.:.Hellfire.:.

Summary: Yami no Malik and Yami no Bakura have been sent to Hell. And they're about to drag their hikaris down with them.


Ryou was not sure what to make of what was happening. Really, his life had gone from boring and lonesome to crowded, loud, urgent, and anything generally used to describe a doomsday situation.

Confusing was the perfect adjective that came to mind. First random skinny girl in a short skirt comes along, drags you to Hell, next thing you know her mother is transporting you and your yami back to Earth to stop her, and then more fire spirits, and missing kids, and the next thing you know your beautiful– he did not just describe Malik as beautiful– oh crap, he did; he gave up, it was true– more-than friend was kissing you and his yami was kissing your yami and then you were trying to explain to his (more terrifying than Hell) sister and then you were running off again.

Ryou stopped to take a mental breath, and could feel Bakura laughing at him faintly through their mind link.

You're so flustered by simple kisses, yadonushi.

Don't give me that. You're the one who 'shocked' this link wide open when Mariku got you the first time.

Bakura retreated hastily, closing the link after him.

"Where exactly are we headed now?" he asked. This question produced a stumped silence.

"Let's see, it's been, what, three hours since we left Yuugi's?" Malik asked. Bakura nodded lazily.

"And we can't do anything if we don't know where fire-hair is." Mariku remarked.

"...So basically the world is doomed?"

"She hasn't done anything yet." Zangan's empty voice cut into their conversation, making Ryou jump- he always forgot the man was there, despite the astonishing height and dramatic black robes.

"How do y'know?" Mariku asked, draping himself over Ryou to get closer to the being and stare.

Ryou jittered nervously at the contact, trying to ignore how his skin seemed to burn, eerily reminiscent of the separation pangs, wherever Mariku's bare skin met his own.

Zangan looked at them coldly.

"My powers are the same as hers. If she had begun her work, I would sense it." he explained, 'This is obvious,' leaking from his tone like acid from a smashed battery.

"...So, we wait for activity?" Ryou suggested.

"Not much else we can do." Malik said glumly.

"... Mariku, get off my hikari, he's not used to so much physical contact." Ryou blushed at Bakura's comment as Mariku complied, finding that he missed the strange burning sensation as soon as it was gone.

"I'm bored already." Mariku muttered.

Silent concurrence ran through their ranks.

"There she is!" Zangan exclaimed, showing more emotion than ever before.

"Where?" Mariku asked eagerly, Bakura not far behind him.

"Where else?" Zangan asked. "Mount Fuji."


After the unfortunate Shadow Game had ended and Ukemi had been released from their soul, Yuugi had been greeted by his grandpa's hand waving back and forth in front of his face.

He blinked, then recoiled from the moving appendage dangerously close to his face.

"Welcome back, Yuugi." Sugoroku Mutou greeted him.

"Oh, hi, Grandpa." Yuugi managed.

"You were out for quite a long time– oh, who's this?" The man broke off to examine Ukemi.

"This is Ukemi." Yuugi explained. "He was kind of the reason I was out for so long."

"Yami-san and I were playing hide-and-seek!" Ukemi piped up. "Only Yuugi-san said it wasn't really and then he yelled at Yami-san and we came back here!"

"He was in Yami's soul room." Yuugi explained.

"Indeed?" Sugoroku exclaimed, eyeing Ukemi with new respect. "How on Earth did he get in there?"

"We have no idea." Yuugi sighed. Ukemi stayed quiet, staring up at them with gentle, jewel-lined eyes.

"Who were you talking to out there?"

"Ryou and Malik..." Yuugi said, not wanting to worry his grandfather with the information that the (rather unbalanced) yamis of the two teens had returned from the Shadow Realm with physical bodies.

"What did they want?" Sugoroku asked with innocent curiosity.

"I'm not sur; they wanted to talk to Yami." Yuugi said truthfully. There was no way he was going into worrisome things like evil fire spirits, Hell, and the end of the world. Never mind the fact that one of the fire spirits was standing right next to them.

"Hm. I wonder–" He stopped when Ukemi suddenly squeaked.

"I'm sorry." he said. "It's just that... Shinrya just activated Mount Fuji."

"What!" Yuugi exclaimed, staring at Ukemi.

"Who's Shinrya?" Sugoroku asked, looking quite confused.

