bakura mercy when he was shown none.
That in mind, Bakura couldn't help wondering if Marik could have been saved.
Sighing, the thief laid down on the floor, studying the hieroglyphics engraved in the stonework. He was never like Ryou, it would have gotten him killed. Even with Yami he was a hard-nosed bastard. Bakura used an arm as a pillow as he closed his eyes.
Through out his imprisonment in the Ring, he clung to a single memory to keep him sane. The phantom warmth that spread over him warded off the numbing evil infecting his Item, a reminder of what he could have again if he survived long enough.
Did Marik do the same? Or did he allow himself to be carried away beyond all hope? Bakura shook his head, rubbing his eyes with his shirtsleeve. Seriously, cut it out. Marik not only tried to kill you, but your hikari. Stop acting like he was still human or something.
Bakura rolled over on his side, sighing deeply. He knew full well thathe was allowing the same emotions he used to berate Ryou for show. There's no one here, he justified. No one will ever see that I have a human side.
"Hey Kas."
The thief jerked upright. "Yami, the hell! Where'd you come from?"
The Pharaoh shrugged lightly, moving over to sit by Bakura. "I'm tired," he explained shortly. "And you look like you need someone to talk to."
"Nonsense."
Yami sighed. "I know Marik meant something to you, Bakura. And I know that it hurts not to have him around anymore."
Bakura growled, hating that he was so transparent in front of the former monarch. "It's nothing I won't get over... Again," he muttered, trying to convinced himself more then the other Egyptian.
Yami shook his head. "Stop worrying about it, Kas."
"Whatever," Bakura huffed, laying back again. His eyes immediately fell on the letters scrawled across the ceiling in silvery red. "Yami, what's that?"
The Pharaoh looked up, delicate brows knitting together. "I don't see anything."
Bakura glared hard at the ceiling, put on guard when he saw the "paint" was blood. "Hn. I guess I'm just tired too." I'm looking right at it though!
Yami petted the thief's snowy hair gently. "It's nothing. Just relax and don't dwell."
"Sure."
Yami smiled as he got up, lilac eyes flashing. "The door's there," he murmured, heading out of his soul room with his typical cat-like grace. "All you have to do is open it."
Bakura's stunned glare turned on the spike haired Spirit just as the door closed softly behind him. What in the hell is he going on about? His dark chocolate eyes turned back to the ceiling, a shutter passing through him.
Written in Shadow script and blood, a single word stained the ceiling: Soon.
* * * * *
Joey was halfway through his second plate of chicken, coincidentally, when he felt someone poke him. He turned to see Mokuba grinning up at him. "What?"
"Does your dinner taste anything like Kai?" the preteen asked. To the others it sounded like an innocent question.
But to Joey, it was dirty enough to make him choke. "Mokuba Kaiba! Cut it out!"
"I wouldn't have to say anything if you didn't say he looked like teriyaki chicken!" Mokuba shot back.
Joey glared up at the others as he gobbled down the last of his food, thankful they couldn't hear this. "If you say one more-"
"So now I'm a chicken?"
"HOLY SHIT!" Joey screamed, wheeling around with his fists raised. When he had to look up into a set of amused azure eyes, the teen growled. "Kaiba, you asshole! ...Where did you come from?"
Mokuba whistled innocently, sticking a hand in the same pocket he kept his cell phone in.
"Joey... Kaiba!" Yugi yelped.
"Sitting in a tree," Mokuba muttered.
"Don't start," Seto warned his younger brother.
"What are you doing here?" Tristan pretty much growled.
To everyone's shock, it was Joey that turned on the brunet and not Seto. "Back off. He's just pissed that Mokuba likes to hang out with me more then him."
Mokuba coughed, though it sounded suspiciously like he'd said, "Bullshit."
Seto crossed his arms, leering challengingly at the blond before him. "If that's the case, little brother, have you taught the dog to roll over yet?"
Well, that can go one of two ways. I can say something and let the cat out of the bag or I can play around with them. But it's not nice... Mokuba smirked. Neither is Seto. "Actually, nii-sama, I haven't taught Joey to roll over." An ebony eyebrow arched. "But I do know someone who has."
Before Joey or Seto could berate the teen, Tea stepped in. "So, Kaiba. You're teaching your brother how to be a heartless bastard too?"
Seto looked down at the fierce brunette coolly. "It can't be helped."
Joey growled. "I'm not the only one who's learned how to roll over," he hissed at Seto, thoroughly enjoying the scandalized look on the CEO's face. "Ain't that right?"
Yugi stepped between the two. "Don't start, not tonight." Save it for later... In the bedroom if you will. "If it doesn't bother you, it's okay if Mokuba tags along."
Ryou stepped in, feeling mischievous. "You can even join us too. Wouldn't want you to get... lonely," he added with a kind smile, elbowing Yami in the ribs when the former Pharaoh snorted.
Mokuba jumped up and down. Torture time! Torture time! "Please, nii-sama! Joey'll be good and I miss you. Please, stick around! You can make fun of Joey when he and Yugi duel later!"
Seto smirked over at Joey. "You duel Yugi?" His azure eyes flitted to Yami sourly. "You really are that stupid."
The American rolled his eyes. "Comin' or goin', Kaiba? I ain't got all night."
"I beg to differ," the CEO shot back smoothly.
The double meaning made Joey's eyes widen. "Um... Yeah right... Yes or no?"
Mokuba tugged on Seto's trench coat. "Please, nii-sama! It'll be fun!"
The elder Kaiba smiled down at his little brother, ruffling his messily tied back hair. "As long as you leash the mongrel, I'll come along."
Joey yelped when he felt a small hand grab the dog tags around his neck. "Mokuba! Cut it out!"
Mokuba smiled angelically at the blond. "Bad doggy," he taunted with a quick swat to the older teen's nose. "Be a good boy."
