Okay! I hope you all enjoy this chapter! But before that, I have some other stories that I suggest you read =) That is, if you like thief shipping, which I know you all do, or else you wouldn't be reading this, would you? The stories are:

Domino Institution, by xXI. Hate. TwilightXx - Summary: Between his abusive dad and his urges to break the law, Marik's life sucks. One day, he's caught stealing and is sentenced to community service at the local whacky-house, where he meets Bakura, an insane boy. Can they help each other? AU, Thiefshipping.

Heroes and Thieves by That's What Cheese Said - Summary: Ryou is a seemingly crazy boy and runs away from his home, as no one believes that he's normal and meets an angel. Meanwhile, the angels are losing the war. HORRIBLE SUMMARY I KNOW! RyouXMalikXBakura threesome goodness, I DO NOT OWN YUGIOH, SO NYEH!And last but not least:

The Only Exception by Elle-L - Summary: Two-shot showing how putting Malik into the same situation twice with two very different people can have interesting results. First chapter is theifshipping, second is angstshipping. Funny how things can start the same, go so differently and end the same.

I really like these stories very much, I love them to the very depths of my heart and I think you all will too. They are very good stories. Very very good stories. I hope they continue with them because I want to keep on reading them.

Well, on to the chapter!

Chapter 13: Day One

Marik, Bakura, and Yugi were playing a board game in Bakura's kitchen. Marik and Bakura were already packed for the trip to America via the boat, and Yugi had called earlier asking if he could come over. He had sounded a little upset, so Marik had said, "Sure!" Besides, Marik was starting to get bored again.

"Yay! I won!" Yugi cheered like a little kid.

Marik chuckled a little bit, and even Bakura smiled a little.

"Yugi," Marik said, "You've won the past three games, it's not really a surprise anymore."

"I could lose at any time," Yugi said.

Bakura rolled his eyes because he knew that wasn't true.

"Want to play another game?" Yugi asked.

"How many did you bring anyway?" Marik replied.

"Um… let's see… one, three, five, seven!"

"Seven?" Bakura asked, "That's a lot of games there Yugi, why so many?"

Yugi laughed nervously and brought out another game. Marik looked at him worriedly, "Is something wrong Yugi?"

Yugi looked down, "Me and Anzu got into another fight…"

"Oh…" Marik said. Bakura just shrugged it off and started to help set up the board game.

You see, Marik knew more about this than Bakura did because Yugi had been calling here a lot recently (and since Bakura didn't like answering his phone) and had been telling Marik about his problems. He hadn't repeated Yugi's problems to Bakura however, so he was left in the dark. But Bakura probably preferred it that way, he liked the dark.

So anyway, Marik knew that this was about the fifth fight they have had this week and that Yugi was getting really depressed about it. What he didn't know however, is what Yami said to Yugi in his mind. He would say things like this:

~~~{FLASHBACK}~~~

Yugi is lying on his bed depressed, looking up at his ceiling.

"You know Yugi," Yami said, "you and Anzu have been fighting a lot recently, maybe it's time you moved on."

But, I really like her…

"Yugi, it's time you moved on. It's obvious that you're starting to get annoyed with her."

But -

"Yugi, if you can honestly tell me that you're not annoyed with her, even a little bit, then I'll leave you alone." Yugi was about to tell Yami that he wasn't annoyed with her, but he couldn't. He couldn't lie to Yami.

Okay, I'm getting a little annoyed…

"See? Besides, I'm sure there are plenty of people who like you."

Yugi scoffed, Yeah right, who could like a weakling like me?

"You are not a weakling! You just believe that things can be solved without violence. That's not weak, that's brave! Most people would either just start fighting blindly or run away if things got to complicated. You actually try to solve the problem, I think that's amazing."

Yugi blushed, You really think so?

"Of course! I wouldn't say it if I didn't mean it Yugi." Yugi smiled.

~~~{END FLASHBACK}~~~

Yes, Yami would usually say something like that.

