Yes everyone, I'm back with chapter 9! Sorry for making you wait so long! This chapter is dedicated to daisy and nuva, who have been hounding me for a Ryou/Bakura story line. We start the groundwork here! Anyway, here's the thanks!:

Lone Pheonix: Are you the same Phoenix that reviewed before? Oh well, first timer or not, thankies! I'm glad you think it's kawaii, and I hope Ryou/Bakura fits onto your list of cute couples!

Taito-kisses: Aww... so sweet! huggles Taito and Dogma Thanks for being such faithful reviewers, guys! I see a fluff chapter for you in the future! Keep reading, please!

daisy: This one's for you, girl! shudder I still live in fear of Mr. Snuffles... but if you sic him on me, there'll be nobody to write this fic! I hope you like the Ryou/Bakura moments here, be sure to tell me what you think!

AngelicMouseGirl: Thanks for reviewing! I appreciate the enthusiasm, and I promise to try to get future chapters out as fast as I can!

Ly the werewolf: I don't follow hockey, but.. yeah, go whoever you're happy about! Thanks for your support; I can always use the encouragement! Hope you keep reading!

aku-no-hime: OMG, sorry about the title thing! I can change it if you feel weird about it or anything, but just know I didn't steal it from you... listening to too much Good Charlotte will do that to you! Glad you think it's good, though... I have to read your story sometime! Watch out for my review, I'm sure you're underestimating yourself (but then again, don't we all?).

Kani: Hmm... Tea trying to get revenge... but that would mean she's back in the story looks at all the readers with various weapons of doom Good idea, but not for this story. Maybe in another? As you can see, Bakura and Ryou are definitely going to be a couple, but I don't know when.. sorry! Aww, but you should totally write stories. Believe in yourself, Kani-chan! Good stories are about heart, first and foremost, and everyone has that, so I'm sure you could really write a great fic. I'd be first in line to read it!

doodude: Yay, another new reviewer! Thanks for reading, and I'll definitely try to keep up the good work, as you so eloquently put it!

babygurl: Props right back, babygurl! Thanks for the reviews, and the support! I'm glad you think the chappies are getting better, I think they're getting progressively worse! Glad to have some feedback. Please keep reading!

Once again, a big thank you to all my readers! starts throwing out plushies of Ryou, Bakura, Yami, Yugi, Seto, and Joey with cookies attached Bishies and sugar for all! Enjoy chapter 9, everyone; no new warnings, 'cept maybe angst!

Disclaimer: Guard-chan no own!

Chapter 9: Frozen

Weeks went by, and as the school year drew to a close, the gang's workload increased steadily. Joey and Seto were grateful for the small mercy of sharing the same classes; somehow, doing homework together took the sting out of it somewhat. Of course, that could be the heated make-out sessions they had when they were supposed to be working, and the last-minute rush to finish up in homeroom, but they weren't going to mess with a working system.

The blond was all but living at Seto's, and although his boyfriend hadn't officially asked him to move in, Joey thought of the place as his new home. Mokuba was cool with this new turn of events; the first time Joey had slept over, the younger Kaiba had stated that he was overjoyed to see Seto so happy, and that he had absolutely no problem with their relationship so long as he didn't have to see anything nasty, as he put it. (A/N: What's nasty about guy on guy action?) That had sure been an easy promise to keep, being that the brunet was obsessed with keeping his little brother innocent, at least until high school. Joey didn't know how successful his love had been so far; Mokuba had spotted them with little or no indication. How innocent of such matters could he be?

Yami and Yugi were more than happy now that they were together, Joey and Seto hadn't encountered any more problems, and Tea was gone for good, hanging out with girls even dumber than herself. (A/N: So what, she's hanging out with female ants?) Life was perfect, until the next fly in the ointment appeared.

Joey was lying on Yugi's living room couch, and the tricolor haired boy was perched in the windowsill. Yami and Seto could be heard dueling in the background, but the blond could see that his best friend was troubled by something a lot bigger than the prospect of his yami losing some silly duel. He kept glancing out the window listlessly, as though he was waiting for someone. Joey hadn't seen him like this since Yami had confessed his undying love for his hikari.

"Yug', what is it?" he asked, "Don't try to hide it, I know something's wrong."

The other boy leaned back against the cushions on the seat. "It's Ryou," he sighed, "I'm really worried, Joey. He's not himself."