/You know this is going to make things much more interesting tonight,/ Yugi muttered to Yami.
The former Pharaoh nodded. //Maybe it would be best if we found a place for you and Joey to duel. Kaiba may climb off his back for a while then.//
/That might make things worse,/ Yugi pointed out.
//Then Joey will have a good excuse to hit Kaiba.//
/Hit? Or hit on?/
Yami shook his head, sighing with exaggerated exasperation. "Joey, before it gets too late, how about you and-"
"Duel? Sure!" Joey replied quickly. "Mokuba let go!" he added with a growl. When his dog tags were released, the blond looked around the crowded area. "I guess we're gonna have to duel the old fashioned way, so maybe the parking lot would be a good idea."
Seto cleared his throat, fingers drumming against a suitcase sitting by his side. "If you're dueling by my rules, you're going to need these." He shoved the metal case to Joey with a smirk.
Yugi stepped forward, opening the suitcase to find a pair of duel disks sitting inside. His violet eyes darted over to Mokuba and Seto to see the former in silent hysterics and the latter smirking cooly. "How'd you guess?" he asked, trying to feign innocence.
Joey sent his lover a look that would have melted steel as he bent down to grab one of the duel disks. He studied it, noting a few boredom sketches on the bottom and a suspicious amount of what looked like fire damage on it. Hey, wait a minute! This is my duel disk. The Brooklyn native shook his head. I knew I shoulda kept this thing at my place.
"That looks like your old one," Tristan pointed out. "It's even got scorch marks on it."
Joey cringed. "Ain't that funny?" he ground out, glaring at Kaiba again just in time to see a deck flying at his face. The seventeen-year-old caught it, not having to look to know it was his own. "You're too kind."
Mokuba leaned against Seto to keep himself from falling over. "N-No problem!"
"Do you get what's going on here?" Tea asked, looking perplexed as Hell. "Because I sure don't."
"You're not the only one," Duke muttered. "Tristan?"
The brunet shook his head. "I'm lost."
Serenity just smiled and cuddled against Duke's arm. If I know my brother, I'd say him and Kaiba are hiding something. Her eyes darted over to the two Puzzle holders and Ryou. And I'd bet my deck that those three know about it.
"So... um, there's clearing over there for us to play," Yugi muttered, having the dignity to feel embarrassed for Joey. "Ready Joey?"
The blond nodded, securing the duel disk on his forearm. "You bet, Yug'! Lead the way, buddy!" As they headed for the prescribed area, Joey fell back long enough to hiss at Seto and Mokuba, "You two are so dead when we get home."
Ryou, in the meantime, caught up to Yugi and Yami. "We're what? Not even a full day home from Battle City and you guys are dueling again? Shouldn't you give it a rest?"
"It's okay. We promised that we'd duel again after Battle City," Yugi replied easily. "It's not like anyone's health is at risk this time."
Yami nudged the Brit. "The most dangerous thing that'll be on the field is a Dark Magician. I don't think there's anything to worry about."
Yugi, who had taken to riffling through his side deck of stronger cards, picked out Pandora's Dark Magician. "Should I add it. I mean, we've never used it."
Yami hesitated. "I'm not sure that's a wise idea, aibou, but this is your duel, not mine. If you want to add him, go right on ahead."
Yugi nodded and added the mage, throwing in his own Dark Magician and the Red-Eyes Black Dragon into his deck.
"Hopefully Joey knows what he going up against," Ryou muttered, remembering that Bakura had taken the liberty of adding his own cards into Yugi's deck.
"...Oh yeah! What did Bakura add?"
"The Ouija Board, Toon World with Toon Summoned Skull and Relinquished," Ryou replied sourly. I've still gotta talk to him about that.
"You never did explain that one to me," Yugi muttered under his breath.
"Think about it logically, aibou. We know now that Bakura has Pegasus' Item, so it would make sense that the charming little thief took a few cards as well.
\\Let's try the whole deck,\\ Bakura suddenly piped up.
Yami jumped, this being the first time he had sensed the Spirit through their link. \You're hopeless,\ he replied in exasperation.
\\You love me for it, admit it.\\
There was something about Bakura's tone that made Yami's heart constrict. \I'd be lying if I said I didn't.\
Ryou elbowed the Pharaoh. "Do you think we should let Yugi and Joey duel still? How are we going to explain how Pegasus' cards got into his deck?"
"Ten steps ahead of you," Yugi replied, shuffling through his deck to pick out the troublesome cards. "I'll leave the Ouija Board though. It's a set and Yami won against Bakura in the semi-finals, so it's okay if I have them."
Ryou grabbed the smaller teenager's cards, riffling through them himself before he came upon the Change of Heart and Dark Necrophia. "That would be a bitch to explain," he pointed out nonchalantly.
\Gods Bakura, what didn't you add to my deck?\ Yami snorted.
\\You called that thing a deck? Without your little god card, I would have flattened you. Face it, your deck sucked,\\ Bakura shot back. \\Just use the cards and let Ryou lie his way out.\\
Yami sighed, some part of him not effected by his ego agreeing with the thief. "Aibou, put those cards back in. I'm sure we can... skirt the truth."
"What about Pegasus' cards?"
\\Take 'em out. That's too risky,\\ Bakura spoke up.
"Leave them out," Yami replied.
Ryou smirked. "Bakura finally deciding to talk to you?" he chided.
Yami nodded somewhat sullenly.
Yugi shoved the troublesome cards into his pocket before setting his deck up in his duel disk. "You ready, Joey?" he called, getting into position.
"About as ready as I'll ever be," the older teen replied, nervous about the way Ryou, Yami, and Yugi has been "conspiring" against him. "Yami, no offense, but you stay outta this. Ryou, he spaces out, kick 'im."
Ryou laughed. "Will do, Joey."
