Schiz- LOOK!

Bakura- What?

Schiz- SECOND CHAPTER-NESS!

Bakura- O.o'' You are so… weird.

Schiz- I know. . Anyways, this chapter is… different. It's kind of funny, and a lot longer. A lot of stuff that's in here will be important later, too, so PAY ATTENTION! Good.

Disclaimer- SchizThePlushieThief does not own teh Yugioh-ness or teh Raya Walker-Moto. Kapesh?

Schiz- Good sign. Did anybody know the word goo is not in the Spell Check dictionary? I don't own that either, by the way. The Spell Check thingy. So, I'm tired of talking out of character. Read teh ficcie. (Ficcie isn't in there either!)

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The seated woman looked up as one of her subjects walked into the room. It was a girl, no older than seventeen. "Oh, you're finally here. It took you long enough."

"I had… other business to attend to. However," the girl swept a curtsey, "I'm here now. What is it you require, mistress?"

"I have a task for you," the first woman replied. She got up, and handed the girl a long package. "You will deliver this. You leave tonight, and it's a three day journey to your destination."

"But where…? And who do I deliver this to, milady?" The young woman seemed puzzled. She swept a hand through pale hair and continued. "You usually give me a person to deliver it to, not to mention a location."

The woman whirled around and slapped the girl across the face. "Do NOT question me, wench! You will do as I say, or perhaps you would rather go back to where I found you?"

"No… not there. Forgive me. I spoke out of my place," the girl apologized quickly. She bowed her head, hair obscuring her face.

"As I was saying, it's three days to your destination. Once there, you will find the person that parcel belongs to. I know there is no name on the parcel, but you shall know when you find them. You know the laws. Speak of it to no one until you have found the owner. Speak of me to no one, either. You will tell anyone it concerns that you have been granted a reprieve to visit a family member."

The young woman looked up, a somewhat confused and thoughtful look on her face. "But… the only family I have is R…"

"Your destination," the woman interrupted, "is in Japan. Domino City, to be exact."

"D-Domino? But that's where…" The girl looked up, and waited with baited breath for an answer.

"And by the way, I chose YOU for this assignment because of… particularly close bonds to someone in DominoCity."

"You mean…?"

The woman laughed. "Yes, my dear, you get to see your brother."

…………………………………………………………………………………………………

Whatever Yami had expected from Rhiannon Jacobi, it was the opposite of what he found. When he and Ryou had first stepped into Hecate's Light, the young woman behind the counter reached behind her, grabbed a small bag off the shelf located there, and proceeded to chuck it at him, all without looking up from her book.

"What…?" Yami started, turning the bag over and examining it.

"It's a nightmare cure. Hang it over your bed," she replied, still without looking up.

Yami lifted the bag. It was light blue, and smelled faintly of strawberries. "It… smells like strawberries." Yami said plainly.

"That's because there's strawberry leaves in it," the woman said wryly.

Yami blinked, somewhat confused. "But why…?"

Ryou moaned, while the woman behind the counter finally looked up. She glared at Yami and said bluntly, "Because it cures nightmares."

Yami just stared blankly back.

The woman shifted her glare over at Ryou. "Why, Ryou Bakura, do you insist on inflicting me with these oblivious simpletons?"

Ryou shifted his feet uncomfortably. "I thought you liked having people over."

"People, yes." The woman rose from her chair behind the counter and strode over to Ryou. "But not pathetic excuses for them. It's quite hard to hold a conversation with a person who has the I.Q. of a turnip."

It was Yami's turn to glare, now. "Excuse me, but I do NOT have the I.Q. of a t…t…" Yami tried without success to cover his yawn.

"Turnip." The woman finished, her glare replaced by a somewhat bored expression. Her turquoise eyes scanned over Yami, and she smirked a bit at his hair. "And yet, you have not said anything that could remotely be considered intelligent."

Yami blinked again, and then shook his head. "I'm sorry, but if you haven't noticed, I'm a bit out of it. I'm Yami Moto." He held out his hand to the woman.

"Rhiannon Jacobi." Rhiannon stated, ignoring Yami's hand. "And this, as I'm sure you've realized, is my shop. Hecate's Light."

"Hek… Heke…"

Rhiannon rolled her eyes. "Heh-cah-tay. Hecate. Named for the ancient Greek goddess of magic, the moon, crossroads, and the patron deity of witches."