"Shinrykuteki Kazan, three years old, Earth age 17, daughter of Filora and Zangan Kazan, Fire Spirit, wants to take over the Earth by destroying it and ruling the survivors." Sugoroku was now staring in pure shock. Ukemi shrugged. "She's my sister." he added. "I'm four seconds older."

Yuugi groaned. So much for his plan to let his Grandpa stay in the (pleasant) dark about all the really weird (even by their standards) stuff that had been going on lately. The Shadow Realm was one thing, but Hell was a whole 'nother bucket of fish.

"What's this about Hell!"

Ukemi looked puzzled. "You don't know about Hell?"

"No, I know about Hell, or, at least, I thought I did!"

"Grandpa, calm down." Yuugi said. "Ukemi is a fire spirit. He came from Hell along with Ryou and Malik, who apparently got dragged there because of Mariku and Bakura."

"We have to go!" Ukemi said urgently, tugging on Yuugi's sleeve. "Or, at least, I have to go. Shinrya and Mommy might live in Hell, but Daddy and I live here!"

"Oh. Right!" Yuugi agreed, and Yami took over. "We'll try to explain later, Grandpa– Sorry."

"That's all right." Sugoroku said amiably, looking slightly dazed. "World to save and all that."

"Bye!" Ukemi bowed to him and grabbed Yami's hand. "Come on, Yami-san." And they disappeared.


A quick trip through Hell later, Yami found himself right next to one of the banes of h is existence. A certain silver-haired thief smiled evilly at him.

"Why, hello, Pharaoh. How on Earth did you get here? Or did you enjoy your trip through Hell?"

"Shut up, Tomb Robber." Yami growled. Ukemi detached from his hand to run over to the impossibly tall figure with long burgundy hair and attach himself to his leg, squealing, "Daddy!"

"So that's where he was!" Ryou cried happily, startling Yami. It just seemed unnatural to see the gentle, white-haired boy with the savage thief standing right next to him. It seemed even more unnatural when the tall, lanky figure of Mariku came up and draped himself over the smaller boy.

"See, we told you not to worry." Mariku said. Ryou batted him over the head halfheartedly.

"You said no such thing." he admonished.

Yami blinked at the way they were acting. It seemed... not unnatural, but wrong. Weren't the two darker halves supposed to be evil megalomaniacs with aspirations to take over the world?

You've really only seen them at their worst, Yami.Yuugi reminded him. Would you like someone to judge you if they'd just seen that one time with Kaiba?

Yami winced. Yuugi really had him there. Point taken. But you have to admit athat seeing a complete psychopath go lovey-dovey is a bit strange.

Never said anything about that one. Yuugi agreed.

"You're stealing my hikari again." Bakura was admonishing. "I think I'll steal yours."

Malik snickered and pulled on Mariku's hair.

"Marikuu, come save me!" he exclaimed. Mariku disentangled himself from Ryou, whirling around and hefting the slightly smaller Egyptian like a rag doll. He ignored Malik pounding laughingly at his shoulders and kissed him swiftly.

Bakura was smirking as he pulled Ryou toward him and bent him backwards in a classic movie kiss. When he pulled away, Ryou was wearing a light pink glow over his cheeks.

"Lovely as watching lovebirds, is, don't you think we have a slightly different priority here?" Yami snapped, fed up. Bakura looked over at him, a smirk pasted on his pale features.

"Jealous, are we?"

"Bakura!" Ryou gave him a feeble glare.

Malik broke off from his yami, panting slightly, and hopped down from his arms.

"Yami has a point though. Shouldn't we be finding that Shinrya girl?"

"That will not be necessary." A cold, vicious voice cut into their conversation. Yami looked up for the source.

A tall, painfully thin girl stood on a rough outcropping of volcanic rock, sulfuric vapors billowing the red-orange cloak with singed edges that she wore. Short hair waved, making it look even more like fire. Her entire body said, 'Obey or die.'

But creepiest of all were the black eyes, showing no emotion but a spark of ambition.

A glowing pink-orange ball of fire accumulated in her hand, lighting her pale face with a glow not unlike the lighting in Hell. The effect was heightened by the fact that the volcano had begun to belch black smoke into the air, obscuring the sun and making it into a sort of black dusk.

"You will have the honor of being first to die at my hands."


Hm. That appears to be the end of chapter 9. Sorry if it's not much after the long, long wait. (winces)

Not that many people care, seeing as this isn't being READ, or so I can assume by the review numbers...