Tristan, Serenity, Tea, and Duke joined Ryou and Yami to the side, glaring at Seto and Mokuba as they took up a convenient seat on the ground by Joey. "If that slime makes one remark about Joey's dueling skills, I'll go over there and-"
"Don't worry, Tea, I don't think Seto will bother Joey much," Serenity broke in softly.
"What's that supposed to mean?" Duke asked, looking down at the small redhead quizzically. "You know something we don't know?"
Serenity shrugged, smiling. "Not really. Just trying to look on the bright side of things." She looked toward Yugi and Joey excitedly. C'mon big brother! I know you can do it! She bit back a giggle. Maybe if you can impress Kaiba, he'll stop acting.
"Pick a number," Seto called, looking up from a small note pad he'd scribbled something on. "One to five."
"Four," Yugi replied.
"Three," Joey said after a moment of thought.
Mokuba glanced over at the paper. "Joey's right. First or second move?"
"First," Joey replied.
"Okay then, may the best man win. Duel!" Seto announced.
Joey drew his hand, scanning the cards quickly. Yugi's gonna pull an instant offense and I don't know if he's got a god card in his deck or not... Wait, he's got all three now. The blond looked at his friend pleadingly. "No god cards, right?"
Yugi shook his head. "Nope."
Joey breathed a sigh of relief, not sure what he'd do if he had Ra trying to tear him apart again. Okay, I've got Kunai with Chain, Panther Warrior, Axe Warrior, Scapegoat, Giant Trunade, and the Flame Swordsman. "I'm gonna set two cards and summon Axe Warrior in attack mode. Your turn, Yug'."
Yugi nodded. He drew a card, wincing. This has to be the single worst offensive hand I've ever drawn. The spike haired duelist sighed. His hand consisted of the Mystical Elf, Giant Soldier of Stone, Mystical Ref Panel, Magical Hats, Change of Heart, Brain Control, and Negate Attack. I guess I can pull an all out offensive of Joey.
//Yugi, this isn't Battle City. There's no need to dispose of Joey in two turns,// Yami reminded his other half sternly, picking up his line of thinking easily.
Right... Forgot about that. /Sorry Yami./ "I'll set two cards and play two in the defensive. Your turn."
Joey drew a card, grinning like an idiot when he saw it was the Jinzo he had won from Esper Roba. I can't play this yet though. "I'll play my Panther Warrior in attack mode. I'll also activate my face down magic card, Scapegoat. And lucky for you I won't attack, so I end my turn."
The next card Yugi drew was the "T" for the Ouija Board and he could have sword he heard Bakura cackling somewhere in the recesses of his mind. How did Bakura play this thing? /Yami-/
//Bakura's already laughing at your lack of knowledge. You have to play the letters in succession,// Yami replied, his tone laced with annoyance.
"I end my turn," Yugi announced, knowing Joey had him pinned for the moment.
The blond just kept grinning as he pulled Seven Tools of Bandit. That'll keep Yug' in line. But, I've gotta play that one smart. "I'll set a card." You're going down! "Panther Warrior, attack-"
"Sorry, Joey. Activate face down card, Negate Attack," Yugi countered, smiling sheepishly when he noticed his monsters wouldn't have been destroyed. No wonder Yami has to do all the dueling.
/Just don't be so impulsive,/ the Pharaoh chided.
Yugi sighed as he drew a card, resisting the urge to grin and clap. "I'll sacrifice my Mystical Elf and Giant Soldier of Stone to play the Dark Magician!"
Joey groaned. "I'm doomed!"
"Dark Magician, destroy one of his Scapegoats!" Yugi ordered his mage.
Oh yeah! I forgot about them. Joey turned away from the mini blast the destroyed token made. Okay, if there's a Heart of the Cards, don't fail me now! He closed his eyes as he drew the card, daring to see what it was. Meteor of Destruction... Shit, that's not funny. "I'll set one card and put my Panther Warrior in the defense."
Yugi's next draw rewarded him with a Buster Blader. My deck officially hates me. ...It has to be Bakura's fault. "Dark Magician, destroy his last Scapegoat."
Joey watched as the last of his tokens went up in digital confetti, drawing from his deck to find the last thing he would ever expect to appear. "Holy shit..." He looked to Seto and Mokuba, then Yugi and back again.
Mokuba, who had seen the card, was halfway between panic and laughter, trying to keep his brother from seeing Joey's latest card. If nii-sama found out... But, it was for a good cause. ...He's still going to kill me. The raven-haired teen shrugged. I lived a nice life.
"Um... Don't ask me how in the Hell this thing got into my deck and I'm sorry for the shock now," Joey started nervously, glancing back at Seto to see him looking on curiously. "But I'm gonna sacrifice my Panther Warrior and Axe Warrior to summon... This is so weird... Um, to summon the Blue-Eyes White Dragon."
As the majestic dragon appeared on the field, there was an awed, "What in the hell?" from Tristan who voiced everyone else's question.
"Mokuba..." Seto started slowly, not moving his eyes from his dragon.
The smaller Kaiba winced away. The last time he'd seen that look on Seto's face, he had lost to Yami and was forced to undergo his brother's hellish punishment for it. I think that'll look like fun compared to what he'll do to me now. "Y-Yeah Seto?"
The seventeen-year-old rested his arms on his knees, lacing his fingers together. "Why is my Blue-Eyes White Dragon in his deck?" His voice was cool and measured, but not without an underlying, unspoken threat.
Joey looked like he'd seen a ghost as he said, "I e-end my turn." How in the... Mokuba. He spared Seto at glance, his head turning fully when he saw the CEO's eyes fastly fixed on his Blue-Eyes, looking ready to lean over and rend Mokuba's head off his shoulders.
The smaller Kaiba looked terrified, to be honest.
Joey was about to berate Seto for caring about a card more then his little brother when a scam of blinding swords surrounded him. "Wha?"
