Ai! I've been in summer school for what seems like forever, right after the normal school year, so I haven't really had time for this fic… But now normal school is in session and I'd like to work on this fic a little more, assuming people are still reading it. If not, I have other thinks that require my attention. I took my time writing and posting it, since I don't get too many reviews, so I assumed not too many people would notice.

I'm thinking of making this into a Doujinshi, at the request of my sister, but that would requite much time… * thinks* Anyhow! I'm going to actually try to get somewhere this chapter * wills it to go somewhere*

Sorry for the jumping around a lot, it can get confusing, but it will all tie in together eventually and there will be no need for it!

Erm, * turns on record we've all heard a million times* Khaaah! "I don't own Yu-Gi-Oh blablabla…"

Moving on…

~Chapter 6

          Of Demons, Spirits and Old Acquaintances

It was dark, dark and cold. Damn the furless human body. Unavailing creatures they are, expendable pieces of filth. Ammut pushed herself to her elbows and let her eyes wander the cell until they fell upon Shadi. His robes cast amorphous shadows upon the room, rejecting the light of the flame set behind him. Ammut pulled herself upright to face her intruder, though her eyes made out but silhouette, her unnoted senses where well aware he was watching her.

"You shouldn't have done that," he whispered.

"Done what human?" She groaned, lying back down, she was sure it was he who caused her to stir.  She knew what it was, but figured she's take all the chances to drive him mad that she could get.

When he didn't reply, she shut her eyes again.

"Why did you do it?" Shadi spoke up.

Ammut wrinkled her nose arrogantly and picked at the tiles beneath her with her nail. "Why not? You brought me here to take the sinned, don't ask stupid questions!"

Shadi sighed and straitened up. "You can't just leave the house, you have to have my consent!" Ammut rolled her eyes. Shadi stood up and glared down at her. "His hikari was in the aria as well! There could have been dire consequences! The 'higher ups" did NOT tear apart their dual souls only to have them both destroyed anyway! What if you did attack him? Hm? What if he stole his Hikari's body at the last moment and you killed them both!?!"

Ammut smiled and nibbled at the gravel that found itself under her nail. "What If in deed."

~~~***~~~Four Days Later:

Ryou bolted to an upright position, panting heavily, his dizzy spell had other plans as it pulled him back down into the sheets. He blinked for a bit, clearing his head and bunching the covers on the bed into his fist. 'Wha…? Where the hell…?' He pushed himself onto his side and glanced around the room. The walls where decked in dark posters of creatures and beings he couldn't make out, hung over a large shelf sporting a random assortment of awards, rocks, figurines and other collectables. There was a large widow with a set in desk on the wall. The spacing between the blinds suggested that dawn was ready to make its entrance, flooding the room with indecisive hues of reds and golds.

Ryou dropped his gaze to the figure next to him, asleep on top of the covers.

"Otogi?" Ryou whispered.

The boy next to him didn't stir, so Ryou didn't farther his attempts to disturb him. He sniffed and looked past him to a chair, where a jacket lay across the back of it to dry. He smiled warily; he would have to thank Otogi when he woke up. Ryou nodded back to sleep, leaving his thoughts on the pillow.

~~~***~~~

Yami yawned and glowered at the door. The night had not been good to him the past few days, threatening figures wandered in the back of his mind, egging incomprehensible words of derelict events looming in his shadowed past, or perhaps this time… his future? He grunted and sat up. The hall light seeped through the crack between the door and the floor.

"What the…?"

He slid out of bed, rubbing the back of his neck and snatched up his housecoat. It was too cold for his t-shirt and boxers, something that he never could get use to. He struggled to pull it on with his numb fingers and slowly crept to the door. After much hassle, and a bit of inward swearing, he managed to command the door to open. He snuck down the stares and poked his head around the corner into the kitchen, trying to ignore the chill that ran through his body. He blinked a few times and stepped around the corner.

"Yugi?"

Yami wandered over to the sleeping boy sitting at the kitchen table. He rubbed his eyes and nudged Yugi gently. "Yugi, come on, let's go to bed…"

Yugi mumbled incoherently and looked up at Yami absently. Yami jumped back when he saw his hikari's face. Blood smeared across his cheek and brow, ran down his arm and to his hand.

