Author's Note: I know they are minor characters, but I love writing Mai and Ryou. I take this as a sign that my next fanfic should have either one of these characters as the main character.

Which leads to my next segue - if you haven't already - please vote in my poll to figure out the focus in my next story.

Disclaimer: You already know. Bleh.

Thank you for reading. Hope you enjoy. Let me know if you do!

I update weekly! (Now becoming Tuesdays instead of Wednesdays!)

Bon appetite!

Bakura knew the best way to get information out of Odion would be when Marik wasn't there. This was a rather tricky feat since Marik didn't have classes and any free time he had he would spend with Bakura. Tricky didn't mean impossible, especially not with a master thief on the job. Bakura had an idea on how to distract Marik for an afternoon without being seen as a sneaky bastard about it. All it would require is some cooperation from the family side.

So a couple days after Mai visited, Bakura did something he never thought he would ever do. He took a deep breath as he dialed the numbers on his phone, anxiously tapping his fingers on the counter as he waited for the phone to be picked up. A few rings later, Bakura heard a prompt greeting on the phone. "This is Ishizu." Bakura swallowed for a moment before finally speaking. "Uh, hey. It's me. Bakura. How's it going?"

A long silence stretched between the two of them, as Bakura started to regret his decision. No. This will work. I just have to commit. After what seemed like an eternity, Ishizu finally spoke. "What do you want?" Bakura blinked, noticing that the tone was not nearly as nasty as he thought it would be given their history. He found this encouraging. "I wanted to ask a favor of you."

There was another pause before Ishizu replied. "And what might that be?" Bakura noticed that her tone had changed from somewhat polite to now somewhat threatening. Shit. Don't screw this up. "It's nothing major, it's about Marik is all." There wasn't any time for an awkward pause to develop as Ishizu quickly responded. "What did you do to my brother? I swear to god if you do anything to hurt hi-"

"No no no! It's not like that! Marik's fine! Why the fuck would I hurt him?"

"You've threatened to do it before."

"That was then. It's different now."

"I beg to differ. There are certain qualities of a person that are not so easily changed. Sorry if I don't believe your change of heart."

"What have I done for you to hold this goddamn grudge?"

"You threatened me a knifepoint in my office. I think that speaks for itself."

"You've punched and slapped me. You're no Mother Theresa over there."

"I never claimed I was. At least I've never threaten to murder family members over this."

"We're losing focus. Can we bring the conversation back on topic?"

"Yes, please. I'd like to know what you've done to my brother."

"Nothing he didn't ask for…"

"What?"

"Nothing! Look, I was just calling to see if you would give Marik a call."

"… What?" Bakura noticed Ishizu suddenly dropped the hostile act with that request. He let out a sigh internally, hoping this change of luck would remain. "Uh.. yeah. You should talk to Marik. He's been a bit put out since Odion's birthday thing." The standard awkward pauses returned as Ishizu seemed to think over this. "How does this relate to me though?"

"Well, Marik knows you aren't thrilled about… yeah. He's afraid that you might hate him or something." Ishizu seemed to get irked by that comment. "Why on earth would he think that?" Bakura resisted the urge to roll his eyes. Sometimes she could be as dense as her brother. "Because you've made it very clear that you don't approve of me. And of his sexuality. So yeah, he's gonna think there's beef between you two." He heard Ishizu sputtering on the other side. "That's not- It's- It's nothing against him. I was just shocked was all. I just-"

Bakura sighed, deciding to catch Ishizu a break. Not that she deserved it, but because it would work into his plan. "Look, you don't have to justify yourself to me. You know I don't care." Ishizu seemed to think over his words. "…Right." Bakura glanced at the clock, noticing it was almost noon. "Marik's free this afternoon." There was a confused noise on the other side of the line. "I beg your pardon?" Bakura sighed loudly, glad he was over the phone and not talking in person to Ishizu. Otherwise he would be even more embarrassed.

"Marik doesn't have classes for another few weeks. So he has a lot of free time. Including this afternoon. He likes smoothies in case you hadn't noticed… I don't know if you wanted to get together and talk to him or something…" There was a brief pause and Bakura felt the need to fill the gap. "Not that I care what happens. I mean, he's your brother. Just… whatever." Bakura bit his lip, unsure if he had sold it or not. Sure, he did want to cheer up Marik, but the big picture goal was to distract Marik while Bakura interrogated Odion.