At this piece of news, Joey's curiosity was piqued. "What do you mean by that? Is Bakura beating up on him again, cause if he is..."

"No, no," Yugi cut in, "I'd know if Bakura was acting up again, and besides, Yami's been watching like a hawk." Another sigh. "I think he's depressed, but barring Bakura, there's no reason I can think of."

"Well, maybe it is him," the taller boy hypothesized. "or maybe Ryou's just lonely. You know, we never think twice about spending time with our boyfriends, but maybe we're reminding Ryou that he has nobody to love."

"I remember all too well how that feels." Yugi's eyes clouded over as the memories came back. "Should we talk to him?"

"Let's wait for him to come to us, okay?" At the smaller boy's expression, Joey elaborated. "Yug, we can't be too pushy. You know Ryou; he's just shrug it off and go deeper into that shell of his. I know you don't like waiting games, but it's not like we have much of a choice."

"I guess you're right." Yugi went back to staring solemnly out the window, and a cry of outrage was heard as Seto wiped out the rest of Yami's life points with his Blue-Eyes Ultimate Dragon.

* * *

While Joey and Yugi were discussing what could be done about his current situation, Ryou was busy cooking, cleaning, and trying to squeeze three pages of math homework in somewhere before midnight. It was hard work trying to run the house by yourself, he had realized shortly after the maid had quit due to Bakura's verbal abuse, and having to clean up after said spirit, who probably couldn't even pronounce 'broom', didn't exactly help him all that much.

At the moment, Bakura was laughing uproariously at some talk show on TV, so Ryou had a brief respite from the endless parade of broken, misplaced, or befouled objects that his yami seemed to constantly leave in his wake. He used that respite to start making the elaborate stew that was Bakura's favorite dish, glancing at the clock as he worked. If he didn't finish before 6, his darkness would raise hell, even though he didn't really need to eat.

In true 'speak of the devil' fashion, Bakura sauntered into the kitchen, sniffing the air surreptitiously. "Either I've got one of those things you call colds, hikari, or you're behind in cooking dinner. Which one is it?"

"I'm behind, Bakura, and you're presence really isn't helping matters." The water was boiling. In went the onions, carrots, and meat chunks, all prepared the night before and left in the refrigerator. Sliding a ladle from the drawer next to him, the hikari began to stir the pot, trying to thicken the broth faster.

Bakura narrowed his eyes and debated whether or not he should punish his hikari for such a blatant display of insubordination. He decided against it; the moment that meddlesome Yugi kid found out, Bakura would be stuck with a one-way ticket to the Shadow Realm, courtesy of ex-pharaoh Yami. Instead, he turned back to the living room. "Just have it ready by six, all right?"

Ryou glanced at the clock, blinked, and began to chop up potatoes as quickly as his exhausted body would let him.

* * *

As the grandfather clock chimed six, the hikari set a basket of hot rolls on the table between the two dishes of hastily-prepared stew. The rolls had been made just the way Bakura liked them; slightly crusty, although not a trace of anything darker than golden brown on them. (A/N: Wish I could cook like that!) The main dish was steaming, and all the ingredients were pleasantly tender. It was probably one of Ryou's better efforts at cooking, and with good reason; Lord knew he'd had more than enough practice.

Three seconds later, Bakura barged in and threw himself down into the closest chair, whereupon he commenced to devour his dinner without so much as a greeting. That, Ryou could handle, though, so he sat down and ate as well, albeit leagues more delicately. The moment his yami had finished eating, he leapt up from the table and walked toward the stairs, giving no thought to keeping his hikari company while he finished. Suddenly, he turned around and looked into Ryou's watery, chocolate eyes.

"Not exactly the best thing you've ever cooked," he said icily. "I hope tomorrow's dinner is an improvement. It certainly wouldn't be hard."

Something inside Ryou just snapped at that thoughtless remark, and he got up from his chair, his normally calm eyes blazing. "That's the thanks I get for picking up after you, cooking for you, conforming to your idiotic standards!? 'Not exactly the best thing you ever cooked'? Well, you can just cook for yourself from now on, then! In fact, you can clean up after yourself too! I'm through being your convenient little slave!" Pushing his yami aside, he stormed up the stairs to his room, slammed the door, and pushed various articles of furniture in front of it.

