Chapter 18

"So, had fun did we?" Marik sneered. "I sure hope so because now you have to pay for it. Right Malik?"

"As you say Master," the boy whispered.

"Aww, cute," Bakura smiled, head tipped to one side, "Don't you think, Ryou?"

"I... guess,"

"You don't sound too certain." Bakura looked over at his hikari. "Don't you think it's cute though?"

Everyone stared at him.

"Oh yes," Bakura said suddenly, "You had a question to ask me. Something about cream puffs I believe."

"Yes," Yugi replied slowly, "I was wondering why... Ryou said you gave him cream puffs?"

"Does this make sense?" Marik interrupted. "And what do cream puffs have to do with anything?"

"I believe it has a point," Bakura replied lightly. "But it would probably be more easily apparent if you allowed the boy to speak." He placed a finger over Marik's lips. "Don't you think?"

"Y-yes," Marik stammered, cheeks red, "I... guess."

Bakura smiled. "Good. Now, what were you saying?"

"It's no big deal," Yugi hedged. Bakura gave him a look. "It's just that Ryou was saying how he loved cream puffs and that you'd give them to him whenever he wanted and I was wondering why." He peeked up at Bakura nervously. "You don't have to answer; it's just a silly question..."

"Is it?" Bakura asked dryly. "Then why make all the fuss? The answer is the part that makes it a silly question." Yugi stared at him. "He deserves to have something to make up for what I do to him, right?" Now the hikari's eyes darted around trying to find some way out of answering the question. "It doesn't matter anyway." Bakura waved it aside, before sitting down on the ledge and running a hand over Ryou's hair.

"Why do you do that?" Malik asked daringly. Marik slapped him.

"Cause I feel like it." Bakura replied. "I like long hair." He smirked, running a hand through his own. "As should be obvious."

"Yes," Malik agreed softly. Marik had let him go when Bakura had chosen to answer him instead of simply ignoring him or getting mad.

"Come on then, we've gotta get down there. Oh and Yugi," The boy looked up as Bakura addressed him, "Yami said to bring you out with us as he wants to spend time with Hermione. You can double-check if you want. I think he's expecting it."

"Okay," Yugi replied softly.

"That didn't take long." Marik remarked, amused, "What did he do, yell at you and tell you to play along and leave him alone?"

"I didn't ask him." Yugi told him. "Whatever you may be Bakura's trustworthy."

Marik's face went red but Bakura just shrugged, possessing Ryou again and leading them towards their room. "Bastard." Marik snarled.

"Why?" Bakura asked, looking as amused as Marik had been before Yugi's retort. "It's just him after all. If it was Yami now I'd be getting mad but it isn't is it?"

Marik looked thoughtful for a second, then nodded. "You're right. He's not worth paying attention to is he?" Bakura just smiled slowly.

"Hey, Bakura," Yami asked hesitantly.

"Yeah?"

"Did Yugi seem... happy to you? He hasn't said anything to me since yesterday. And he didn't ask if I thought it was all right to go with you and Marik. So I'm sort of... worried, you know?"

"I know," Bakura replied, lips twitching slightly. "I'd probably feel the same way if it was Ryou." Yami stared at him. "What? I may not actually talk to him but that doesn't mean I don't communicate. I just use emotions rather than words most of the time. Harder to get confused that way." He smirked.

"All right," Yami replied, "But you still haven't told me whether you think Yugi's okay or not. He doesn't normally keep quiet for this long."

"He's probably just got a lot to think about." Bakura shrugged. "Most of the time they were talking about pretty deep stuff no matter what Marik says. He doesn't know that Malik's learned a rudimentary mind shield. It's not strong or anything but he can make Marik think that a memory is happening as long as Marik doesn't get suspicious. Just don't tell him that okay?"

Yami nodded. "I wouldn't. But I'm surprised you didn't tell him. It's the kind of thing you would say, just to get him in trouble."

"I don't think so." Bakura looked over at him disdainfully. "Maybe if it was just some random person I happened to meet I would. Maybe. But Marik can be really nasty when he gets mad. Even I wouldn't wish that on someone. Especially since it's not hurting anyone. So just don't mention it."

