Edit: I just read over this and realized that there were a few more spelling/grammar mistakes that I was too happy with, so I'm fixing them right now. Terribly, terribly sorry.

Yay! I'm back! I didn't die! You all are the best, seriously. The reviews made me so happy!

This fic is just unbelievably difficult to write. I have a plot, and I know what needs to happen where, but making those things happen to my satisfaction… it's frustrating! And I can't rush things, no matter how much I want to, so what was originally going to be one chapter now has to be split into two.

Pairings: Yami/Yugi, Ryou/Bakura, Malik/Mariku. Maybe Kaiba/Jou if they fit into the plot. Perhaps Shaadi/Isis as well… Or Rishid/Isis? I don't know. Review and tell me.

Disclaimer: Saying that I own Yu-Gi-Oh! Is like saying that the sky is blue because of the penguins. It's just not right. Still, the plot's mine, and I don't tolerate plagiarism. If you want to borrow something, just ask.

Things to note this chapter: Ryou, Isis, and Malik have plenty of servants/employees to cook for them, clean for them, garden, etc. But it's so much sweeter when you do something yourself than ordering someone else to do it, isn't it? So Ryou prefers to do it personally because it would have more sentimental value. What a sweetie!

I realize that Yuugi is a little bit OOC. I'm sorry. And so is Isis, and Rishid… agh. I'll try to do better. But remember: It's a FANfiction!

Keith is just an interesting little person in this story. His music is a little country, but his vocals suck. Most of the Bandits' songs consist of long electric guitar and drum solos. He's pretty old, around 30, but is still trying to hang on to his "stardom".

I don't think there are drinking laws in Japan. Hmm. We'll just pretend that there aren't. Don't ask why I had Anzu and Mai as people you meet. We'll probably never meet them again, but I really hate OCs…

Enjoy! Happy early Valentine's day!

OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

Malik's birthday. Every year, it was a source of worry to Ryou and Isis. Malik always wanted to do the craziest things, and he would sulk if he was kept away from doing them. And a sulky, whiny Malik was like a Magic spell for disaster.

At 6:00 in the morning, Ryou's alarm clock blasted him awake. Stupid thing, he growled at it mentally. Why am I up again?

And then he remembered.

Ryou shot out of bed, grabbing clothes, dragging a brush through his hair as he tried to squeeze toothpaste onto his toothbrush. Hurry, hurry, hurry! he sang to himself in his head. Have to make Malik breakfast in bed, buy the cake, wrap the weird… gold-thingie I bought him… ok.

And he had to be quiet, too. Malik was a moderately light sleeper, so there was a 50/50 chance of him waking up.

Now halfway awake and blinking away the last traces of sleep, Ryou padded quietly down the stairs of their mansion, skipping a step that squeaked. We need to get that fixed, he thought, making himself a mental note.

His fingers quickly tied his shoelaces and he stood up, hand on the doorknob, ready to leave, when – "Ryou, where are you going?"

Ryou nearly jumped out of his skin before he realized that the speaker was Isis. "D-D… Isis, don't do that!" he hissed, still trying to be quiet.

"Well, sorry," she shrugged. Then she glared at him. "You have not been getting nearly enough sleep."

"But I have a good reason!" Ryou protested. "I have to go buy Malik his cake, and then I'll make him breakfast and take it up to him so he can have it in bed, and then I still have to wrap his present!"

"Not good enough," Isis growled. "Either compromise, or it's straight back to bed with you!"

Ryou knew that look in her eye. He gulped.

"Isis," Ryou pleaded, drawing the vowels out.

He saw her giving in. Come on, Ryou thought desperately. Come on… She was still fighting an inner battle.

She gave.

"Fine," she relented, and was rewarded with a stunning smile and green eyes sparkling with gratitude. "But!"

Ryou went still.

"One. I go get that cake. Don't say anything," she said sternly to Ryou, who had opened his mouth, a frown on his face. "Two. You go make that breakfast, and I'll wrap your present when I get back."

Ryou was not happy. Isis had managed to give herself the bulk of the work. "No."

"Yes."

"No."

"Yes."

"You know, we're going to wake Malik up. No."

"We won't wake him up if you'll just be reasonable. Yes."

"Are you sure?"

"Ah! You realized it was pointless to argue with me. Bravo, Ryou, well done at this display of common sense. Now scat. Shoes off, and get to the kitchen."

"Hmph."

Isis watched with an amused smile as Ryou stalked off, looking like a miffed cat that had just had its tail trodden on.

OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

At exactly 10:25, Malik was lying in bed pretending to be asleep. He'd woken about 20 minutes ago.

Mm… I wonder when Ryou's coming up…?

It was the same every year. Ryou would make him breakfast, which he would eat in bed. Malik always loved that, because Ryou would never let their hired cook help with the food on Malik's birthday. And, in Malik's opinion, Ryou's cooking was ten times better, anyways.

The door slid open with a quiet "kchak" and Ryou's soft voice whispered, "Malik, are you awake?"

Malik rolled over and blinked "sleepily".

"R-Ryou?" he asked, turning the last part of the word into a yawn. He congratulated himself on his good acting skills.

Ryou rolled his eyes. "Happy birthday, idiot."

Malik grinned. "Thanks. I think."

"Anytime." Changing the subject, Ryou went on, "I wasn't sure quite exactly what you wanted, and so I just made a bunch of stuff…"

At this point, Malik's face turned completely dreamy.

"And I know sushi for breakfast just isn't done, but you haven't had it for a while, so I thought why not? And then I know you've gone on some insane liking for all that greasy American food," Ryou shuddered and made a face, "and so I fried a couple of eggs with bacon. And then some onigiri, of course, and milk and juice, and I even brought coffee if you want it. But don't get hyper, please, and—"

"Ryou." Malik interrupted. "That has got to be the longest run-on sentence I've heard for a while."

Ryou flushed. "Sorry," he mumbled.

"And so…" Malik said, a somewhat frightening smile on his face, "What should I eat first…?"

He reached eagerly with his chopsticks towards the eggs and bacon, but Ryou thrust a small cup filled with fresh fruit in front of him first.

"Aww, Ryou," Malik whined.

OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

Elsewhere in the city, Mutou Yuugi was bored almost to tears. When his agent had signed him into Keith's band, the Bandits, he hadn't known that Keith was an arrogant, narcissic jerk. The only other sane person in the band was Takahashi Bakura, and sometimes Yuugi feared he wasn't sane at all. Bakura had far too many knives for Yuugi's comfort, and he didn't think that they were just there for decoration, either.

He tapped his drumsticks together idly, wishing that something would happen other than the glaring contest between Bakura and Keith. A dagger had now appeared in one of Bakura's hands; Yuugi had known one of them would appear sooner or later. He tuned into the conversation with a small amount of interest. Keith looked a cross between pissed off and scared… hmm.

"Look, Keith," Bakura was saying furiously, "You need to explain to me just why I haven't gotten paid for the last 3 months!"

Yuugi frowned thoughtfully. He hadn't gotten his money either, and had been going to talk to Keith about it in private.

"Bakura, Bakura," Keith said condescendingly, with a sickly smile on his face, "I'm sure this is all a big mistake – "

"Bullshit!" The dagger thudded ominously into the wooden floor, buried to the hilt. Bakura's eyes glittered dangerously. "Then can you explain that new mansion? Or those cars? I could go on, you know, I made a list."

Keith looked positively green. Who was this… this fucking seventeen- year old boy telling him what to do? But on the other hand, the brat was dangerous.

"I quit your stupid Bandits, Keith!" Bakura snarled. "You can't sing worth shit, and this band has no talent whatsoever! Well… Yuugi can drum, but Bones… worst bass guitarist there is! What'd he do to get hired, become your fuck-buddy?"

Yuugi stole a look at Bones, whose pale-white face had turned red with anger, embarrassment, and… shame?

Bakura noticed it, too, and gave a disgusted snort. "Should've known," he spat.

Keith was trying to bluff. "Ha!" he said scornfully, but the quaver in his voice gave him away. "And who's gonna hire you, kid, huh? You're only seventeen, dumbass!"

"You don't pay attention to any news about your band members, do you?" Bakura smirked. "People are clamoring for me, idiot! I'm the most wanted electric guitarist in Asia, and I feel confident enough to leave a pathetic animal like you!"

Keith's complexion turned a pale white, then to a dark purple, then to a light red, and he choked, trying to find the right words to curse with. Yuugi bit his thumb, hard, to keep quiet. His thin frame shook as it was wracked with silent laughter. Bakura had hit the nail right on the head.

"Bakura, you can't quit now," Yuugi objected, keeping the mirth from his voice. Bakura turned on him, mahogany eyes wild and spitting fire.

"Don't you tell me what to do, shrimp!"

Yuugi gasped, clutching a hand to his heart dramatically before saying coldly, "Shut up. Listen to me for once."