"Your Blue-Eyes can't attack me for three turns now," Yugi repeated. /My dueling deck says Mokuba's going to walking home in pieces./
Yami looked just as vexed as Seto, not putting the idea of the brunet lashing out at his kid brother. He'd seen it happen before. //Hopefully Joey will step in before anything happens.//
\\If not, the mighty Pharaoh's gonna go play hero, isn't he?\\ Bakura quipped.
Yami chuckled. \That's the long and short of it.\
Joey drew his next card. Skull Dice! This could help if Yugi tries anything funny. "I'll set one card and end my turn."
Waboku. This could help me later. "I'll set one card and end my turn."
"Copycat," Joey mumbled good-naturedly. He winced when the dragon in his control gave an anxious roar, obviously eager to blow the Dark Magician to bits. "Calm down, big guy. I can only do so much," he muttered as his draw revealed nothing of use. "I'll pass."
Yugi nodded, pulling a Monster Reborn this time. More last ditch effort fun. The small duelist shrugged. "I'll set one card and end my turn."
Yami sat down by an already seated Ryou, looking a little put out. "I have to teach Yugi how to properly get out of situations like this."
Ryou smiled, putting a consoling hand on his shoulder. "If it helps, this isn't a life or death duel, so just let him be. Besides, I think he's not pulling an all-out attack on purpose."
"Well, well, well! My... er, Se-Kaiba's Blue-Eyes is freed from your swords and I'm gonna play my Swordsman of Landstar in the defensive. Your turn." Hopefully Yug'll go for my Swordsman so I can get his Magician next turn.
Yugi drew his card nervously, looking a little relieved to see it was Magic Cylinder. "I set one card face down and my Dark Magician will destroy your Swordsman."
Joey did a little victory dance and Yami hid his face in his hands.
"We all know who did the dueling in Battle City," Duke muttered under his breath.
"This is embarrassing," Tristan agreed.
"Maybe he's just being nice?" Tea tried.
"I don't think so," Ryou replied bluntly.
Joey drew his obligatory card, but disregarded it. "Blue-Eyes White Dragon, destroy Yugi's Dark Magician!" he ordered the dragon, surprised when it obeyed him. ...Even Seto's cards know I'm sleepin' with him! Shared power's nice and all, but this is crazy.
Blue-Eyes gave a cheerful sort of roar before a stream of lightening poured from his mouth, surrounding and incinerating the Dark Magician instantly.
Yugi's LP: 3500
Joey's LP: 4000
Yugi shielded his eyes from the blast, realizing belatedly that he could have played Magic Cylinder. Damn, damn, damn, damn! I've got to pay more attention to what I'm doing! he berated himself as he drew Gamma the Magnet Warrior. "I'll place Gamma in the defense and end my turn."
When Joey drew his card, he realized that he had Baby Dragon and Time Wizard. And we know that that means! "I summon Time Wizard and Baby Dragon. Time Wizard, Time Roulette!"
Yugi watched, the fingers on his open hand crossing. Jinx, jinx, jinx... Wow. Competition bad. Sorry Joey. The height deprived teen watched as the time mage's spinner slowed down, holding his breath.
"I think Joey's going to do it," Serenity stated gleefully. "Go big brother!"
Joey gave her a thumbs-up, grinning widely.
Everyone's collective breaths were held as the spinner stopped on the line before moving painstakingly slow to the topmost symbol.
"YES! Time Wizard, time to turn the clocks!" Joey called triumphantly, eyes glittering happily as his Baby Dragon aged into the wizened Thousand Dragon. "Yugi, this is going to hurt you more then it's going to hurt me, honest. Blue-Eyes, destroy Gamma!" Before the magnetic warrior was completely evaporated, the blond called, "Thousand Dragon, attack his life points directly!"
Yugi's jacket sleeve went to cover his nose as the Thousand Dragon's breath washed over him, feeling a little woozy at the unwanted onslaught to his senses.
Yugi's LP: 1100
Joey's LP: 4000
That's it. Yugi drew the Dark Magician Girl, a little voice in the back of his mind (undoubtedly Bakura) reminding him that he could use Change of Heart to summon her. "I activate Change of Heart to take control of your Thousand Dragon!"
"Wha?!" Joey cried in confusion as his dragon stomped over to Yugi's side of the field. "Why didn't you take my... Kaiba's Blue-Eyes?"
Yugi just smiled. "I sacrifice your Thousand Dragon to summon the Dark Magician Girl in attack mode and end... No, I use my second Main Phase to revive my Dark Magician in the attack."
The "I'm-Pissed-And-You're-Dead" look on Yugi's face didn't set well with Joey as he pulled Goblin Attack Force. Okay, wipe out his Dark Magician Girl and finish this duel with Blue-Eyes. Leave the Dark Magician alone. "Okay, Goblin Attack Force, destroy Yugi's magici-"
"Reveal face down trap, Magical Hats!" Yugi cut in victoriously. "I also activate another trap, leaving it hidden under one of these four hats."
Tea looked down at Yami. "You're a bad influence on Yugi. Now he's talking like you!"
"It's a fair trade for my having to dress like he does," Yami replied, tone light.
Joey growled as his goblins went into the defense. "Okay, Blue-Eyes, blow away the right hat at the end!"
Yugi flinched. "You're the second person to ever guess right, Joey." His smile was far too reminiscent of Yami's for comfort. "But you've also activated my hidden trap. Dark Magician Girl, redirect Joey's attack with Magic Cylinder!" the spike haired teen ordered.
"Nu huh!" Joey shot back. "I activate my Seven Tools of Bandit to destroy your cylinders at the cost of a thousand of my life points."
Yugi's LP: 1100
Joey's LP: 3000
"Then I activate Waboku to protect my Dark Magician Girl from harm for one turn!" Yugi countered.
"Ugh! I hate it when you do that!" Joey lamented. "Fine, fine, fine. Your turn."