"I already said I wouldn't," Yami agreed, "But you really think that's all it is? Yugi's really not the kind of person who'd..."

Bakura rolled his eyes. "If you're really that worried why not go ask him? He won't mind. He's not the type to get mad about that kind of thing. It's what I'd do."

"What you'd do is most often the opposite of what I'd do, Bakura," Yami pointed out dryly. "We deal with things in very different ways. This time, however, I believe you're right. Asking Yugi is probably the best course. Arigato!" And he retreated into his soul room.

Bakura stared at his currently soulless body for a moment before separating from Ryou and reaching for his wand and his transfiguration book. Ryou knelt on the floor by his feet and watched as he practiced changing one of Marik's spare armbands into things.

"Bakura-sama," Ryou asked hesitantly.

"Yes, Ryou?" Bakura looked up at him, surprise flickering briefly over his face. It was very rare for Ryou to initiate a conversation.

"Won't Marik get mad at you for doing that? That's his bracelet after all."

"I don't care if Marik does get mad. It's just one of his spares." Bakura reached down to cuff Ryou lightly across the head "And it's an armband not a bracelet." He added coolly, "Get it right or it won't be me who'll be hitting you. Marik hates the implication that his jewelry makes him look feminine and calling his arm and wrist bands bracelets is one thing practically guaranteed to make him mad."

"Sorry," Ryou whispered, bowing his head. "I didn't mean to." He quickly stopped himself, not wanting to get in any more trouble than he had already. Sometimes Bakura got mad when he said something that sounded like an excuse. It depended on his mood really. If he was angry then he'd pick up on every fault, but if he wasn't Ryou would be fine.

"Yeah, whatever," Bakura replied in a bored tone. "As I said, I don't really care; I'd just rather you didn't get into trouble with Marik."

"Thank you," Ryou said softly. Bakura just shrugged in reply and went back to his practice. Ryou watched in fascination as the bracelet –no, armband – flickered from one shape to another as Bakura said the strange words. He didn't often get an opportunity to see magic at work. Ryou was fascinated by it, but most of the time Bakura would take over as soon as people started using magic.

That was why Ryou had started getting into occult stuff. He'd gotten Bakura, or rather, the yami had gotten him, and then he'd realized that magic really was real. And if magic was real then maybe the stuff that people did actually worked. His fascination had worked against him though, as Bakura made dolls of those who harmed him, or those who he wanted to be friends with, and trapped their souls inside them. But still, Ryou had never lost that childlike wonder at magic, even when it became an integral part of his life.

"You like this don't you?" Bakura remarked absently. "I don't get why you still like magic so much. Magic's the reason I'm here after all."

"I – don't really mind you being here," Ryou confessed hesitantly. "I hate it when you hurt me or my friends and make me do weird stuff, but you're still a part of me."

"Yes," Bakura agreed. "The soul bond is perhaps the strongest bond in existence. The only one I know that's stronger is the bond of true love. And that's really rare. A lot of people get married because they really like each other, or because they're good friends and want kids. Sometimes relationships are based purely on sex. But the bond of true love, that's really rare. Everyone has someone somewhere who's perfect for them, but most never find them. That's why so many couples get divorced. They settle for something less than perfect and discover that it's not enough. Or worse, they think that what they have is perfect when it's not. And when they realize that, they just can't handle it. Like kids in a way. A child will beg and beg for a toy, and when they get it, when they realize that it's not what they thought it was they throw a screaming fit and throw it away."

"That's awful," Ryou stared up at him, wide-eyed. "Is that really what happens? I thought, most of the couples I've seen are so happy with each other..."

Bakura shrugged and tossed Marik's armband on to the other's bed. "I never said that basing a relationship on friendship is bad. Or that no one finds their perfect mate. I just said that most people don't. I believe Yami has. That's one reason why Marik agreed to help so easily. He wouldn't want to see something like that go to waste just because he didn't try to help. It's not really that bad." He looked up at the clock on the wall. "It is, however, that late. Come to bed Ryou."

Ryou quickly stood to slide into their bed next to his yami. "Where's Marik then if it's that late? If you don't mind me asking that is?"

"I don't mind," Bakura replied absently. "And I don't know where he is. He said he wanted to be alone for a while. I believe he's still thinking about that last game."