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Normal Writing: Common Time

Italic Writing: Dream/memory.

(………) Yami thinking

/………/ Hikari thinking

'………' Normal thought

"………" Normal speech

(A/N:………) Author's Note

Chapter Fifteen

Ryou woke up, panting heavily.

How horrible! How just completely awful! To leave that man squashed under that stone, getting killed so slowly………ugh! Ryou shuddered.

He stood up, and walked carefully over to the master bedroom where Bakura had started sleeping.

His yami was tossing and turning on the bed, muttering in Ancient Egyptian.

Ryou, carefully so that he didn't wake up the yami, slid into bed next to him.

For some reason, being near Yami Bakura was immensely comforting to Ryou. He cuddled up to his yami, soothingly stroking the spirit's hair.

Bakura calmed down, falling into a more peaceful sleep.

Ryou closed his eyes and went to sleep.

-- - - - - - - - - -

And the dream started up right where it left off.

Bakura examined the door. He had found the key, but he still had to make sure he found the trigger.

He didn't want to accidently set it off, key or not.

He lightly pushed on the walls, and then the door.

He paused.

On either side of the door, like hinges, were tiny dents in the stone, with a small piece of metal hitched.

The door was hinged on both sides, lined up with the door's middle.

After examining the hinges, he discovered that the door didn't push open like a normal door.

It pushed up.

So, if you tried to open the door normally, you set off the trap.

But if you found the other way to open it, you got away.

So how to open it?

Bakura puzzled over it, staring at the hinges and thinking of different possibilities.

No, the priest wouldn't have………

Bakura, on the sudden thought, crouched down and touched the bottom of the door.

If this hunch was wrong, he was dead.

Bakura pushed the bottom of the door.

And it opened.

So, it opened horizontally. You push the bottom, which swings it so that it lay flat, held up by the two hinges.

A sideways door, who wouldn've thought?

- - - - - - - - - - - -
(The next night.)

Yami Bakura walked through the pouring rain, ignoring the people who ran around trying to get to shelter.

He just walked, head down, hair straggling down and dripping.

He had nowhere to go at the moment.

He and Ryou had gotten into another fight, and this time Bakura wasn't so sure they would make up and forgive each other.

It had started out over something so stupid, so petty, that it made Bakura wince when he thought about it. Then it had progressed farther and farther, and soon they were shouting insults through the air at each other, verbal daggers, that pierced the heart.

Bakura had stormed out, had killed a couple of cats to relieve his temper, and had beaten up a gang that had blocked his path and tired to mug him.

And he was still angry.

He kicked a street lamp as he passed, and ignored the pain in his foot. He had a mortal body now, but it didn't age and he still retained all his Shadow Powers. So he could ignore pain or hunger or weariness.

He lifted his head and blinked up at the rain pouring from the heavens.

"I hate rain." He muttered.

He walked along some more, not caring that his dark clothes were soaked.

He had no care if he got sick. He'd just retreat to the Ring and then remake his physical form.

He mused over the fight again.

It had started because Ryou had once again allowed himself to be bullied, and had consequently been relieved of all his money for that day and the event would happen again the next day, and the next, until Ryou decided to stand up for himself or Bakura decided to take matters into his own hands.

But Ryou never understood that he should grow a backbone and fight back.

He didn't want the problems that would arise, but he needed to do it.

So Bakura had snapped at him again, degrading him for a weak coward.

Ryou had withstood the verbal abuse until his patience reached its end, and he began yelling back.

"Stupid, weak hikari!"

"Vicious, ice-hearted thief!"

"Powerless!"

"Full of greed and revenge!"

Things had started progressing farther and farther along, with Bakura getting closer to killing someone/thing and Ryou getting ready to stick the Ring down the garbage processor.

"Might as well have a the Pharaoh's brat instead of you!"

"At least Yami wouldn't press HIS hikari into a fight!"

"It's for your own good!"

"No it's not!"

"You're just a coward!"

"Better to be living and a coward then being brave but dead!"

"They wouldn't dare do a thing!"

"They would!"

"I'd kill them first!"

"Then how would I ever learn? You are always protecting me, I never can do a thing for myself! And you say I'm a coward!"

"You are!"

"You're a thief, that is just as bad as a coward."

"Weak fool."

"Murdering thief!"

"What?"

"Murderer!"

"Stop, Ryou!"

"You are! You murderer and a killer! Killer!"

Ryou had begun to get really heated up, and was throwing caution to the winds, taunting and screaming right back at Bakura, who was a bit shocked at his hikari's sudden fierceness.

Bakura had been flaming red-eyed by then, and had been finger lengths short of lashing out at Ryou.

So he had walked out.

Now he was in the rain.

And cold.

But he could ignore the cold like he ignored everything else.

He snarled, drawing his arms unconsciously around him to fend away the cold.

A car pulled up to the sidewalk.

"Bakura?"

Bakura turned a glare on the person calling his name.

And stumbled as he saw Isis watching him out of her car window.

The car doors unlocked.

"Get in." She called.

Bakura sighed, sensing that tone of voice that meant he had better do what she says.

- - - - - - - - - -

Bakura lay on the couch in Isis's house, staring at the ceiling. She had dragged him to her house, saying she 'Saw' him getting in big trouble as he wandered in the rain, and she had to prevent that.

Yeah, right.

Whatever.

The doorbell rang, and Bakura heard Rishid go answer it.

A few minutes later, footsteps sounded on the stairs and the face of his one and only friend appeared.

"Hey, Malik." Bakura whispered.

Malik smiled, and he was happily licking a lolli-pop

"Well, Malik, are you done moping around in self-pity?" Malik asked, pulling the sucker out of his mouth with a loud pop.

"What? I am not moping." Bakura protested, glaring at the Egyptian.

Malik grinned. "Maybe not all the time. Come on, Isis said he'll seal me into the Shadow Realm for a week if I don't get you out of the house."

"What? Isis……ISIS! I DON'T WANT TO GO!" Bakura howled, turning to look at her as she followed her brother in.

"Too bad. You need to go out. Malik will take you out and he had promised NOTHING DANGEROUS." She sent a warning glare at her brother, and he just popped his sucker out again.

Bakura sulked. "Fine. If it will get you off my back." He muttered, and Malik grinned as he walked towards the door, a dejected Bakura behind him.

- - - - - - - - - -

End Chapter.

Thanks to all reviewers and sorry for the long wait! Thanks to my writer's block, tough schedule with school work, and 's own problems, I will probably be awhile again next time.