Bakura's mouth twisted disdainfully, but it stayed shut. Yuugi beamed. "Now, was that so hard?"

The muscles around the white-haired boy's mouth contracted and Yuugi knew that he was clenching his teeth. He also knew that he was pushing it, and said hastily, "All right. Keith."

The blonde American-wannabe's smile was a little forced. "Yes, Yuugi?"

Yuugi groaned inwardly. He was fifteen, and Keith treated him like he was five.

"I will have to say that I agree with Bakura on this. You're sad. I'm sorry. If there was a gentler way to say it, I would, but there isn't."

The smile had disappeared, and in its place was an ugly scowl.

Yuugi went on calmly, placidly. "And I really believe I would be happier elsewhere. So, I'm leaving. With Bakura, preferably." Yuugi wanted a familiar face, even if it was… well, even if it was Bakura. He looked pointedly at the named male, who shrugged and nodded nonchalantly.

"Still. Since we have a concert at that one nightclub tonight, we'll stay for this show. Then, we're out."

Keith was still fishing for words, shaking his head with his mouth hung half-open disbelievingly.

"You'll catch flies that way," Bakura pointed out coolly. "And shorty! I'll go along with you this time, but you can't make decisions for me, and you and I are not a 'we'! You are far too happy and hyper."

"Whatever," Yuugi yawned.

A small sigh in the corner of the room drew all of their attention. Keith sneered, "So, Bones, you gonna quit, too? Huh?"

"I...!"

"You might as well leave this sorry piece of crap," Bakura said matter-of-factly.

Keith lunged to his feet. "I've had enough," he shrieked, irate. He pulled out a gun from his jacket, but Bakura had 2 wickedly long, sharp throwing knives in each hand.

"Hmm," Bakura said conversationally, mockingly. "Shall we see? Your shooting skills to my knife throwing."

Yuugi stomped a foot in frustration, storming back to his drum set. They could fight it out, if they wanted to. He was going to drum as loudly as he could to drown out all of this stupidness.

Oh, he'd known joining the Bandits was a stupid idea! But… only 1 more concert. He could do this.

OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

"But I wanna go," Malik whined. "Please, Isis…"

"Absolutely not," she snapped, eyes stormy. "I've let you do everything else you've wanted to do today, Malik, but we are not going!"

"Malik…" Ryou said wryly, "Did you really expect Isis to agree? She'd have Rishid strangle you first."

"And I'd do it willingly, too." Rishid was stationed by the door. His voice rumbled with amusement when he asked, "A club, Malik? Never mind that you're not old enough, and never mind that you'd act slutty if you went…"

Rishid was cut off by Malik's huff of anger. He chuckled, and went on, "… Never mind any of that, but you'd be recognized 10 seconds flat."

"So?" Malik demanded, mouth set in a mulish line. "I haven't been able to dance for real since like, my 7th grade Valentine's Day Dance! It's not fair!"

Isis sighed. "Malik, I know, and I'm truly sorry for it, but you know you have a specific style of dancing that you carry over to just about everything. It's too noticeable!"

Malik's fire dimmed. Ooh. Damn, she has a point.

Isis wasn't done. "And you'd bring at least Ryou along, and with his hair he'd be recognized for himself or for that… that guitarist in the Bandits. Not that I don't love your hair," she added hurriedly to Ryou.

Ryou shrugged. No offense taken.

Now Malik could argue back. "I have that all thought out," he retorted, a little smugly. "The Bandits are playing at Lava tonight. Ryou could say he was an obsessed fan. Easy as that."

"Well, congratulations on getting Ryou permission," Isis said dryly. "Now what about you?"

Malik hadn't thought this far yet. "I'm getting there," he muttered crossly. "I'll… wear sunglasses?"

"In a club?"

"Wig?"

"It'd fall off."

"Can I just please?"

"When you have a good reason!"

"But..!"

Ryou decided that he should help a little. After all, it sounded… fun. He needed excitement, and he wanted Malik to be happy.

"Isis, you know Malik's a good liar," he said softly. "And it wouldn't be unnatural for two obsessed fans to be together, you know."

"I knew I could count on you, Ryou!" Malik exclaimed happily, bouncing up and down on the balls of his feet. "Please, please, please, Isis…!"

Rishid saw her resolve cracking. Soon it would shatter into a million pieces. Stone-faced, he sighed inwardly and started to prepare himself mentally for a long night of horrible, loud music and too-bright neon lights.

"Malik, I don't doubt your lying skills," Isis began, a little grumpily because she was giving in, "But you cannot get carried away, do you hear me? I want fake names."