Yugi grinned when he saw a Polymerization. This can come in handy when I get a combo I can fuse. "I set this magic card and-"
))Yugi, Yami you are not, but please,(( Bakura sudden quipped.
Yugi jumped. )What's that supposed to mean?(
))Use Brain Control to take his Blue-Eyes, sacrifice it and Dark Magician Girl for Buster Blader and fuse it with the Dark Magician.((
Yugi ran the information over in his mind, knowing the combo made something powerful, but the name was escaping him.
))You'll see. Just do it.((
"Okay, I activate my Brain Control to take your Goblin Attack Force-"
"Yugi! Would you stop trying to give me the upper hand?!" Joey finally exploded. "I'm not that bad of a duelist that you have to keep avoiding the damned Blue-Eyes!"
"It's not that, Joey," Yugi replied. "I just want to prove that I can beat a Blue-Eyes same as Yami can."
"You're insane," Seto stated flatly.
"Anyway, I take control of your force to sacrifice them and my Dark Magician Girl to summon the Buster Blader! I then activate Polymerization to fuse my Dark Magician and Buster Blader!"
Yami looked shocked. "H-How did Yugi know to..." His face fell flat. \Bakura...\
\\What? He needed a hand,\\ the thief retorted.
Yami sighed, hearing Yugi trying to dig through his thoughts for the name of his monster. //Black Paradine Magician, aibou.//
/Oh! Thanks, Yami!/ "Because fused monsters can't attack on the same turn, I'll have to end."
Joey nodded. That... thing is too strong. I've gotta get end this before I'm doomed. But, that means I've gotta play that stupid card and I don't know if I want to. His fingers danced over the trap/magic activation button nervously.
"Go for it, Joey! You're almost there!" Serenity called encouragingly from the sidelines.
"Yeah! It your own move this time!" Mokuba agreed.
"I think you've helped enough," Seto growled.
The kid's right. There ain't no creep tryin' to get me to kill Yug' this time. I can do this. "I activate Meteor of Destruction!"
"And I activate Mystical Ref Panel!" Yugi countered.
"Wow!" Tea gasped. "That's too freaky!"
"I redirect your attack right back at you, Joey!" Yugi stated, though he sounded shaky as his Ref Panel shot the dark energy back at his friend.
Joey's arms went to hide his face, yelping as the energy sent cold waves through him. Dammit! That just wasn't cool!
Yugi's LP: 1100
Joey's LP: 2500
"Are you okay, Joey?" Tristan called.
"I'll live!" the blond replied, sounding just as shaken as Yugi. I swear, that was the exact definition of deja vu right there. Okay, Wheeler, you're getting down there, focus and win this! "C'mon Heart of the Cards!" he murmured, pulling his card and peeking at it. YES! "I play Fissure to destroy one monster with the lowest attack points on the field. And since there's just your... creepy hybrid thing, he goes bye-bye!"
Yugi looked crestfallen, watching as his Paradine Magician was seemingly pulled into the ground with a pained shriek.
"Blue-Eyes, finish off Yugi's Life Points!" Joey cried.
The dragon roared with delight as he unleashed his wrath on Yugi, the attack seeming fiercer, as if the monster was settling some personal vendetta against the Puzzle holder.
Yugi yelped, falling to his knees under the sheer power of the attack as brutal defeat slammed him hard. "I lost."
Across the field, Joey was jumping around and dancing. He pranced over to Mokuba, dragging the pre-teen to his feet before dancing around with him. "I love ya kid!" he beamed, hugging the still frightened Kaiba tightly. "You're my hero!"
Serenity joined in her brother's "victory prance", hugging him around the waist tightly, smiling and laughing. "Way to go, big brother!"
Joey glided over to Yugi, helping his crestfallen friend up with an infectious smile on his face. "Awesome game, Yug'! You had me worried for a second."
Yugi nodded. "You've really gotten good, Joey." He shuffled through his deck, face falling when he saw the Red-Eyes Black Dragon was the next card to be drawn. "Well I'll be."
Joey took his beloved card reverently before kissing it. "Thanks for takin' care of 'im, Yugi! It means a lot to me."
Yugi's expression brightened considerably. "No problem, Joey. It was my honor!"
Mokuba, still attached to the blond's neck asked, "Can you give Seto his card back before he kills me... Slowly and painfully?"
"Yeah, speakin' of which," Joey growled. "Stay right here, Serenity, I'll be right back." Holding Mokuba's light frame in one arm, he marched across the field, grin wavering between ecstatic and dangerous. He put the small Kaiba down, pocketing Red-Eyes.
"You did okay, mutt," Seto congratulated him.
Joey smiled up at him. Aw, what the hell? The American wrapped his arms around the CEO's neck, kissing him soundly in reply. He smirked against Seto's soft lips when he heard a collective gasp of surprise. "Thanks for letting me use your Blue-Eyes," he murmured as he pulled back.
Seto shrugged, leering at Mokuba.
Joey stepped away, cracking his knuckles. "And this is for scaring the shit out of Mokuba," he growled before slugging the brunet hard, fist contacting against his eye.
Tristan blinked. "And I thought I knew Joey."
"You read my mind," Tea and Duke chorused.
Ryou chuckled. "I guess opposites really do attract." ...Speaking of opposites... "Anyone have the time?"
Serenity checked her watch. "It's five fifty, why?" she asked.
Ryou's eyes widened. I'm supposed to meet Malik in ten minutes... And I don't know where he's gonna be! "There's somewhere I have to be, be right back!" he blurted out before tearing off over the grounds like a bat out of Hell.
The others looked about ready to die from the continuous shock.
* * * *
Ryou was in a near panic as he flitted from gate to gate, stopping every so often to check the time. When he was told it was not five after six, he groaned and darted back to the opposite entrance. Come on, come on, come on! His chocolate eyes darted around the darkened area, shoulders slumping when he didn't see anyone. ...Maybe this was all just a set up? The Brit sighed with looming depression, turning to rejoin his friends.