So they played the board game, and Yugi decided to leave because he didn't want to be such a bother. Marik ensured him that it was no trouble, but when Yugi looked at Bakura, he could tell he should go home.

It's not like Bakura didn't like company, he just didn't like company that stayed for a long time.

Marik sat down on the couch and turned on the TV. He started flipping through the channels and Bakura sat down next to him. "Anything good on?"

"No, there never is."

"Yeah, it's all repeats and crap."

"I know! Did you see that show about that kid who could turn into animals?"

"Yeah, what was that even about?"

"I have no idea."

"I'm surprised it lasted a week."

"I know!" Marik said, then he started laughing, "Did you see that one show about the guy who would clean out really messy closets and throw away the junk?"

"Yeah, I don't understand why that's even still going. How does that interest anybody?"

"I don't know, but he once found a raccoon in a guys closet."

"Seriously?" Bakura asked, genuinely surprised.

"Seriously!" Marik said while laughing, "When does the boat arrive in the harbor anyway?"

"They said they'd call when they got the boat in."

"Okay."

Bakura smirked, "You're not afraid of water are you?"

"You're not afraid of water are you?" Marik said in a mocking tone, "No, I'm not afraid of water." Even thought my dad threatened to drown me many times, but I know those were empty threats, Marik thought.

"That's good," Bakura said, grinning evilly.

Marik raised his eyebrow, "Why is that good?"

"No reason."

"Then why are you smiling like that?"

"Like what?"

"Like that!"

"I have absolutely no idea what you are talking about Marik, maybe you should get your eyes examined."

"Maybe you should get your head examined."

"Ooh, great comeback, that totally isn't the oldest one in the book." Marik stuck his tongue out at him.

"How long will the trip take?" Marik asked.

"I'm thinking about three days, if the weather cooperates."

"Three days?"

"Yeah."

"…That's a long time…"

"Not really," Bakura said. Then he felt like he was sitting on something. He reached under the couch cushion and pulled out a blue notebook. "What's this?" he asked, even though he could guess the answer.

"Oh," Marik said as he felt distress rise in him. That was his book, full of all of his drawings, which he really did not want Bakura to see. His plan had been to grab it as they left through the door and hastily shove it in his duffel bag. He tried to sound nonchalant so Bakura would give the book back, "That's mine." He reached for it, but Bakura held it away.

"What's in it?" he asked curiously.

"Just some random scribbles, nothing important," Marik lied.

"Really? Then why are you trying so hard to get it back?" Bakura said as he held the book farther away. Marik kept reaching for the book, but it was always out of reach.

"I want it back so that I have something to do on the boat trip."

"You know, you're a pretty good liar, but not good enough." Bakura stood up and started flipping through the book. He stopped on one picture. A picture of Marik surrounded by two girls and a boy. Bakura assumed that it was his family, and he couldn't help but notice that there was no dad in the picture.

He also noticed that the picture had perfect detail.

He had thought that it was a photograph when he first opened the book, but if you looked closely you could see the pencil marks. But it was like looking for darker bits of black in a sea of black. The pencil lines were smooth and focused. Perfected and neat. All the lines connecting to make on big picture, one soul piece of perfect harmony on paper. It took Bakura's breath away, and rarely anything did that. Actually, nothing did that.

He flipped through some more pages quickly, noticing that every page had the same detail and photographic likeness of the first, all the while dodging Marik, who was still trying to get the book.

Bakura noticed that none of the pictures were in color and that kind of disappointed him because imagine what Marik could do with color! However, he only wondered this briefly, because then he saw a picture that was possibly the most amazing one in the book. Not because of the detail (which was still very good) but because of what the picture was of.

It was a picture of Bakura.

Bakura stared at the picture. Why the hell did Marik draw me? He thought. He looked closer, it appeared to be a picture of him reading, only he was smiling. Not a smirk, not an evil grin. Just a plain, happy smile. Bakura stared at the picture in disbelief. I never made such an idiotic face! Bakura flipped to the next page, expecting to find another picture of Marik's sister, but instead found another picture of him. This time, he was staring at a window with a look of deep thought.