"Witches!" Yami exclaimed. "You… named your shop after the goddess of witches? You mean, you're a… a… wi…" he asked, trying very hard not to offend Rhiannon.

"Healer. I'm a healer. That's all you need to know." Rhiannon rolled her eyes again. "Not that it's any of your business to begin with. What I name my shop is of no concern to you."

"I'm sorry. I wasn't trying to offend you." Yami mumbled.

Rhiannon sighed. "You didn't. And since I'm assuming you didn't study Greek mythology, I excuse the ignorance…. There's somewhere you're supposed to be by now, isn't there?" she added, glancing at Yami.

Yami simply stared, thinking to himself. 'There was something…' "OH NO! Tristan's martial arts exhibition! I was supposed to be there ten minutes ago! I've gotta go! It was very nice to meet you, Miss Jacobi! See you later Ryou!" With that, Yami frantically ran out of Hecate's Light.

"I don't like him." Rhiannon stated, turning back to her shop. She started to rearrange some gemstones on one of the shelves. "He's a simpleton. And he has horrible hair to boot."

Ryou shook his head. "Well, you didn't like Seto at first either."

Rhiannon snorted. "Yes, well, Seto proved himself. He can at least throw back a retort of some kind. Besides," she added somewhat acidly, "Seto's damnably good-looking. That other one has no wit, intellect, or even tact. And come on! How in Persephone's underworld can he even CALL that hair! It's like Styrofoam! He looks like he got dipped in dye, like an Easter egg."

"He was born like that, Rae. He can't control what color hair he was born with." Ryou argued. The somewhat pallid teen jumped up onto the counter and sat there cross-legged. "Why would he WANT hair like that?"

"Touché. But if I had hair like that, I'd dye it. I wouldn't go flaunting it. Any unnatural color."

Ryou glared at the shopkeeper. "You don't like my hair, either, do you?" he demanded. HIS hair was an unnatural color!

"Actually, I do." Rhiannon replied coolly. "It suits you. The whole naïve innocent look works for you. But that THING'S hair," she jerked a thumb at the door, "is just ridiculous. I wonder how much he pays annually on hair gel and dye."

"It's NATURAL, Rae! He doesn't dye it or spike it." Ryou answered. 'Well… I think it is,' he added to himself.

Rhiannon shook her head. "That's insane. There is no possible way. It defies all reasonable logic, you do realize that?"

"Yeah, well…"

"What's wrong with you?" Rhiannon interrupted. "You seem… off. Not feeling well?" She continued to

Ryou sighed. "Physically? I feel fine, apart from some slight allergies because I ate those crab cakes Tea made. But… it's just that…. Next week. It's her birthday."

Rhiannon glanced over her shoulder. "Who's? Tea's?"

"Amane's."

Rhiannon whirled around. "Stop! Don't tell me that you're still beating yourself up over what happened! That wasn't your fault, and you damn well know it!"

Ryou shook his head sadly. "No. No, I'm not. It's just… You know, with Bakura gone, and… It's just kind of getting to me. I'll be alright."

"Well, if you're sure. Just don't do anything stupid. In fact…" Rhiannon grabbed a small jar from above her head and slid it across the counter to Ryou. "Take two of these and call me in the morning."

"What the…?" Ryou opened the container and sniffed the contents. "Wait. That's…"

"Chocolate." Rhiannon finished. "Chamomile-laced chocolate. If that doesn't calm you down, nothing will. But small doses; you don't want to knock yourself out. I mean, you…" The phone rang suddenly, causing both of the teens to jump. Rhiannon glared daggers at the phone, but picked it up. "Hello, Hecate's Light, Rhiannon Jacobi speaking. How may I help you? Oh… will you hold for just a moment? Thank you."

Rhiannon turned to her pale companion. "I'm so sorry Ry, but I have to take this, and besides, it's getting late. I'll talk to you later, okay?"

"Okay," Ryou replied. "Good night."

………………………………………………………………………………………………….

The phone was on its fifth ring when Ryou walked through the door. "Oh, bloody… Forget it. I'm not here." He walked into the kitchen.

The answering machine gave a small beep and turned on its speakers. "Ryou? Ryou, are you there?" A low, somewhat accented voice came through.