"And just where are you going?" an accented voice chided.
Ryou yelped when strong arms wrapped around his waist, half-turning to see Malik smirking at him. "Ha! You are here!"
Malik chuckled and hugged the smaller duelist. "Like I'd turn down an opportunity like this?"
Ryou's smile could have lit up the darkest night as he as released. "You just missed the perfect opportunity to taunt Yugi."
"I was watching from the shadows," Malik replied, trying to sound mysterious. "He made a real ass out of himself." His lilac eyes danced mischievously. "I split when the midget got the Paradine Magician on the field. What happened?"
Ryou started forward, shrugging. "Joey drew a Fissure, destroyed the magician and won the match."
Malik shook his head, brazenly slipping his hand into Ryou's. "Anything other then that happen?"
The Brit snickered. "Joey must have been on Cloud Nine because he went over to Kaiba, kissed him then hit him... Pretty hard too."
Malik started grinning like a madman. "I would have killed to see that." He pulled Ryou closer to him. "But I wouldn't have missed meeting you for the world."
Ryou smiled somewhat shyly, moving his hand away from Malik's to wrap his arm around the Egyptian's waist. "The walk here was funny. Mokuba kept asking Joey about Kaiba. At one point, he called Kaiba teriyaki chicken."
Malik burst out laughing. "You're k-kidding?"
"Nope. I thought Mokuba was going to die trying not to laugh." Ryou grinned at the recent memory. "The killer was when Tea asked who Mokuba was talking about! She thought that Joey was secretly dating a girl!"
"That's too rich," Malik choked out, trying to calm himself down. "You hang out with a real screwy crowd, creampuff."
Ryou looked up at the older teen. "What gives with the name? Not that I mind, but what's the deal?" he asked.
Malik shrugged. "I guess it's your hair. It's white, fluffy, and smells good."
Ryou colored slightly. "Um... thanks."
"So, it's not quite dark yet. Whacha want to do?" Malik asked, ruffling the sixteen-year-old's hair affectionately.
Ryou thought for a moment. "If you want, we can get something to eat. Only God knows when the last time I had a meal was." The Brit gave his stomach a vexed poke.
Malik looked around to study the other's frame intently. "You do look thinner. That damned tournament really did a number on you."
A sigh. "Don't remind me. I can't grasp the fact that Battle City just ended yesterday. I keep thinking that it's been just about a month."
"Time travel has that effect on you," Malik agreed, gaze a little troubled. "I thought that I honestly lost you there for a second. It was like Marik was prepared for me and I wasn't sure if I told you to go or not."
"Obviously you did." Ryou studied the ground before him. "Thank you for doing that. I... You didn't have to and I appreciate it all the more."
Malik hugged the snow haired hikari closer to him, not letting go. "If we had switched places, I knew you would have done the same for me."
"I still managed to screw up. Marik got the Ring anyway." Ryou spared the Egyptian a glance. "Which means we'll have to duel."
At that, Malik grinned. "Do you think we maniacal bad guys ask our prey to hand over the goods before kicking their asses to be nice?"
Ryou's only response was an embarrassed blush, his hand coming around to tug on the Millennium Ring's rope soundly.
The seventeen-year-old sighed in mock exasperation. "You'll get it in due time, Ry. Just enjoy the fact that you're yami free and in my divine company!"
Ryou rolled his eyes. "With an ego like that, you'd make the perfect Pharaoh."
Malik straightened up, puffing his chest out in an attempt to look important. About the only thing he accomplished was showing his abs off.
Thou shall not droll, thou shall not drool, thou shall not drool... Ryou kept muttering that mantra in his head as he poked the blond's stomach.
Malik deflated with a snigger, free arm going to cover the exposed flesh. "Don't do that!"
...Shall not drool... Oh, ticklish spot. Ryou stored the information away for a later date. "I wouldn't if you'd stop wearing that pretty little tank top."
Malik's expression went deadpan. "Stop making fun of my shirt!"
"But it's so easy!" Ryou shot back lightly as he hunted around for food that struck his fancy. Finally, he settled on fries. "I know what I'm getting, what about you?"
Malik shrugged. "Whatever you're having."
Ryou nodded, steering the pair over to the nearest stall. "Extra large sound okay?"
"Yep." Malik looked around the festival as the other teen ordered their food, his inner, culture deprived child ogling at the different sights and sounds. There were a thousand things he saw that he wanted to do but was torn between them and pretty much fawning over Ryou all night.
Before a real debate could begin, the Brit nudged his counterpart lightly with a large bottle of Sprite. "So, anything you see of interest?"
"Yeah. Everything," Malik replied honestly, grabbing a fry from the mixing bowl sized container. "I figure we'll just wander around and see everything."
"Sounds like a plan. We've got a good two hours before the fireworks start so there's enough time." He chewed on a French fry thoughtfully. "We should keep an eye out for Yugi and the others."
"Yeah, wouldn't want to make the happy couples jealous of us," Malik agreed with a smirk. Before Ryou could launch a counter attack, he started the Brit forward towards the games.
* * * *
"Where in the Hell is Ryou?" Bakura growled, slamming Yami against a stone wall the minute the Pharaoh entered his soul room. He'd had a feeling the Brit had run off by the Pharaoh's exasperated amusement earlier.
"Probably went off to find Malik," Yami replied, as if Bakura's temper was nothing.
"You let him go alone?" the Ring Spirit pressed, eyes narrowing dangerously. "Has the Puzzle corrupted your brain or something?"
Yami calmly removed the other Egyptian's hands from his jacket, dusting himself off. "He'll be fine. It's not like there's anything dangerous roaming around."
Bakura crossed his arms, blunt fingernails digging into his skin. "We don't know if Marik is truely gone yet and you're letting my hikari go off unguarded?!"