"Okay. I… I think I might do that." Bakura perked up, relieved to hear Ishizu's response. This would make things significantly easier for the afternoon if the two younger Ishtar siblings were occupied. Still, an act had to be kept up. Bakura snorted as if disinterested. "Yeah, well, good. I'm tired of Marik being mopey." He heard something resembling a light chuckle from Ishizu. The sound was so bizarre. Perhaps it was because Bakura was used to her being angry with him all the time.

"Right. Well, I suppose I should call my brother then." Bakura grunted, getting to hang up the phone. He heard Ishizu call his name one last time. "What?" He snapped, not looking forward to being yelled at again. "… Thank you." Bakura blinked as Ishizu hung up, not having time to respond. That had been rather unexpected. It always astonished Bakura when Ishizu was civil towards him. It was a rather nice feeling not to be hated, albeit a bit odd.

Granted, Bakura suspected that if Ishizu found out that he had ulterior motives for encouraging her to hang out with her little brother, then Ishizu would most likely be furious. She was rather suspicious when it came to dealing with Bakura. She knew she had to just suffer through times with him because of her brothers, though she did not hide the fact that she loathed the albino thief. Bakura didn't particularly care either way. In the end, it didn't matter.

Bakura put the issue out of mind and instead decided to focus on his afternoon visit with Odion…

Bakura wasn't entirely sure what to expect when he broke into Marik's apartment and snooped around Odion's room. Granted, by break in he meant simply use his key and walk into the apartment. It felt more illegal when he entered the elder brother's room. Bakura knew so little about the man and just figured he would find a very tidy and neat room. Which was why Bakura was impressed by his record collection. Apparently, Odion had very good taste in music.

Bakura spent few minutes admiring the collection of records ranging from Fleetwood Mac to the Beatles to John Coltrane. There was something very humanizing seeing this side of the rather stoic elder brother. It gave Bakura glimpse into the likes and hobbies of the brother whom Marik seemed to adore. He checked several posters of various artists including Bruce Springsteen and Jimi Hendrix that decorated the room. It felt very comfortable and welcoming.

Bakura reminded himself of why he was there as he looked around for anything that might stand out. He wasn't sure what he was looking for, but figured he would get his snooping done sooner than later. Bakura's eyes focused on a desk next to the bed, knowing that would be his best bet. He quickly shuffled through the drawers, quickly scouring for anything that might stand out. Aside from some notepads, phone chargers, and other useless junk, Bakura found nothing.

As he pilfered through the drawers, he accidentally pulled out one of the drawers too far and the drawer came out altogether. Bakura swore as several pencils and what looked like a rubber band ball fell to the ground. He sighed as he stuck the drawer back in place before kneeling down to pick up the fallen trinkets. This was going to take forever if he kept up at this pace. He glanced around to notice the rubber band ball had rolled under the bed.

Bakura reached underneath the bedframe, searching for the ball when his hand landed on a pile of thick books. Bakura pulled them out, initially planning on just moving them out of the way. He paused, however, when he looked at the titles of the textbooks. "DSM-4 Psychology Guide," "Mental Health and Understanding Diagnosis," "Personality Disorders – A Study of the Undiagnosed." Bakura blinked as he stared at the covers of the books.

Odion's not taking classes. Marik isn't taking psychology. Why would Odion have these books hidden? Of the books he collected though, the one that stood out to Bakura was a small notepad no bigger than an iPhone. Bakura flipped it open, studying the contents as he realized there were different dates and times listed. He blinked as he read the list:

October 16 – 1-3 pm

Missed classes.

October 19 – 9 am- 12 pm

Found by the docks. Went for a "walk"

October 20 – 4:30 – 5:30 pm

Went to grab a smoothie.

Bakura blinked, trying to make sense of the collection of dates. After a few moments of studying, Bakura realized Odion hadn't been writing about himself – he had been documenting Marik. But for some reason, these didn't seem like rendezvouses or hang out time between the two brothers. It also seemed research-like in nature. As if Odion was observing Marik's behavior.