Ryou ran out of the kitchen and grabbed the phone. "Bakura! How are you? Where are you? Are you okay? When are you coming home?" He demanded.

Bakura flinched almost audibly. "Damn it, Ryou! One at a time!"

"Okay, fine. How are you?"

"I'm fine, Ryou. I'm fine. I think I might have a lead, but I'm not certain yet. But I'm all right." Bakura replied.

"Good! That's good!" Ryou said cheerfully. "So, where are you?"

"Tokyo, still."

Ryou sighed. "Oh… Oh. I was hoping you'd be coming home soon."

"I am."

"Oh, okay… WHAT!"

"I'll be there day after tomorrow." Bakura added.

"That's GREAT! The guys will be so excited when I tell them! I mean, you…"

"NO!"

Ryou cringed. "Why? I mean, why not?"

"Because I'm not staying long," Bakura explained. "Just a week or so."

"But… I… I can't tell anyone?"

"No." The white-haired yami repeated firmly. "I don't want anyone to know. Tell them that I'm still in Tokyo. They don't need to know I'm here."

"But you…"

"Ryou… please."

Please. That alone was enough to tell Ryou that this really meant a lot to the thief. Bakura never said please… unless he really, REALLY needed it. "Well, all right," Ryou agreed. "Do you need me to pick you up somewhere?"

"No, I can get there. Day after tomorrow, sometime after dark. And remember… Not a word."

………………………………………………………………………………………………….

"What in Sekhmet's name is THAT?" Raya asked.

Yami looked over from where he was nailing the sachet from Rhiannon to the wall. "Hmm?"

"That… bag… thing." Raya sat on the edge of her boyfriend/ adopted brother/ husband's bed. "Yugi's staying the night at Joey's, by the way."

"Yeah, he told me." Yami responded. "And it's for the nightmares. Ryou's friend gave it to me." When Raya simply raised an eyebrow, he added, "She's a healer."

"Hah! A witch she means." Raya snorted. "I'll bet you anything. There just simply aren't any healers anymore, not with herbs and stuff. She must be a witch."

"No, no!" exclaimed Yami. "She said she wasn't! And honestly, would Ryou hang out with a… Actually, never mind." 'Knowing Ryou, he probably would.'

Raya rolled her eyes and mumbled something that sounded like 'a witch WOULD say that.'

Yami shrugged. "Well… I'm willing to try anything by now."

"Fine, all right, you win!" Raya conceded. "Now go to bed."

"Yes, mother." He leaned over and kissed the former queen soundly on the lips. "'Night, commoner."

"Good night, palace brat."

………………………………………………………………………………………………….

Outside the Kame game shop, a cloaked and shadowy figure stood beneath an oak tree… watching. The figure made no movement, nothing to give away their presence. Simply… watching.

Only once the light in Yami's room had gone out did the shadow move the slightest bit. The individual raised a gloved hand towards the window and muttered something under their breath. There was a faint blue glow from the window, but only for a moment. Darkness then claimed its hold on the sleeping building.

"Good." The figure said quietly. "That should keep me off your mind for a while." The voice was a chilling one, as cutting as a sword but light as silk. A woman's voice. "Funny that you would choose now to dream of me; I thought you had long since forgotten. But I can't have you realizing… not just yet. Not until the shards of memory are returned to all they have abandoned. However…" The woman pulled a dagger out of her cloak. The silver blade caught the light of the half-moon and shone, gleaming, on to the woman's face. Only one single, cat-like eye, however, showed beneath the cloak. "You will remember, Yugioh. Oh yes. And I will have my revenge, just as I swore. You will suffer all that I vowed, and more. Much, much more. It is the debt you owe."

The woman put the dagger back and started to walk away. She paused after several steps, and turned her head back to face the game shop. "That much you can count on… brother." With that, she walked away, with a laugh as cold and haunted as the night wind.

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I like this chapter. I didn't like the first one so much, but I can honestly say I like this chapter. Eleven pages, not bad. Anyways, I know it's been forever since I posted, but I know how the next couple of chapters are going. With regards to Yugi staying at Joey's… Joey lives by himself. His dad got thrown in jail for grand theft auto and assault. He won't be getting out for a while.

With that, I walk away, with a hope that you will read and review! XP