Bakura figured that was the last of them, but he flipped some more pages, and saw about five more pictures of him.

Bakura felt a small tingling of happiness well up inside him, though he hid it of course.

During all of this, Marik was still trying to get the book, but it ended up with Marik reaching for the book with Bakura holding him back by his forehead. Bakura showed Marik one of the pictures of him, "Why are there so many pictures of me in here Marik?" he said with a smirk. He took pleasure in watching Marik's face heat up, and then he said, "Because… because… I was bored…"

"So you drew me?"

"I figured if I could draw your ridiculous hair cut I could draw anything."

"Oh really?" Bakura said, enjoying every second of this, "Are you sure you're not drawing me because you can't get me off your mind?" he asked seductively.

Marik's face burned as he said, "If that's the case, do you keep torturing me because you don't know how to express love?"

Bakura rolled his eyes and threw the book at Marik's head. "Please, I act like this towards everyone, don't think you're special. The pictures are pretty boring by the way, you should add some color."

Marik stuck his tongue out at Bakura, but was glad he got the book back.

Bakura walked past him to go into the kitchen and said, "Try to control your blushing face," as he did so. Marik glared at him, but did try to make his face go back to its normal color.

Bakura was in the kitchen making sure he had packed enough food for the trip. All the while he couldn't stop smiling. Hmm… So, Marik drew some pictures of me eh? I wonder what that means? This time, he actually thought that maybe Marik liked him, but then he chuckled, That's impossible, he probably already likes someone else anyway. Wait, why do I care?

Bakura had on his day attire and he and Marik were walking to the harbor. Marik was looking forward to the boat ride. Being in the open air, relaxing outside, maybe get a darker tan. You see, Marik had experience with boats, with all the traveling his family did, he had ridden a boat many times and even drove one thrice. He liked the way the boat moved through the water, and he was looking forward to driving this boat as well. But the best part about this boat trip, all he had to do to escape Bakura was to go out in the sunlight. He smiled.

Bakura was looking forward to the boat ride too, but only because he had good memories of boats and water. As long as he could remember, water had been his best friend in all situations.

Anyway, soon they got to the boat. It had two levels, below deck and above deck. It was fairly sized, small enough to be able to maneuver easily (on deck and in the water), but big enough for you not to feel claustrophobic or cramped.

Marik looked at Bakura, "How much did that thing cost?"

"Not much," Bakura said carelessly.

"Really?"

"Marik, I'm rich, this thing barely made a dent in my account."

"I thought writers didn't make much money?"

"We don't, but I don't need to eat or really need anything else, so I have a lot of money saved up. Not to mention that fan girls keep sending me, or should I say Ryou, money and other gifts."

"Why does Ryou have so many fan girls?"

"I don't know, but the number of his fan girls practically doubled when I released my first horror novel. They thought that he could be kind, sensitive, and manly, but really he's a weakling."

"Is anyone who's nice a weakling to you?"

"Of course. Now we better get going," Bakura went inside the boat and Marik followed. They went below deck to store the food away. When they went below deck, they were met with a small room with cupboards. Bakura started putting the food and water away, and Marik wanted to check out the rest of the boat. There were two doors on the other side of the storage room, one lead to the bathroom and the other led to a bedroom. The only way you could tell was that there was a bunk-bed in there. Marik looked into the cramped room with uncertainty, and then realized something. "Bakura?"

"Yes?" Bakura said absently, Where is that other can of peaches? he thought.

"There's only one bedroom."

"Yeah, so?" Bakura said, still not paying attention.

"…So we'll both sleep in here?"

"Yes!" said Bakura, for he had finally found the can of peaches he had been looking for. He turned to Marik, "Wait, what did you say?" he asked.

"There's only one room."

"Yeah, there is."

"… So we're sleeping in the same room?"

Bakura rolled his eyes, "I occupy it during the day, and you occupy it during the night. So simple, even an idiot like yourself should have figured it out."