"I'll be…. Na… mu!" Malik said slowly. "Namu!"

"Odd Egyptians," Ryou laughed. "That's an interesting name…"

"Your dad was half-Egyptian, so hush," Malik scowled.

"Sorry," Ryou shrugged. "All right, name, name… I need a name…"

"Damn straight, you do!" Malik interrupted his murmuring. "Hurry up, I want to leave!"

After a few minutes of silence, he growled, "Ok, you know what? Your name's going to be Ry-chan. All settled! Let's go!" And with that, Ryou's hand was seized and he was towed out of the door.

Isis looked up prayerfully. "Why? Why me? Rishid… we'd better go. And you should get ready. Those two are magnets for trouble…"

She swished out, calling, "Malik, stop right there!"

Rishid, employers now gone, dropped his emotionless expression. "What does she mean, 'Why her'? I'm asking, why me. Dammit…"

Muttering oaths under his breath, Rishid stalked out.

And the empty room glowed as it basked in the glorious silence.

OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

"Isis," Ryou asked, curious, "Where did you get me and Malik fake IDs?"

"Nowhere," she replied calmly… well, as calmly as she could sound while shouting over the booming music. "Go on! Have fun. Malik is…"

The last bit was added with dry humor. Malik had started out dancing by himself, but now he was dancing with two girls, and three boys at the same time. Isis' lips were pursed in disapproval, and Ryou winced. He wouldn't want to be on the receiving end of her lecture later.

"I'm going to get something to drink," he told her.

She nodded without taking her eyes off of her brother. "Go ahead. Just don't get drunk. Hangovers aren't fun."

Ryou imagined a drunk Isis and failed, although trying brought a smile to his lips. "I won't," he promised, and made his way towards the bar, and towards the stage.

OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

Malik was having the time of his life. The brunette in front of him smiled slyly and traced her fingers across his chest while male arms wrapped around his waist from behind.

"Mm…" he purred, eyes half-lidded and a sleepy smile on his face.

The last notes of the song died away, and he pulled away from his partners. "I'll see you all later," he winked, and sauntered away, making sure to sway his hips.

"I knew he'd act slutty," Rishid growled from the bar. "I damn well told him…" he downed a swallow of beer.

A gentle finger tapped his shoulder and he whirled around, a hand at the gun at his waist. "You shouldn't drink too much," Ryou informed him as Rishid relaxed again.

"I won't get drunk on duty."

"What'll ya have, hon?" The bartender was a buxom blonde, purple eyes twinkling at him. A shiny, glittery nametag that read "Mai" drew attention to her chest even more.

"Strawberry daiquiri, please," Ryou replied brightly.

"Aww, so polite! What a sweetie," Mai chuckled. "Hold up."

Ryou slid onto the stool next to the bodyguard, who cracked a rare smile. "Not dancing?" he inquired.

Ryou made a face. "No… no, that's Malik's thing. I might later."

Mai had caught the last part. Sliding Ryou his drink, she asked, "Malik? As in, Ishtar Malik?"

Ryou cursed himself in his mind every way that he knew how. "N-no!" he stammered, eyes wide with feigned innocence.

"Our friend, Namu," Rishid cut in smoothly, "Is a horrible Ishtar Malik fan. Acts like him, talks like him… and even wants to be called Malik."

"Oh," Mai nodded. "Yeah, my friend's brother's kinda like that. Just dyed his hair blonde, and his colored contacts'll get here in a week."

Ryou, who had been sipping his drink, nearly choked. There were actually people… like that?

"Mm, and you, hon," Mai mused, turning on Ryou, "Came to see Takahashi Bakura tonight, did you? Nice dye for the hair, by the way, can't even see the roots."

Takahashi Bakura…? Oh, right. The person he was supposed to be obsessed about.

Ryou nodded emphatically, allowing a huge smile to split his face. "Isn't he just the greatest? He's so fine…!"

Rishid snorted into his second mug of beer. "Something caught in my throat," he choked out. Ryou glared at him.

All of a sudden, the music switched off and the stage lit up brightly. Ryou winced at the light.

"Presenting… the Bandits!" the DJ screamed into his microphone.

OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

And that's it. Review please, and tell me who you like Isis with better: Rishid, or Shaadi? They're both going to be in it, so it doesn't matter. Also: this story can have magic, or not. It doesn't affect the plot very much at all, so it's all up to you guys.

Thanks! Don't forget to read the notes at the top! Elemenia will be updated!