Normally, this would have made Bakura laugh, as he himself often felt like observing and studying Marik's strange behaviors and habits. However, with the psychology textbooks stacked next to him, Bakura knew that the intent was completely different. Marik's… sick? The words sounded strange in Bakura's head, but that seemed like the words for it. If Marik had a mental illness… would that explain all the strange happenings that were going on? That seemed like a drastic assumption to make, but Odion seemed to be taking this idea seriously.

Bakura narrowed his eyes as he closed the small notebook before turning his attention to the psychology books next to him. If Odion truly believed Marik was sick in the psychological sense, then Bakura wanted to find out exactly what they were dealing with. He flipped open one of the books, perusing through the pages. The folded corner of one of the pages caught his eyes as he stopped to study the contents of the page, his eyes widening.

"Bakura?" The surprised voice broke the thief from his research, his head snapping up. Odion looked almost stunned instead of angry, as if shocked by the sight of Bakura sitting on the floor of his room. Bakura blinked, his hands clenching the book he held as he stared at Odion. The two men remained quiet for several long moments, both trying to figure out what to do.

"Uh… Bakura, if you don't mind, I'm going to ask that you leave my room, please." Bakura resisted the urge to chuckle at Odion's insistence on politeness. Bakura stood up silently, placing the books on the desk as he got up. Odion stepped forward to grab something from his desk, almost as if dismissing Bakura from the room. It was as if he was willing to forget the whole incident if he left now. But Bakura had intended to get answers. He watched Odion, who continued to ignore him.

"DID." Bakura stated the letters with no preamble. He studied Odion, who kept his face blank. Despite his control, Bakura caught how his eyes widened slightly, a muscle straining in his neck at the words. "I beg your pardon?" Bakura leaned back on the desk, his eyes not leaving Odion. "DID. Dissociative identity disorder. This is what it's all about isn't it?"

The silence between the two was almost painful as Odion stood up straight to stare at Bakura. The albino met his gaze, unfazed and relentless. He didn't know what the bald man was thinking, but he knew he must have struck a nerve. And based on the intense silence between the two, Bakura knew he had hit the mark. Odion closed his eyes, as if thinking about the situation at hand before turning to leave. Bakura quickly reached a hand out and caught Odion by his shoulder.

Odion paused before glancing back, his expression unreadable. Bakura sighed, glancing away as he spoke. "Look, I know you probably don't want to tell me. This is personal, I get it. But I care about Marik too. I just want to help him. I can't pretend nothing's going on any longer." Bakura lowered his eyes, not meeting Odion's gaze. He knew he could threaten the brother into telling what he needed, but he felt the honest approach – his genuine concern for Marik – would speak greater volume than anything threat Bakura could make.

The minutes passed by until Bakura heard Odion give a loud sigh. "Alright. It's affected you as well so you should know what you're dealing with." Bakura nodded his head, murmuring his thanks, feeling a huge wave of exhaustion. Odion sat down on the edge of his bed, his hands folded together as he stared at the floor. Bakura looked around for a moment before deciding to sit on the chair by the desk. The two sat there is silence for a moment.

"… Where to start? I suppose… perhaps…" Odion thought softly out loud, still not looking at Bakura. Bakura bit his lip, deciding to help Odion along. "Dissociate identity disorder… That's split personality disorder, right?" Odion nodded his head, his eyes focused on the floor. "Essentially. It's where two or more separate entities share the same body. In Marik's case, there are two. Marik is the primary individual, the original. I believe he developed a second personality several years back. It's only been in the last year or two that I've come to identify what he had."

"… He's had this for years?" Odion grunted, raising his hands to press at his chin right below his mouth. "Yes… Truth be told, there are many psychologists who don't believe dissociative identity disorder is a disease and that it's a representation of some other mental disease. I probably would have dismissed it too. However… the signs are just too obvious to ignore. And…" Odion leaned his head forward, his expression darkening. "I've met his other personality."

Bakura raised a hand to rub at his chin, his mind going a mile a minute. Odion's met Marik's other personality? How did that happen? How could Marik have another personality and never mention something to me? What if this is all just a big hoax? Bakura glanced back at Odion, who was watching. "… Tell me about this encounter. How do you know he has another personality?" Odion nodded before turning to stare straight ahead. The Ishtar brother was being rather compliant.