"Yugi! What happened!?! Are you ok!?!"

"Mmm, what Yami? Yah…"

Yami quickly knelt down and took Yugi's hand, facing the palm upward. "what happened!?!" Yami diverted his gaze to the Sennen Tauk on the table, and felt something other then the chill of the morning air run up his spine. "Yugi… what did you see?"

Yugi stared blankly at him for a moment, and quickly looked away, shutting his eyes. He could feel himself about to cry, but wouldn't permit the tears to manifest in his eyes. Yami could feel something jerking at him internally, but decided against asking farther questions. Instead he ventured to the bathroom to retrieve the first aid kid and tend to Yugi's hand. Yugi wiped the blood off his face with his sleeve and smiled faintly at his yami. He was tired, stressed and rather run down. He shut his eyes and let Yami dress his hand as he wiped the Sennen Tauk clean on his sleeve with his free hand.

"You shouldn't be up this early, you have to be up to run the shop, you can't do that if you're asleep at the desk." Yami said, making the final touches on Yugi's hand.

Yugi stared up at him blankly and nodded. "Sorry Yami…"

"Don't apologize to me, Yugi" The former Pharaoh sighed. "You're only punishing yourself," Yami hesitated slightly, the statement was untrue, it hurt him too, but he wasn't about to tell Yugi this, he had his own burdens to bare many of witch derived directly from is intrusion into Yugi's life. Which he was greatly sorry for, he hadn't proved the best protector to the boy, and wished somehow he could take better care of him. It wasn't fair; it was never fair.

Yugi slowly laid his head back onto the table and sighed.

"Please go back to bed Yugi…"

Yugi didn't move. Yami ran his hand up Yugi's arm and nudged his shoulder slightly. "Yugi?"

Nothing.

Yami's eyes softened from concern to understanding. He wouldn't make Yugi tell him, and he wouldn't go into soul room. If he was suppose to know, he would know. He would have to be satisfied with the fact that Yugi said he was all right. Yami slowly pulled Yugi's shoulder into him and placed his arm around the boy's back. With his other arm, he slid Yugi off the chair. Yami quietly carried Yugi up the stairs and into his room.

~~~***~~~

beem puum!..  Kaaack! "this is your caption speaking! We will be arriving in Domino shortly, if you look to the left of the plane…" Malik opened his eyes lazily and glanced out the window.

'I'm sure the city lights would be devastatingly beautiful if I had x-ray vision to see through the wing of the plane…'

He yawned into the window and watched the clouds slide along the wing. He let the outside blur and diverted his eyes to his reflection. He stared into his own amethyst eyes and sighed. He hated his eyes. He hated himself and everything he stood for. He hated how others hated him, and branded him as cold, cruel and misanthropic.

'I don't hate man…Entirely'

Malik fell back against the backrest of his chair and did up his seat belt. He closed his eyes and tried to relax as the plane descended on the city of Domino.

'Though I can see why man hates me…'

~~~***~~~

Ammut glanced over her shoulder to see if her master was still waiting. He was gone. She sat up and stretched her arms. Something dark and curious surged through her mind and tickled her nose.

'Hello… What's this I feel?'

She crawled towards the door and slid up the side of the wall.

'I really shouldn't go… Shadi will yell…'

She wrinkled her nose

'AH! What do I care? Stupid, pathetic human!'

She stopped a moment and stared across the room towards the other wall.