"Marik is dead and Ryou has Malik to watch him," Yami answered, still unerringly calm. His amethyst eyes searched the dark chocolate orbs trying to murder him. "What happened?"
Bakura started. "Nothing."
Yami's brows knit together at the hasty reply. "You think Ryou is in danger?"
Bakura ducked his head, snowy bangs covering his face. "He's a big kid. He'll be fine," he grated out.
The former Pharaoh sighed, placing his hand on the other Spirit's shoulders. "Something's got you pretty worked up. What happened?"
Bakura glanced up at Yami. He already told you it's nothing. Cut it out. "Really, it's nothing. I just don't like not having any communication with Ryou."
Yami nodded, not moving though. "Hopefully Malik will give the Ring back tonight and everything will truly be back to normal."
Bakura sighed, his eyes glancing over at the ceiling, widening. How in the hells did that happen?! The thief broke away from Yami's grip to move under the spot the bloody letters had occupied not two seconds ago. "They're gone."
"What's gone?" Yami asked, looking perplexed.
"There was..." He couldn't see it, dumbass. You're making yourself look like an escaped mental patient. "It's nothing," he muttered as a cold chill swept through his frame. "But maybe we should go look for Ryou. I'd just feel better knowing he's okay."
"If that'll make you feel better, okay," Yami replied gently, looking around his soul room cautiously. Something definitely seemed off and growing worse by the minute. "Just stay put. If we find Ryou, Yugi or myself will let you know."
"But-"
"You're supposed to be dead," Yami reminded the thief sternly.
Bakura growled, storming over to Yami. "Fine," he spat before going out to sit in the hallway. "But the first hint of my hikari and I'm taking over."
"Will do," Yami sighed, stepping over Bakura's legs before disappearing from the soul room.
* * * * *
It was well after dark when Malik and Ryou decided to grab a spot to watch the fireworks from. They'd played just about every game in the festival while dodging pursuit from Yugi and Co. in the meantime, laughing at their slyness as they crept to safety.
"Oh! There's a spot!" Ryou announced, spotting a promising space on a nearby knoll.
"Looks good," Malik replied. "I'm gonna make sure the Village Idiots aren't anywhere around here. Why don't you go sit down."
Ryou nodded, heading over the crowded grounds carefully balancing his prizes and fourth order of fries as he skirted around other people. Blessedly, the Brit made it without killing himself or someone else. He stretched out on the grass lazily, setting the carton of French fries on his stomach so he could use an arm as a makeshift pillow.
The sixteen-year-old's chocolate eyes roamed over the starry skies, seeing how many constellations he could find, his free arm absently petting the stuffed dragon Malik got him. Ryou had just spotted his seventh when he heard a familiar voice cussing his heart out. The teenager looked over as Malik joined him, grinning brightly.
"Your friends are screwy and annoying," the Egyptian growled, stretching out beside Ryou. "They're going around asking if anyone's seen either of us."
"And?" Ryou prompted.
Malik just smiled and grabbed a few fries.
Ryou sighed at the incorrigible Egyptian. "I can't tell you how much fun this has been," he said after a beat of silence.
Malik shrugged, nicking another fry. "I told you, I could never make up for hurting you like I did," he replied seriously. "But, I suppose I can try."
Ryou sighed, looking back up at the starry sky somewhat forlornly. "It wasn't your fault. If I had held off a moment longer-"
"It would have been too late," Malik finished before licking the ketchup off his fingers. He turned over on his side, resting his head against his hand. "Stop blaming yourself."
Ryou's eyes drifted shut, a sigh escaping his slightly parted lips. "Ask me to stop breathing then."
Malik's deft fingers toyed with a lock of silken hair, his eyes searching Ryou's. "I'm obviously alive still, right?"
"Yeah-"
The Egyptian didn't give Ryou time to finish his thought. "Then stop dwelling on the past and-" At the same time, the first firework sailed into the sky in a shower of red and gold sparks. "-enjoy the show."
Ryou smiled a little, cuddling a little closer to Malik as the seventeen-year-old lay on his back.
The pair watched the fireworks, marveling at the stunning displays of color and wincing every so often as the louder explosives went off. The night air was getting progressively colder and Malik used this as an excuse to draw Ryou into a one-armed embrace.
The Brit blushed brightly but didn't try to squirm away. "They're so beautiful," he breathed, watching as a set of multicolored fireworks created a cracking shower in the cloudless skies.
Malik smiled. "Not as beautiful as you."
Ryou turned away from the skies, his eyes a little wide. "W-What?"
Malik's eyes danced warmly, something the other teenager had really seen before. "I've let two chances to tell you slip through my fingers and I'm not going to miss the third," he whispered.
Ryou's heart skipped a beat. "I-I…"
Malik set a finger on the sixteen-year-old's lips to silence him. "You're pretty much the only reason I'm still alive. You're the most beautiful person I've ever met and…" He leaned closer to Ryou, holding the snow haired duelist close. "I love you."
Finally, those three words had been said, and with Ryou's wonderful luck, he was unfortunately left speechless.
Malik snickered at the wonderfully shocked look on the younger teen's face. As another firework sailed into the sky, he closed what little space there was between him and Ryou to place a gentle, almost chaste kiss on the teen's lips.
That seemed to draw Ryou out of his shock and he ran a hand through the Egyptian's wild tresses. "I love you too," he murmured, leaning forward to return the shy kiss. Feeling brash, he ran his tongue over Malik's lips to gain entrance. He explored shamelessly, the blond's spicy taste becoming addicting.
Malik dueled for dominance while arm snaked around the Brit's waist to pull him close as possible. He finally got his way, desperate for more of Ryou's tangy sweetness as he ran his tongue over every part of the teen's mouth.
"...RYOU BAKURA!"
