Ch. 4-Obstacles

I'm updating again! (Duh…) Today was my first day of being a high school sophomore. Shadow's Night Mare, I checked my zodiac—Capricorn and Virgo are indeed compatible. Ryou VeRua, I'm sorry if the Yugi-tachi seems annoying, but wouldn't you be irritated if they interrupted your date? The chapter dedication goes to you for being the first to review the last chapter.

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Enraged, Bakura yelled, "You went where?" Ryou sighed and repeated for the umpteenth time, "Marik asked me out, and we went to the park together."

"To the park? You went somewhere alone with Marik? Ryou, he is completely untrustworthy!"

"Just because you don't like him doesn't mean he's still evil! You may think he betrayed you back in Battle City, but he's been nothing but wonderful to me!"

Bakura snorted derisively. "Of course he's nice to you, you idiot. He'll act completely devoted to you—until he gets to screw you. Then he'll drop you like a sack of bricks."

"You don't know what you're talking about! Marik is a perfectly decent human being; he wouldn't do that to me!"

"Oh, really? Are you sure about that, hikari?"

"Yes, absolutely sure. Now, if you don't mind, the Motous' invited me to a sleepover, and I have to go get ready."

At the Game Store

Ryou cautiously pushed the door open. "Ummm…am I still welcome here?", he asked nervously. Joey grinned. "Sure, as long as Marik's not wit' ya."

Seating himself on the living room couch, Ryou said to those present—Yugi, Yami, Joey, Tea, and Tristan--, "Sorry about this morning, guys. That was embarrassing!"

Yami grunted, Yugi blushed, Joey and Tristan glared, and Tea looked rather worried.

"What? What'd I say?"

Yugi smiled. "Nothing, Ryou. Come on, we have a sleepover to get started here! Tea, make sure Joey doesn't eat all the popcorn."

One sleepover later (the next morning)

Breakfast at the Turtle Game Shop was a quiet affair, except for Joey eating like his life depended on it. Ryou was almost too worried to eat. His friends were upset, and wouldn't tell him anything. (1.) Before he could say as much, Tea nervously asked him, "Ryou, what do you see in Marik Ishtar?"

Confused by her abruptness and embarrassed by the question, Ryou hesitated before answering firmly, "He's kind to me, even though he seems a little harsh to you guys. He treats me with respect, and he listens to my opinions. He actually pays attention to me (unlike some people in here, he thought venomously (2.)) We have the same interests and most of the same hobbies. He's an absolutely wonderful person." Not to mention he's really, really hot, Ryou thought, blushing slightly.

"We get it, Ryou, (Yugi spoke up for all of the others) and if he makes you happy, we won't stand between you. But if he ever hurts you…"

Gratefully, Ryou smiled. "Thank you." I have such good friends.

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That Friday, just before Ryou's date with Marik, there would have been a nasty yami/hikari fight at the Bakura apartment—if Ryou hadn't snuck out via the fire escape. When Marik saw him, he shook his head disappointingly. "Ryou, malakh, we have got to get you away from Bakura—you're starting to act like him."

Ryou blinked. "Um, what?"

"Malakh—Arabic for 'angel'. Like it or not, that's your new nickname."

He blushed. "I'm no angel…"

"You are to me. Now hop on, we're going to be late for the movie."

2 hours later

As they exited the movie theater, Marik remarked, "You know, that was the coolest movie I've ever seen—but it would have been better if the couple in front of us would have stopped making out."

Ryou winced, adding, "Yeah, couldn't they have sat in the back?" Not that I'd have minded making out with Marik during the movie. Or any other time, as a matter of fact.

"Oh, really?" Ryou groaned—he had forgotten the mind link that he shared with Marik. (3.)

"Marik, how long were you listening?"

"Not that long. Using the mind link gives me headaches, so I don't do it often."

"So…you wouldn't mind?" And with that, Ryou turned and kissed him fervently. Marik pulled them both into the shadows of a nearby alley.

When they broke apart to catch their breath—neither of them having mastered the skill of breathing with someone's tongue in their mouths—Ryou asked, "So, you never told me, what brought you back here anyway?"

Marik sighed. "Domino Museum is making the Pharaoh's Tablet a permanent exhibit. My sister moved us here to look after it. Personally, I don't get it—it's not like a giant chunk of rock can just get up and walk away. But you're here, so I'll be fine."

Ryou smiled and pulled him into another kiss. This time, they were interrupted (Marik was sneaking a hand up Ryou's shirt) by an enraged and very familiar yell.

"Marik, get your hands off my hikari!"

"Oooohhhhhh…crap." Ryou grumbled.

Bakura was standing on the sidewalk. And he was pissed. His eyes glowed red, as did the Millennium Ring. In a tone of barely suppressed homicidal rage, he snarled, "Ryou, we're going home. Marik, if you ever so much as look at him again, I will first castrate you and then kill you in the most painful way possible."

As Bakura dragged him off, Ryou looked back over his shoulder to see Marik standing there, too stunned to move.

Several minutes later, Bakura apartment

"What the hell do you think you were doing, Ryou? Do you have any idea what could have happened?"

"I was on a date, and for your information I know perfectly well what might have happened. I trust him."

"But why? Ryou, he's scum! A complete and total bastard! You shouldn't trust him with anything!"

"But I do, and I was enjoying myself very much—until you came along."

"You're lucky I arrived when I did! You wouldn't have been enjoying yourself for much longer, I can tell you that! He has absolutely no regard for your feelings!"

Ryou snapped, "He may have been like that during Battle City, but not any more!"

Despite himself, Bakura gulped. Ryou almost never got mad, but when he did, Armageddon paled in comparison.

After snarling this, Ryou turned and ran out the front door, tears of rage in his eyes. I have to find Marik…

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Meanwhile, after Marik was abandoned, he had got back on his motorcycle and headed to the park were he and Ryou had first kissed, a torrent of emotions running through his head. When he got there, he found himself standing under a cherry tree, staring up at the blossoms. It's not fair. I love him, and I know he loves me, but because of his self-centered bastard of a yami, we can't be together. Oh…I hope he's okay…

He was startled out of his misery by the very person he had been thinking about.

"Ryou!"

"Marik…" the pale boy murmured, burying his face in Marik's chest and wrapping his arms around him.

"Why'd you come? You know everybody hates my guts."

"But I love you, Marik. I don't care what everyone else thinks, and I thought you didn't either."

"It's not that, Ryou. I don't deserve someone as wonderful as you."

"Then be grateful, and kiss me before I come to my senses."

Marik gladly obliged.

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1. They never tell him anything—like he's not worthy of info.

2. They don't pay attention to him, either. Hello, he's standing RIGHT THERE. He's not invisible!

3. Apparently, when Bakura made that deal with Marik in Battle City, he established a mental link with him. Since Ryou is Bakura's hikari, he would share this link.

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