'We use to make such a great team… Why did things have to go and change…?'

~~~***~~~

Malik followed the winding halls past customs. He tried to be polite as possible, but for whatever reason, the customs staff couldn't help but be suspicious and snarly towards him. Perhaps it was the odd golden stick with the blade he somehow smuggled onto the plane… Malik considered the use of his sennen rod, but decided against it, considering his quest in Japan was one of redemption, not more trouble. After wasting a ridiculous amount of time with airport security, Malik made his way out the arrivals door. He had e-mailed a few 'friends' about his arrival. He wrote a particularly long and sentimental letter to Ryou and Yugi. They responded with enthusiastic and understanding words, letting him know that they where happy he was coming. He was sure they where lying.

He almost fell over when two small children ran past him and jumped into their mother's arms, shouting exited notations of love and joy. To his left, a small group of collage friends where meeting their in town buddies for a ride and to hang out. A grandmother was telling her husband about her grandchildren as he helped her with her luggage. He watched until they left. He waited until the contents of the third plain after his where comfortable and happy with their loved ones, had come and gone. He waited until only a handful of people remained at the gate, the majority of them staff. He waited until one of the flight attendants wandered over and asked him if he needed anything. He shook his head and left the gate.

No one was coming for him.

~~~***~~~

Yami Bakura paced around the apartment. It had been four days, and his mind would not unwind. Was that Ammut he had just seen? Imposable! Ammut wasn't a human! She was a demon, and a hideous one at that… What was all that shit about Karimu? What made her think HE killed him?

"The bitch is just messed in the head…" He offered himself when he could come up with nothing else. But his curiosity was not satisfied, and his mind wandered father.

He twisted his hair around his finger in deep contemplation. "AGH!" He whipped his hand away from his head to hit the wall, taking with it a small sum of hair. Growling, he flipped out his switchblade and raised it behind his own neck. He wound his long hair around his hand and wrist until it was cutting off the circulation to his fingers, and with the ready blade, began to saw off his hair.

When he was done, he slowly pulled his hand away from his head and stared at the detached tresses wound around his hand. He grinned in satisfaction and made his way over to the garbage can, only to trip over the local Hikari's backpack. Before proceeding to pummel Ryou's backpack, a knock came at the door. Perhaps Ryou had come back? It would be much more fun to pummel him.

He picked himself off the floor and pulled open the door. Standing in the hall before him, was the neighbor girl.

"Ayez eh [1]!?" He barked impatiently.

Budgie took a step back nervously. "na…nani?"

Bakura blinked. Stupid girl… "what do you want!?!"

Budgie fumbled with the longest strains of her uneven hair. "Um… I was wondering if perhaps Bakura-kun was home?"

Bakura growled impatiently. Ryou was not home. "go away." With that, he slammed the door in her face. He had more important things to deal with now… Like Ryou's back pack. He glared at the bag and began to advance on it, only to slip on a piece of paper that had liberated itself from Ryou's homework. He snorted and picked it up. Scribbled on it quickly and crudely was a date, Malik's name and a time.

"…"

~~~***~~~

Malik wandered through the dark, damp, unwelcoming streets alone. The streetlights above provided small spots of sympathetic illumination to keep him company on his journey; but no amount of light would lift the dark barrier in the back of his mind. Store clerks where closing up shop and making there way home to their waiting families. Malik sighed and stopped in the center of a spot of light, provided by the overhead lamp. Ryou had not come for him, leaving him with nowhere to go for the night.

"This was a mistake…" He shivered and brought his hands up to rub his bare arms.

"The infallible Ishtar admitting to a mistake?" someone chimed from behind him. "Has hell frozen over since my last visit?"

Malik turned sharply to face a very amused Yami Bakura.

"Wha…" Malik gawked at the spirit before him.

Bakura smiled down at him. Perhaps he could be useful to him again, for solving his demon problem. Sure, it had failed last time, but they where dealing with much stronger forces then. This time, it was just a nut job demon looking for his life. And the Ishtar boy was resourceful when it came to demons and other matters of the like. Very resourceful. Not to mention the Egyptian looked absolutely pathetic, shivering in the chilled Japanese air. It had been a long time… He had grown. Malik no longer looked like the little boy Bakura remembered. It was kind of strange, seeing him again like this.

"You hungry?" Bakura asked casually.

Malik nodded a bit, still taken back by the sight of Bakura, here of all places.

"Good, so am I. I'm taking you to dinner."

~~~***~~~

[1] "Ayez eh" is Arabic for "what do you want"

Oh OOOOH! Looky, I FINALY finished this chapter! Chappy 7 should be an interesting one… he he… dinner… speaking of witch, I'm hungry… * wanders off in search of food *

Responses are always nice…