Notes: Thanks for all the reviews, you guys! And give yourself a pat on the back, those of you who understood what was happening. I was worried, I sometimes have trouble conveying my feelings in words. So I'm glad this worked out!

Oh, and Nefertari? Yay! You gave me a long review. Hehe, D For all of you who don't know her stories, I swear you've been living under a rock. Check her stuff out at Princess Nefertari AKA Krysta, found in my reviews and favorites! P

Oh, and yay! This chapter is looong, but that's good, right? Hehe

One more thing. I'll address this in the fic later on but I need to say it now. Yuugi and Yami are separate while the other couples are together because their worst memories are before they met each other. When the other is there, they have nothing to fear. Plus, their fear is made worse by the fact that they are alone and apart from each other. Nothing tears them up inside like not being together. K, is that clear enough for ya, Brave Rae?

CH 9 True and Pure

Mokuba was on the verge of collapsing in a child-like fit of giggles. And that was a very rare occurance. He scanned the interior of the temple again and his gaze fell over the onconscious forms of his brother and friends.

It had been hard getting them together but now that they were all finally here, in the temple, things could continue as he had planned. With a half-smile, Mokuba checked their stats on the monitors and walked back to lean against the nearest wall.

He sank down and sat on the cold floor, contemplating the difficulty of creating all those suggestions and hints he had carefully planted within the group. Like today's outing; it had been his idea from the start, but he had managed to make it look like Seto had suggested it. It had been vital that all of them were together for everything to succeed, and that they suspected nothing.

And the painstaking gathering of the personal histories of the group had been a long process as well. It had taken much forethought and very tentitive execution. 'But it is all paying off now', Mokuba thought.

With a sigh, Mokuba closed his eyes and leaned his head back against the cool wall. It was time to see if the love present between his friends was as true and pure as they thought; where things went from there, he didn't know.

XXXXXXXXX

Seto slumped against the door and stared blankly at his bedroom. The earlier events didn't even seem like he had been part of them. All that was left in their wake was the pain, and terrible lonliness.

He looked around. Each piece of furniture seemed to shake awake another memory that he was trying so hard to bury inside. But to no avail, with difficulty he made it to the bed but before he could lower himself on it, his legs gave out and he crumpled to the floor.

If he had been staring out the window, toward the gate, Seto would have seen Joey fall at the same time as he did. But now, neither would know the strength of the bond that had been formed between them.

With startling force, Seto was overwhelmed once again as he began reliving the earlier events, for what seemed the hundreth time.

Seto could feel his gaze hardening, regardless of how he was feeling inside. This was the curse of the cruel, heartless bastard that had pretended to be his father. A mask, to hide his feelings, emotions, and desires. A mask, to effectively cut him off from the people around him.

And now this mask was aimed at Joey, who was standing there as if lost to what to do now. Seeing this, Seto realized that Joey was on the edge of tears, Seto hadn't hidden himself from him since before they had found love, in each other.

Seto wanted to run to him, to hold him and tell him everything was going to to fine, anything. But he stood there, trapped between Joey's love and Joey's life. For Seto hadn't told anyone why he was breaking everything off, he hadn't even tried to think about it himself.

XX

Earlier that day, Seto had been awoken by one of his servants delivering a letter. Annoyed at the interuption to his sleep, he had stalked toward the hired help, frozen in terror, when his eye had caught the name on the envelope. Snatching the letter, he had stomped back to his room and sat down at his desk, his attention all on the writing in front of him.

'SETO' The package said, and it angered as much as it interested him. No one had the right to call him that except the people he allowed. As of that moment, only Mokuba and Joey used that name with ease. To an extent, Yuugi and his friends used it as well but not with such familiarity.

With a violent jerk, he tore the flap open and reached a hand inside to pull out whatever was in it.

Seto wasn't expected to see a yellowing slip of paper that seemed to be infinitely old. The side he was staring at was blank so he turned it over, and was surprised to see Egyptian symbols on it. It took only a second for his ancient mind to switch languages and soon he was scanning the writing with ease.

With incredilous eyes, he stopped his reading and forced himself to read it from the beginning again, slowly. He was sure he had made a mistake somewhere, but it was not so. What was written, was written. With growing horror, Seto finished reading and let the paper fall from his fingers back onto the desk as he slumped back in his chair. Thoughts whirled through his mind as he considered his actions.

'Does the title address bother you, Seto? It is all you ever amounted to. You know you don't deserve all of this. You'll die broken and alone. That will be made certain. Your pet will be the first to go.'

Normally, at this point Seto would ball up the paper, then throw it over his shoulder and into the garbage. But something caught his eye and he continued reading.