"I suppose the first thing I should address is how one would develop a personality disorder. Simply put, people with DID have a history of trauma. They dissociate to cope with pain, tragedy or abuse." It only took a moment for Bakura to make the connection. "So he developed an alternate personality because your father…" Odion sighed as he sat up, staring at the wall. "Our father… growing up, he was very strict but never unfair. Our mother did well to balance him out."

Odion closed his eyes. "But when our mother died, it was as if something else broke in our father. I think the signs were always there. He would lose his temper or get irrationally angry, but our mother always knew how to handle it to help calm him down. But with her gone… he became lost and lashed out. He was especially hard on Marik. Because our mother died in childbirth, I believe our father held Marik responsible."

Bakura didn't say anything but narrowed his eyes. Every time heard more about the Ishtar father, the more he ended up hating the man. Odion's voice brought Bakura out of his thoughts. "None of us got out unscathed with our father. Ishizu and I both had our troubles with our father, but we also knew that our father before our mother died. Marik didn't. At least Ishizu and I had some semblance of a healthy family life. Marik never did, despite how we tried. We did what we could, but there was only so much we could do to protect him."

Odion sighed softly. "I'm not sure when, but I think it was sometime after the scars that Marik developed his other personality as a coping mechanism. To help deal with the pain. He needed some way to escape and not feel so helpless." Bakura knew exactly what Odion meant by the scars. When put into context like that, Bakura realized that would make sense. If the other personality developed as a means to handle the abuse he suffered. After experiencing that sort of abuse, he could only imagine what an eleven-year-old child might do to survive. Still…

"While I see where you're coming from, this still seems like a bit of jump to make. Not to sound skeptical, but it seems a bit outlandish. Another personality?" Odion nodded his head, almost in agreement. He didn't say anything, almost as if debating something. Bakura realized that Odion was holding back something. Is this relating to him meeting Marik's other personality? Bakura narrowed his eyes for a moment before deciding to test those waters. "When did you meet Marik's other self?"

Odion didn't react for a moment before closing his eyes, almost as if defeated. "… About seven years ago, when our father died." Bakura didn't say anything, but his body tensed up, curiosity and dread quickly settling in. "… Marik told me he told you about our father. But that's only part of the story. He… our father had been in legal disputes with Sir Yami for several years prior to the surrender of our family land. The stress from having to deal with that only compounded his… less pleasant qualities."

Odion blinked his eyes open to stare at the floor for a moment. "Ishizu and I figured if we kept a low profile and just obeyed our father, we could minimize the damage done. We just wanted to get by and keep each other safe. I was afraid that any legal actions I took might end up with us siblings separated and I couldn't…" Bakura nodded his head understandingly. Odion didn't need to explain himself – he understood his difficult position more than he could ever say. In a way, Bakura felt he understood Odion better now than ever before, his thoughts now drifting towards his twin and what he would do to protect Ryou.

"Despite that, after what our father did to Marik's back and to Ishizu…" Bakura blinked for a moment, confused. He knew about Marik's back, but he knew nothing of what happened to Ishizu. Part of him always dismissed her in Marik's past because she had never been there. He knew that she left before their father died, but Marik never said why. Marik didn't know why, but apparently Odion did. Before he could ask, Odion continued to speak. "After what our father did, I couldn't sit back any longer. Ishizu had already decided to escape. I decided to take the issue to court and get my brother out of my father's custody."

Odion leaned forward on his knees, finally glancing up to meet Bakura's eyes. "Marik told you that we went to Cairo for a business settlement when our father died?" Bakura nodded, realizing the implication in the process. "You didn't go just for business though, did you?" Odion shook his head no. "Part of the reason we went was because our father was called to court, having been charged to child abuse. Marik would stay back at the hotel, assuming that we were at business when in actuality, the first few days were spent in court. Those were some very long and stressful days."

Bakura watched Odion, who seemed to grow weary and tired. "In the end, you won custody." Odion nodded, but a concerned look grew on his face. "Yes… but that might have exacerbated the issue. I was named Marik's new legal guardian and we had a few weeks to settle the issue before Marik would leave our father. I thought this meant the worst was over. However, with the conviction of child abuse, our father's standing in the business operation to keep the family lands completely fell apart."

Odion lowered his hands, his expression almost lost in the memory. "I had gotten a call from one of my father's lawyers that evening saying the deal broke apart. I was in the hotel with Marik playing cards when I could hear our father coming down the hallway. I knew something was very wrong. I knew that things were going to end badly. I told Marik to hide. I didn't want him to see whatever happened next. Whatever problems our father had, it was with me and not Marik."