Said duelist jerked away from Malik with a yelp, wide brown eyes snapping open to search around the area. Then, standing by his head, he saw the entire group staring down at the pair in mixed shock and... was it disgust?
"What's goin' on 'ere?" Joey growled dangerously.
Ryou blushed brightly, glancing at a coolly smirking Malik. "Um... You see..." His shoulders slumped and his arms wrapped around his dragon as if it would protect him. "God, this is embarrassing."
[gasp][pant] I never meant for this update to stretch out so long! I can't apologize enough minna-san! I did manage to break my writer's block about halfway into this chapter, but it's still so... choppy! Forgive me! [bows low] Oh, for future reference, there is a lemon coming up. [delusions of nightclubs] If I can stick to the outline, chapter twenty-eight should be lemon-centric.
If it makes you all feel better, this chappy's 22 pages long. ^)^U
Shade Azuna: Aforementioned block notwithstanding, I'm gonna be one sad person once this book's done. I'm thinking about writing a sequel, but we all know the rule: Sequels suck. -______-U [shrugs] Be content in the fact that there's still a handful of chapters left before the end.
Akuro: I hope you enjoyed the WAFF trailer last chapter 'cause there will be no more of that for the rest of the book. [suspenseful music] The plot thickens! [gets hit with a tomato] Oh yeah... I'm talking too much again. ^)^U But, advice for the future: Never expect the expected. ^)^
Jantra: ...O)o I'm an official fire hazard! [giggles and bounces around] This chapter ain't much for suspense, but upcoming installations will fix that. [grins] Don't cook any food when reading this in the near future. [looks thoughtful] And I've come to realize that lemons make the fiction world go 'round. ...Not that I care much. :}
Impish Pixie: Keep up the great work: Check. Still great story: Check...Speedy update... [ducks head shamefully] It won't happen again, I swear!
Yami Caitlin: ...You've never eatten a creampuff?! You've been seriously deprived, chica! Seriously, those things are like my guilty pleasure! [sighs dreamily] Soo goooodd... [snaps out it] But I'll make it up to you for killing Marik somehow...
happy yaoi lover: Off the record, there's, like, seven or either chapters left to the book and I'm planning to make chapter twenty-eight the "lemon chapter". In the meantime, there'll be plenty of romance and inappropriate coments to go around. ^)^
OxBeachFlirtxO1: I tried to re-read this whole thing the other night to get myself to focus and fell asleep about chapter eleven. ^)^U But I love to build the romantic tension up; good torture method for the characters and the readers. ^)~
Elle-FaTe2x1: Aw! Thanks! Malik and Ryou are so cute to write together. This chapter was fun at the end with the tonsil hockey secession. :}
blu chocobo: If you think Kavala was cool, wait 'til I introduce Antaios. [grins] Think of Malik rolled in with Bakura, Seto, a dash of Pegasus, a hint of Mokuba and throw 'em into a blender. ^)^ Antaios and Kavala are gonna be fun to write in the future. [glares at previous chapters] I was toying with the notion of have the reanimation fail, but the implications would have killed me. X)x So, everything working according to plan just sounded so much better.
Roen: Expect Bakura to be a schizoid angst-case until he sorts himself out. [hands Roen a Kleenex] Trust me, you're going to need them later on.
Andi-chan: Great! Now I have guilt! [giggles] Sorry, watching Toy Story with babysitting job. ^)^ Hopefully I've gotten rid of my writer's block 'cause the one part of the story I've been aim at is coming up soon and I want it to be the best, most notable chapters of the story. [shrugs] I really don't have a life, so I can sit down for three hours at a time and add ideas to the plot. The characters are easy. It's trying to bend them to the shifts in plot without snapping their characterization that's the challenge. Still, it's fun and makes it all worth it when the people really enjoy the book! Oh, try writing all that fluff with your boyfriend and his father practically hanging over your shoulder.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Chapter Twenty-Six Trailer:
"A lot of people think nii-sama's pure evil, the way he runs KaibaCorp and the rest of his life. He never lets them see that he's really a nice guy," Mokuba mumured, flipping through the pictures he had taken so far. "He thinks if he stopped being the Ice King-"
"People would walk all over him, right?" Ishizu guessed. When the raven-haired youth nodded, she shook her head with a wry smile. "That's what Malik thinks. I think having Ryou with him will help."
Mokuba looked up from the viewfinder. "Joey's sent straight from Kami-sama, I swear. He brings out a side of Seto that takes me hours to dig out."
"Keep talking and word's going to get out that I'm human."
"Seto!" Mokuba yelped, jumping out of his chair. "I... Um, what are you doing here? I thought you were looking at that stone?"
"I was," Seto replied. "But there's too much missing information."
Ishizu sighed. "That's always been my problem with trying to piece together the Pharaoh's history. There's many bits of information missing and it's so precise it's like someone destroyed it on purpose."
Mokuba set Ishizu's camera down on the table before him, sticking his hands in his pockets. "I'm not gonna pretend that I know the first thing about the past, but with something as powerful and controversial as the Millennium Items, things probably were destroyed on purpose. Maybe by Yami himself."
Ishizu nodded sullenly. "This is why I have the Tauk, to set these missing pieces into their correct places." Her oceanic eyes met Seto's seriously. "Which brings me to the real reason I called you here. The dreams you described, along with the events that have taken place, are all stepping stones for the past to play out again."
"What events?" Seto demanded. "There's only been those damned dreams."
"Or has there?" Ishizu eyed the CEO carefully. "If I told you that Ryou Bakura died during your tournament, what would you say?"
"That you've gone insane," Seto replied bluntly.
"And I would insisit that the Ring holder and his guardian did indeed perish in an illegal duel with Malik's other half. They took refuge in the Pharaoh's Item until they figured out how to reanimate Ryou, ultimately re-writing the present that we are in now."
Seto was starting to think that Ishizu was just as unhinged as her brother. "Can you show me evidence of your convictions?"
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~