You don't believe any of it, do you, Seto? But we have been watching you. We know what matters most to you. You don't deserve the love of your "mutt". Or your brother. Does any of this seem familiar, Seto? It wouldn't be surprising if we were watching you even as you read this.

At those words, his head had shot up and shifted around the room. An anxious feelings seem to wash over him and something akin to panic rose in his throat. But Seto forced it all back, he didn't know what was wrong with him if just a letter could induce such a response. His eyes traveled down the page and stopped at his previous spot.

And does Egypt bring back any memories, high priest? We have been watching you for a very long time. And you have never deserved anything that you've received. So, now it's time to show you what happens to those who don't work to get what they want.

The letter had ended there, with no closure or signature. Unbidden, memories of everything he had ever done that wasn't entirely legal or kind rose to Seto's mind. And then, his age old fear bubbled to the surface again, escaping the confines he had put around it once again.

He had always been plagued by fear that everything had come to easy to him. Although he had worked hard, Seto couldn't shake the feeling that because he had accomplished what he wanted, that he wasn't entitled to it. It was an inexplainable fear that twisted through him mind, shifting his feelings back and forth.

He had to struggle to supress a shiver. Seto's eyes widened and he choked out a whispered "Oh no..." Even as he searched for an alternative to what he knew he had to do, he knew that there wasn't.

Those words had forced his actions. To spare Joey, he had, had to let him go.

Even if the pain seemed about to eat Seto alive. Not for the first time, he wondered if maybe there had been another way to solve this. But none came to mind, not even now, and Seto heaved a sigh of regret and defeat, mixed together to create a heart-wrenching note.

'He had looked to broken, standing there. Why, oh why, did this have to end like this?' Once again, Seto cursed the writer of such a letter. For it had caused too much pain.

And it was then that he finally let the mask he wore to crack down the middle. Tears filled his eyes and scewed his vision as a throaty cry escaped his lips. Filled with so much pain that it threatened to dissolve his very existence, Seto tried to stop the flow of sorrow that filled him. But like a dam, once the gates were open, they could not be closed and Seto could only cry helplessly on his bedroom floor, rocking back and forth with his eyes shut tight.

Sometimes, his grief would take his voice and he would mumble or shout something into the waiting silence, unconsciously hoping for a response from his beloved, and only cried even harder when he didn't.

He didn't notice that the wind howled endlessly through the suddenly empty mansion, or that the room around him was fading to black, or even that the floor behind his shut bedroom door was creaking, the telltale sound of a presence on the other side.

Seto was oblivious to all of this, his grief screaming louder in his mind than anything else.

XXXXXXXXX

Joey hesitated outside Seto's bedroom door. He had marched up the drive to the Kaiba Mansion with his his resolution firmly in mind, and his feet bringing him swiftly closer to his destination. He had been so focused that he hadn't noticed the uncomfortable emptiness of the building; how no servant or guard was to be found, or how no sound carried through, not even the tap of Joey's boots against the floor. Joey hadn't even noticed the pressing silence that eagerly descended on him now that he was standing still.

He had come to confront Seto again. As the happenings had gone through his mind over and over again, he had realized the mask the Seto had put on was to hide the feelings underneath. But most of all, Joey realized, the mask had hidden what Joey wasn't supposed to see.

Something was wrong, Joey was sure of it. All he needed now was to find out what, and he planned on making Seto talk no matter what it took.

But all of his thoughts and doubts and worries crashed down on him now, as he stood, frozen with his hand pressed flat againt the door. Joey didn't know what to say anymore. The entire, carefully prepared speech that he had constructed fell to pieces, though he struggled mightily to hold it together.

'Why is it only Seto that does that to me?' Joey thought with a rutheful smile. 'It is him, and him alone, that can melt my heart and leave me breathless. It is only him that I live for, without his love, I will surely fade away.'

Joey let out a deep sigh and pressed his forehead against the coolness of the door, closing his eyes. He let his mind wander and take him where it will as he struggled to gather his composure, taking in ragged breaths.

And it was then that he heard another raw sob tear through the silence and reach his ears. He knew that voice, distraught and broken as it was, it was Seto.

Fear ran through him as he jerked back up agian and swung the door open with one hand on the handle and a foot already stepping into the room. Panic overrode everything else, from the surroundings of the two, to the past events of that day. Joey only had eyes for the sad figure huddling in front of him.

"Seto!" He exclaimed upon seeing the defeated form, normally so arrogant and defiant. It broke Joey's heart to see Seto like this, and no matter what had happened between them, Joey still cared about him. Deeply.

When Seto didn't respond to his voice, Joey rushed forward to his side and dropped down. But still, Seto sat with his face in his hands and a continuous moan escaping him. Overcome with tender love, Joey reached forward and scooped the limp Seto into his arms and onto his lap. Seto didn't even protest.