"When my father finally got the room… he was furious. He blamed me for betraying him. He declared he was going to disown me and Ishizu for conspiring against him. That he'd sooner kill Marik than let me have custody of him. I couldn't let him see Marik. My father was so far gone and was a danger to himself and everyone around him." Odion sighed as he unzipped his jacket that he had been wearing. "Marik's not the only one with scars."

Bakura blinked as he studied the light scars that trailed up Odion's shoulders on his upper back. Unlike Marik's deep, ragged scars that were carved into his back, Odion's was lighter and wider, almost as if he had been struck with something instead of sliced by a knife. Though it should have been obvious to Bakura that Marik's siblings also must have had scars from the abuse they suffered, he never made the connection. He glanced up at Odion. "Your father…?"

Odion shrugged his jacket back on, his face relatively calm. "I was older than Marik and naturally stronger than a child. I tried to fight back. I had managed to knock the knife out of his hand, but he ended up finding another way to beat me. He probably would have continued his abuse until he killed me if Marik hadn't started crying." Bakura clenched his jaw, a queasy sensation filling his stomach. Marik said he didn't really remember what happened the night his father was killed. Bakura had assumed that he had blacked out. It didn't occur to him that Marik might have been suppressing the trauma.

"I tried to stop our father, but I was in so much pain and bleeding quite a bit. I could barely hold up my own weight; much less restrain an adult male. Our father pulled Marik out from hiding, yanking him by his hair. He grabbed the knife that I had knocked away previously and told him he would finish the job." Odion sighed as he crossed his arms, almost fighting back a shudder. "He intended to kill Marik and then kill himself. Murder-suicide. He said it was to spare Marik from suffering anymore." Bakura didn't say anything, but his hands clenched together, the only thing he could do his keep his anger and horror in check. Marik… why didn't you tell me?

"Marik… he was terrified beyond words. I can't blame Marik either – our father was threatening to kill him with a knife. I remember hearing his screaming, pleading to our father. I… never felt so helpless. I was supposed to keep Marik safe from him and…" Odion stopped talking, his hands trembling. Bakura knew that it was not from fear but from a sense of anger stemming from his powerlessness. Odion took a deep breath, lowering his head slightly. "That's when I met… him."

Bakura looked up stare at Odion, whose face seemed haunted and intense. The silence between the two was heavy. "Him?" Bakura asked softly, unsure if he wanted to know the answer. Odion just nodded "Marik's other self… I don't know why or how he came out exactly, but I remember there was a sudden change. Marik stopped crying and I thought he had given up or our father had finally killed him. I tried to get up when I heard… laughing. A manic and crazed laughter."

Odion looked up to stare at the wall. "I had never seen our father frightened before, but when he stepped into my line of vision, I had never seen him so terrified. The terror was short-lived, as he seemed to recall himself and tried to attack Marik again. I don't where Marik found the strength but he suddenly pinned our father to the wall with the knife. I was horrified but I couldn't find any words to say. I didn't know what had happened. I didn't know my father had been scared. I don't know how he was overpowered. And Marik…"

Bakura swallowed, his entire body tense as Odion spoke. "Marik… no whoever it was, it wasn't Marik. It was someone else. His voice, his inflection, his attitude – all of that changed. If I hadn't known it was my brother there, I would have sworn that someone had found his twin. My brother was an energetic, shy, yet cheerful kid. This kid who stabbed our father with a knife… he was malicious and cruel. After he stabbed our father, he started laughing like this was fun. Like it was a game. He was thrilled to cause pain to the man who had stabbed him first."

Bakura gave a shuddering sigh, feeling himself grow weak. This… he's not… Bakura didn't want to ask the question, but he knew he needed an answer. "Odion… Marik said that nobody knew who killed your father. That's not true, though. You know, don't you?" Odion bit on his thumb, not meeting Bakura's eyes. "I do." He murmured softly, Bakura inhaling sharply. The albino closed his eyes, a shudder running quickly through his body. "Who?" Bakura whispered the question harshly, praying that Odion would give him a different answer from what he was expecting.

Bakura knew the answer as he heard Odion sighed. "Marik… killed our father."