Marik stuck his tongue out at Bakura and walked into the bedroom. Bakura chuckled, had Marik always been so childish? It was kind of funny. He walked in the bedroom and said, "I call top bunk."

Marik looked at him, "Why do you get top bunk?"

"Because I bought the boat."

"That doesn't earn the right to top bunk."

"Last I checked, it does."

"Whered'ya check? In a hole?"

"I'm taking top bunk Marik."

"Fine, but I get to pilot the boat, and from now on, you have to refer to me as Captain Marik."

Bakura rolled his eyes, "Marik, I'm not calling you "Captain."

"Fine, whatever you want 'Kura-kitty," he said, and then left to go drive the boat.

Bakura laid down on the top bunk. The truth was, he had no idea how to drive a boat. He was actually planning on making Marik drive it anyway.

Marik was looking at a map, trying to figure out where to go. "Let's see… we're about here… so, full speed ahead!" he called. No one answered him. He sweat dropped and went to the controls. It was a motorboat, so it had a little hutch over all of the controls on the top deck. He pressed on the gas and the boat sped forward. He smiled. He loved this feeling. It felt like he was flying, only closer to the ground. He chuckled at himself and put the boat on autopilot. (1). He walked to the front of the deck and looked out at the sea. The salty air whipped his hair back and forth and he could feel the warmth of the sun on his skin as the wind sprayed droplets of water on him. He closed his eyes and enjoyed the moment. He sighed contentedly and thought of his first boat ride.

~~~{FLASHBACK}~~~

"Isis!" a ten-year old Marik called, smiling brightly, "Look at the sea!" He stared out at the ocean with the light that all children have in their eyes.

Isis smiled, happy that Marik could smile so brightly, despite their horrible dad. "Yes Marik, isn't the sea magnificent?"

"Do you think we'll see a dolphin?"

"Maybe," said a deep voice. It was Marik's brother, Rishid. "If the dolphins decide to show up."

Marik let out a happy laugh, "I've always wanted to see a dolphin," then he realized something, "Rishid, aren't you supposed to be driving the boat?"

Rishid smiled, "Well, yes, I'm supposed to be."

"Rishid! Go back to the controls before dad catches you!" Isis said.

Rishid laughed, "But I wanted to teach my younger brother how to pilot a boat."

Marik smiled even more brightly, "Really? Yatta!"

"But what if dad sees you?" Isis asked worried for her brother's safety.

"Not to worry," said another female voice, "You're dad took some pills so that he could catch up on his sleep. He won't be awake for a few hours."

Marik hugged his mom, "Arigatoo Okaa-san!"

She hugged him back, "You're welcome Marik, now go have fun kids."

They ran off to the controls. Rishid started teaching Marik how to pilot the boat and Isis watched with a smile.

"Look at me! I'm driving a boat!" Marik called overjoyed.

"Marik, look," Rishid pointed at the side of the boat and Marik looked. He smiled, there were dolphins swimming next to the boat.

"Dolphins! Rishid, take over!" Marik said as he ran to the dolphins. One of the dolphins was swimming on top of the water so that it looked like he was walking on top of it. Marik reached out and patted it's head. "Nee-chan, it's so smooth!" Isis smiled at her younger brother.

The dolphin Marik was petting went back under water and jumped out again, creating a bridge of water that lasted for a few seconds and then went back to join the ocean. The dolphins began to put on a show. They jumped in the air, they swam about, and some walked on water again. Marik looked at the scene with a feeling of pure joy. Isis, Rishid, and their mother were watching the dolphins as well. They all laughed at Marik's childishness.

"Okaa-san, can I swim with the dolphins? PLEASE?"

She laughed, "I'm sorry Marik, but I don't think you should."

Marik pouted, but smiled and laughed again when a dolphin splashed him. Eventually the dolphins left, and Marik waved at them, "Bye bye dolphins!" As soon as he couldn't see the dolphins anymore he ran back to the controls. But then he looked at his sister.

"Isis, don't you want to pilot the boat too?" Marik asked.

"Oh no, I could never -" Marik pushed her towards the controls, "Marik!"

"Come on Onee-chan, have fun!" She grabbed the controls. Luckily she had been paying attention when Rishid had been saying how to drive the boat, or else she would have just stood there.

"Full speed ahead!" Marik called. Everyone laughed.