This frightened Joey even more. No response, nothing at all, was coming from Seto. He continued to be oblivious with his eyes turned downwards toward the ground.

Bringing his hands up from Seto's shoulders, Joey found his face and used the soft underside of his fingers to brush the tears out of Seto's eyes. But they still remained unfocused, so Joey moved closer until their gaze was level and Seto's unseeing eyes were reflected in Joey's, whose where shining with unshed tears of fear and pain.

It was hurting Joey inside, to see Seto like this and know that because he had left, Seto was like this.

'It never should have been like this,' Joey thought desperately. 'Why can't you see what's in front of you, Seto? I'm right here...'

"I'm right here...", Joey repeated as he leaned even closer to Seto's grief-stricken face and brought their faces close together. Just before he leaned in, Joey saw a flicker of recognition flash through Seto's eyes before their lips met and the world fell away.

The kiss sparked something deep inside both of them and released the love that had been closed off, to save them from the pain. The returning of such a strong emotion was like the sun returning to a darkened world.

It quenched an imaginable thirst, something primal which had awoken within the couple, and everlasting love took its rightful place within their hearts.

This feels...Seto thought, emerging from somewhere deep inside himself, it feels so right.How could I have ever thought I could live without him?

The same thought was going through Joey's mind, and he added. Somehow..somehow I know that we were meant for one another.

And as they continued their embrace, revelling in being so close to the other, the world shattered around them and left only darkness in its wake.

XXXXXXXXX

"Your cooking makes me sick!"

Thatparticular remark, which had spouted from Bakura's lips, echoed in Ryou's mind. Somehow, it just didn't ring true. Thinking back only recently, Ryou could recall many instances in which Bakura had admitted that he worshipped his cooking.

Fending for himself all those years as his parents worked away from home, Ryou had learned how to take of himself and it had payed off with Bakura. The one thing that Ryou had to minipulate his demonic lover was his cooking. And favors, of course...the kind only done in the bedroom.

Getting back to the matter at hand, Ryou tried to reason, Why would Bakura pretend to like my cooking when he could have had his way by refusing it?

He wasn't even listening to the the horrid insults, they were falling on deaf ears. All attention had turned inward to figure out what was really going on, and unconsciously relaxed his clutch on his blazer, lowering his arms from their protection of his head.

Why would he, Ryou was determinedly chasing after the answer he had glimpsed. Somewhere in the back of his mind, an idea had formed and as he tried to figure it out, it kept slipping through his mind's grasp.

And then, he caught it.

Why?...Unless! Unless he ISN'T pretending! And that means..., Ryou's eyes widened then and his arms fell back down to his sides.

He's lying! His eyes darkened in confusion. But what do I do now?

XXXXXXXXX

Bakura was struggling to keep and smugness out of his expression, well, the part he could move. He didn't want to alert the force controlling his body that he had figured out a way to beat it, being the all-powerful being that he was.

But he couldn't help the joyful glint fron entering his eyes when Ryou stirred before him and lowered his hands. He had to refrain from dancing in joy in his head when Ryou dropped his hands in his lap and blinked up at him with a confused expression on his adorable face.

Quickly, Bakura tried to think up some thought to make himself voice it, a thought he knew to be entirely untrue. He panicked when one didn't suddenly come to mind and was about to scream in frustration...when it came to him.

He quickly pushed that thought to the forefront of his mind, where he could feel a powerful force lodged there, and brought up twisted memories to accompany it.

Not many knew this, except Ryou and perhaps the Pharaoh and the High Priest when they thought back to their previous lives, but Bakura had very advanced psychic powers. He could read others' minds, unless intensely blocked, as the Pharaoh and High Priest liked to do and other such things.

But the most important part, was that Bakura had a Shadow mind. Playing the Shadow Games so many times, and so frequently, had resulted in his creating a separate consciousness where he had transferred his inner mind. The way that worked was that he sent the most essential parts of his mind to the Shadow Realm and operated his body from there.

That was why he had been so distressed initially, when his body had refused him. It could have meant that his Shadow mind was sealed off and his consciousness was trapped behind the mass of his physical mind. Not that he'd ever admit it, to anyone, but he had always had a fear that something like this would happen.

The fact that an alien force was controlling his body didn't really matter. After all, he thought confidently, I can fix this eventually.

But the fact that he was being made to hurt Ryou, the one being that had made its way passed the barriers and walls he had put up around himself. The one person who had survived all that and snuggled up to his heart so easily...Well, that just made it certain that the person or thing responsible for Ryou's pain was going to die a very violent and painful death.

And now he sent the untrue thought to the force, sending a message to his boyfriend, hoping Ryou would see it.