A little while later, heavy footsteps ascended the stairs, and a thunderous knocking reverberated throughout the house. "Hikari, march your ass out here this instant! You still have the dishes to do!"

"Go fuck yourself!" Ryou called back, throwing himself down on his bed and fighting back tears. Bakura would know if he cried, and then he could add crybaby to his list of insults. In Ryou's opinion, that list didn't need to get any bigger.

Ignoring his yami's persistent banging, and what sounded like things breaking in the hallway, Ryou flopped down on his bed and rummaged through his bedside table until he came up with an antique frame that he had found in the attic a few years back. The wooden ornament contained a photograph of the entire group, taken right after Battle City. Yami and Yugi, kneeling in the very center; Joey between Serenity and Tristan, one arm around each of them; Tea, off to the side, trying to inch closer to Yami; Seto and Mokuba, standing in the back, the older Kaiba's hands on his brother's shoulders protectively; Isis, Marik, Shadi, and Malik behind Yami and Yugi. Ryou stood between Tristan and Seto, and Bakura was half-concealed in the shadows behind the group, as far from his hikari as was humanly possible. As his eyes played over the other two yami-hikari couples, Ryou remembered Yugi once trying to describe his bond with Yami.

It feels amazing, you know, Ryou? It's like we share one soul... I can actually see what he sees, feel what he feels... but you must have that with Bakura, don't you?

The ghost of Yugi's voice echoed through Ryou's thoughts. No, he didn't. Not once in the whole ten years he had had the Millennium Ring had Bakura ever made an effort to use the bond that must exist between them, and his hikari had been too scared to try. He finds the very thought of even getting to know me as a friend reprehensible. How could I ever believe he would love me if only I treated him with a bit of respect?

Biting back a cry of anguish, the white-haired boy let the picture fall to the floor and buried his face into one of his pillows. The knocking finally stopped, and Ryou was dimly aware that his yami was going downstairs. A few minutes later, the television began blaring again. He doesn't give a damn. He couldn't care less about me. Pitifully, Ryou sniffled. So why do I care so much about him?

* * *

The former tomb robber growled angrily as the TV droned on about some sort of miracle weight-loss product. Chaos and noise usually helped him think clearer, but not this time. All that filled his mind was Ryou, his pathetic little hikari. The spirit had no doubt that the boy was all right, but something that felt suspiciously like guilt had started to take shape in the pit of his stomach. Bakura scoffed at his own weakness; he had killed countless people, stolen from twice as many, and now he felt guilty about not appreciating Ryou as he should? The gods have a sick sense of humor, he decided.

Bakura was many things, but he wasn't a fool. His hikari didn't only put up with him, he actually seemed to care about him, even after everything he'd done. Most people would just have given the Ring to some hapless person in the street and been done with it. Over the course of time, many had. What made this one different than all the rest? Reincarnation just didn't cut it.

Normally, the privacy of one's mind was the only thing Bakura considered sacred, but the temptation to probe his hikari to find out an answer to this question proved too strong. He reached out toward the boy upstairs, finding his mental defenses less than sufficient to keep him out. Ryou never even noticed his intrusion.

Hmm.. let's see here. The group photo flashed before his mind's eye. Ryou storming out of the kitchen. The cold look in Bakura's eyes as he'd insulted his hikari's cooking. Ra, did I really look that cruel? Finally, through it all, an overpowering sadness. Bakura could tell that his counterpart was crying, and the pangs of guilt grew stronger.

When Bakura tried to trace the root of Ryou's pain, though, he met with the mental equivalent of a brick wall. No matter how hard he pushed against it, his hikari's defenses in this area were impenetrable. Frustrated, he withdrew from the weaker boy's mind. Looks like I'll have to get it out of him some other way, he pondered, but how? Beating him's not an option.... dear gods, might I actually have to be nice to him?!

At first, the idea was rejected on the spot, but became more and more attractive as Bakura racked his brain for another solution and found none. There was no way around it; he would have to be nothing less than civil to Ryou, at least until his curiosity, and those damn guilt pangs, were satisfied.

The TV went off, and Bakura looked up the stairs, at the door to Ryou's room. No time like the present, he told himself, and put his weight on the first step.

* * *

Okay, how was it? I'm sorry if it was bad, I did the best I could... sorry again for the late update, school is EVIL!!!! Anyway, review please, I really love hearing ppl's opinions (provided they back them up semi-intelligently). Ja ne!