~~~{END FLASHBACK}~~~

Marik sighed. That was one of the happiest moments of his life. He hoped he could make another one like it. Marik burst out laughing, as if Bakura could laugh happily.

Meanwhile, Bakura was resting in the bedroom. He was trying to give his mind some rest, he had been thinking too much lately. He figured he deserved some down time. He lay there quietly for a long time, then he heard something he thought he'd never hear again. Ryou's voice.

"Wha…? What's going on?" He heard Ryou say inside his mind.

Bakura smirked, "Hey there Ryou, did you get enough beauty sleep?"

"Wha, wait, who are you? What's going on?"

"My name is Bakura, and right now, you're inside the Millennium Ring."

"Millennium- you mean the necklace my dad gave to me?"

"Yes."

"But-you-you were, inside this?"

"Very good Ryou, you're catching on quickly."

"But, how am I inside it?"

"Only your spirit is, I'm in control of your body right now."

"Huh? I'm, I'm so confused right now…"

"Not to worry, you won't remember anything." Ryou was about to say something, but then he felt sleepy.

"You, you're doing this?"

"Yes, you see, my mind is much stronger than yours, so I can overpower you at any time. Sweet dreams," he said the last part with fake sweetness. He chuckled, it had been so long since he had heard Ryou's voice that he had forgotten that he was real. He sighed, he hasn't had to overpower Ryou since all those years ago, when Ryou was still living back at home and Bakura had taken his body out for a little joy ride. It amazed him that Ryou still didn't know who he was, of course, he probably would never find out, for Bakura had absolutely no intention of letting Ryou take over - ever.

Bakura smirked, and his eyes happened to glance towards the window. His eyes went wide. It was already dark outside. Bakura looked at his watch. Eight-o-clock. Bakura stretched and decided to go above deck.

He walked up the stairs and saw Marik lying down on the deck, looking up at the stars. Bakura walked up next to him. "Aren't you supposed to be driving the boat?"

"Autopilot," Marik said airily.

"I see." He stood there, watching Marik, who was looking at the stars like they were the new big thing. He tried not to smile, Marik just looked so much like a little kid that it was hilarious.

"Me and my brother and sister used to love watching the stars," Marik said suddenly, almost as if he was talking to himself, "Although, I think I enjoyed it the most, sometimes I had to drag Isis outside to watch them with me. Although it's not my fault I didn't get to see the stars for the first 8 years of my life." Marik didn't say anything after that, so Bakura asked, "Why didn't you see the stars?"

"My father kept me inside a pyramid, he said it was for vampire training. I think he just wanted to release his anger. He did teach me a lot of things though." Marik sighed.

Bakura had no idea what to do, so he laid down next to Marik and looked at the stars too.

"There's the Big Dipper," Marik said as he pointed, "And there's the Little Dipper."

"What's that one?" Bakura said as he pointed in a random direction.

"That one?" Marik pointed.

"Yeah."

"That's Orion's belt," he smiled, "My sister taught me the constellations, I've never forgotten them."

It was silent for a little bit.

"Where's the North Star?"

"There," Marik pointed right in front of them. He sighed again, "I wish I could go up there, see the stars, look down at everything and see the beauty that is Earth, but I'd probably be too afraid of falling." He turned to smile at Bakura, and he met his gaze. They looked into each others eyes for a while, until they both broke the connection.

Marik coughed and pointed again, "There's Draco, he's a dragon."

"You know, I've never understood the constellations."

"How so?"

"I never understood how people came up with these pictures, I mean some of these constellations don't look anything like the pictures they're supposed to be imitating. It makes no sense."