"You are the WORST person I have EVER had the displeasure to have in bed!" Bakura's voice spit out, sounding so ridiculous to both males because it wasn't true.

The truth was the complete opposite. In fact, Bakura had been forced to admit to him, Ryou was one of the best. Somehow, the energy and reserve the boy kept during the day, came out at night and rocked Bakura's world.

That was why he took care to make sure that Ryou didn't hear anything bad going on that included Bakura, for Ryou's punishment involved withholding the two of the things that Bakura was addicted to: Ryou's cooking...and something that led to sexual frustration if not satisfied.

So, the fact that Bakura's mind-controlled body was saying such untrue things, was making Ryou's suspicions grow very quickly. Bakura watched with satisfaction as Ryou's eyes cleared of their confusion, to be replaced with a stubborn determination that only Bakura's boyfriend would have.

Atta boy, Ryou, Bakura encouraged in his mind and allowed a glint of approval to reach his eyes and then quickly hiding it again, before the force in his mind could realize what was going on.

XXXXXXXXX

Slowly, waking up abused muscles, Ryou stood up and turned his gaze towards Bakura's, meeting his eyes dead on. He kept getting the nagging sensation that something wasn't right about him, especially Bakura's look.

The normally glinting, mischevious eyes that hinted at things Ryou didn't know, were now dull and blank. Yet Ryou could see that some emotion would swim tentatively to the surface every once in a while.

Like an electrical shock to his system, Ryou knew what was going on; The words being thrown at him now didn't even faze him. He knew they weren't meant, not from the one he loved.

Ryou searched for something he could do, anything, to stop the tirade and bring back his lover. Unconsciously, he took a step forward, closer to Bakura's form. Somehow, it was so hard to approach Bakura when Ryou didn't know if he was wanted or not.

He had always know how Bakura was feeling from his body language, it was one of the main reasons he understood Bakura so thoroughly, and one of the reasons he couldn't hide anything from Ryou.

A helpless shiver escaped Ryou's thin frame and his shoulders drooped even as he faced his boyfriend. What could he do? He had always been the weaker of the two, that fact Bakura had let him know many times...especially in the bedroom, he thought with a blush.

As inevitable as the first reaction had been, a second thought followed in its trail, racing through his mind like a hot flame. Why do I have to STAY weak? I'm as strong as anyone!

Ryou felt himself square his shoulders and lift his gaze to show a haughty stare that Bakura could be proud of. Suddenly, the Dark and Light resemblance between the two was unmistakable. Like two halves of a whole, they filled in what the other didn't, had what the other needed.

As he stepped forward, his eyes fell on Bakura's lips and he gave a soft intake of breath.

As always, they moved with such seductiveness, even in anger. As sure as he knew who he was, Ryou knew he was completely hipnotised by the beauty and the deadliness, combined in such a delicious way on Bakura's lips. He had always been.

And Ryou found that Bakura looked so defenseless right then, so wanting, that he couldn't resist. Ryou closed the last couple of feet between them and stumbled into Bakura's arms, staring up at him from half-closed eyes.

Bakura gave an involuntarily shiver up his spine and regardless of the powerful force controlling his body, he felt himself lean down toward Ryou as well, as if Ryou's yearning was overpowering the force controlling his mind.

Everything seemed to slow down, as if waiting for them to meet.

They were like opposite ends of a magnet, Ryou and Bakura were. So totally different in every way, yet strangely similiar and familiar, as if only just reversed. So different as to be apart, yet so attracted to one another. The pull each felt towards the other was undeniable, it was like a searing fire to the soul when they were apart.

The want, the need...Ryou felt it as much as Bakura did. So in tune to each other, so knowing, they were reminded of the other in themselves. Twisting words, soothing rhythm; it was undescribable to feel the other, skin on skin.

After what seemed at eternity, lips met. In light and darkness, in sound and silence, in water and fire, in pain and pleasure. So exquisite, so unique; Ryou felt tears come to his eyes from experiencing such beauty. Bakura jerked suddenly and Ryou felt that somewhere deep inside him, a barrier holding him back had torn apart, flooding the empty form with what was Bakura.

Strong arms came up and wrapped around Ryou tightly as a gasp escaped passed Bakura's lips. He was back in control. Everything was forgotten, forgiven, and loved again as they felt love unfold as never before, knowing that the one thing that mattered was not opposite between them.

Shining light collided with consuming dark and they dissappeared in a whirl of light, leaving nothing in their wake except the lingering sense of strong emotions.

XXXXXXXXX

A/N

All done! Please review and tell me how I'me doing! And you'll just have to wait till next chapter to find out what's going on with Yuugi and Yami. Hehe, till then!