Marik laughed, "Yeah, I never understood that either, but the stars sure are bright here." He brought his arm down to the side of him, and his hand brushed Bakura's softly. They both recoiled and blushed ever so slightly, because they both remembered when Bakura had kissed Marik. The only difference was, one thought it was a dream.

They sat in silence. Bakura found himself admiring the stars, they were pretty. The way they shined in absolute darkness, they shined on their own. He stared at them for a while, until Marik said, "You know -" he cut off.

"Know what?" Bakura asked.

"Never mind, I was speaking without thinking."

"Isn't that how you always talk?" Marik still didn't budge. "Don't make me turn into a cat."

Marik looked at him, "How would that make me tell you anything?"

Bakura chuckled, "You're really asking me that question?"

"What?"

"The last time I was a cat, you wouldn't stop holding me."

Marik's face went red, "I like cats… And that still doesn't explain why I would tell you anything in cat form."

"Fine, then maybe I will turn into a cat -"

"Go ahead, you won't get anything out of me."

Bakura chuckled darkly as he changed into a cat. He widened his eyes and tried to look cute (which wasn't hard, considering his cat form was already cute) as he looked at Marik, who started to twitch. Don't pet him, Marik thought, whatever you do, don't… Marik reached out and pulled him up to his chest. Bakura let out a surprised (and somehow cute), "Myew!"

Marik was smiling, "You're so fluffy!" He looked him in the eyes, "Who's the cutest cat in the world? You are!" He had completely forgotten that this cat was Bakura. Bakura was about to remind him of that, when Marik put Bakura down next to him and started petting him. Bakura froze, and he found himself purring. Being petted felt so good right now… He closed his eyes and laid down, and Marik laughed quietly. This continued for a while, until Marik sighed, and then said, "Okay, you win. I was going to say that I've had a pretty fun time with you Bakura, even with all the torment you put me through. It was still better than my dad."

Bakura opened his eyes and looked at Marik. He was slightly happy to hear Marik say that, and he was about to get up and change back into his human form when Marik kissed him on the top of his head.

I guess I could stay like this a little longer… Bakura thought as he closed his eyes again.

(1): You know I don't know the first thing about boats right? So I have no idea if boats have autopilot.

Hope you liked this chapter! I had such fun writing the star scene. ^^ 'Kura-kitty is so much fun :P I have a cat at home and she absolutely will not tolerate petting, so I'm jealous of Marik right now X( Also, I've decided to go ahead with the Puzzleshipping, and, I might, might, make Ryou take over for a little bit. MIGHT. I'm not sure yet, I just wanted to give you a heads up. :)

~~~REPLYING TIME!~~~

ThatsWhatCheeseSaid: Thank you so much! That is the greatest compliment to me =) Also, when 'Kura was nice, which did you do? Just wondering… Also, I can't wait to write more about the boat as well, I've had this boat trip planned since the beginning, just not what they would do on the boat… ^^ Also, thanks for reminding me about the cybernetic pets, I forgot about that XD The reason I would have screamed though is because I don't support prideshipping, I can see Yugi and Jounouchi, but not really, you know what I mean? But yeah, that cybernetic pet thing made me laugh XD And made me want to re-read/watch season 0...
And yes, we should totally stab Marik's dad with a Twilight DVD =) That thing is full of bad actors…
Also, hope you don't mind I stole the term "'Kura-kitty" ;)

NamiFluffy: Lol, thanks for catching that mistake XD I never would have noticed… Also I fixed it, obviously =)

MimeGirl69: Oh my gosh, thank you! I really try hard to keep this story going, and it's kind of hard to write romance for these two... just saying... And I have no idea what Marik's dad will do or even if he'll show up... I'm not that far yet in my planning... And like I said above, Ryou MIGHT appear, I don't want to get your hopes up in case he doesn't.

Thank you all, your reviews make me happy and make me want to continue this story, thank you all so much ^^ You guys are the best, literally.

Also: OMGosh! LittleKuriboh abridged the first episode of Season 0! WATCH IT! It's hilarious! But first you might want to read and/or watch the original first…

See you next time!