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Chapter 8
Invasions
Domino City contained plenty of available and empty apartments, mainly because it was a tourist trap, and with the recent Battle City Finals there were people vacating all around.
"You picked the cheapest one, didn't you?" Duke said, watching the kitchen tap fill his cup with brownish water. "Oh, this is lovely."
"Quit complaining, we're not stopping long." Joey stretched out on the sorry looking couch and started flicking through a television that comprised mostly of static. He pulled a face; "Okay, you did pick the cheapest place, didn't you, Yug?"
Yugi entered the room, struggling with a couple of suitcases. "Sorry you guys. But it's only for a little while."
"There's only three bedrooms," Tea said, peering from round a dull brown door. "Me and Serenity have called the one with the least amount of dead bugs in the bed."
"Where is Serenity?" Joey asked.
"She's trying to get rid of the bugs. Tristan's being all noble and helping, apparently."
Duke spat water back into the sink; "I can be noble too," he declared, and ran past Tea to Serenity's room.
Joey rolled his eyes; "Great. Everyone's in love with my sister and the tv's broken. Best day ever."
Yugi and Tea exchanged tired smiles, and Tea took Yugi's suitcases off him.
"Sit down, I'm going to make us all a drink."
Yugi smiled gratefully and sat with a sigh on a chair that was far too springy. He stared at the cardboard coloured walls and reminded himself that this wouldn't be for too long.
It had been Yami who had suggested they all stick together like this, and Yugi had agreed.
It wasn't safe, knowing that dark Marik might appear to any of them if they were alone. Nobody was well prepared or really knew how to fend Marik's dark half off without the Millennium items.
They had four available to them, and it was a mild comfort. Nobody but Yugi and Yami knew about the Key though. The fifth item was hanging around a Spirit's neck somewhere in the Domino City hospital.
Yami had not wanted Bakura to join Marik and Ishizu at the hospital, but Yugi had talked him round. It seemed like Marik could handle the Spirit, or at least he didn't seem to be suspicious of him. Besides, Marik seemed to enjoy Bakura's company, and neither Yugi or Yami wanted to deny the troubled tomb keeper a friend.
"He's probably done a runner," Joey muttered, head rested on the couch arm, and recognising Yugi's troubled face. "We shoulda kept the lunatic with us. Least we got the items to protect us. What's Marik got if that Spirit decides to go crazy on him?"
"Don't worry, I gave Ishizu the necklace back just in case." Yugi told him. "they'll be ok."
Ryou came into the room, coughing a bit. "It's very dusty in there. I think I might just sleep on the couch if it's all the same with you." he gave the couch a quick and discerning look; "maybe I'll just sleep outside."
"It's not so bad, once you get used to the smell," Duke reappeared with Serenity looped on his arm. Behind him Tristan was silently fuming.
"Did you defeat all the scary bugs?" Tea asked, handing them each a drink.
"Oh yes," Serenity grinned; "these boys were very brave."
"I was a little braver though, wasn't I?" Duke smirked in Serenity's ear, and she giggled.
Tristan pushed past Duke; "please tell me the tv works, I'm gonna go crazy." he sat on the couch, and Joey shook his head, giving him a sad look.
"Oh no way," Duke said. "My favourite soap starts in about an hour."
Yugi shook his head at all of them, and put a comforting hand on the Puzzle, finding his link to the Pharaoh which was open and attentive. He'd be on edge until Bakura was back in his sight, Yugi knew.
"He'll come back, Pharaoh. He has too."
"You don't know that, Yugi."
"He wants the Millennium items. Most of them are here, he has to come back."
There was a pause on Yami's end, and the ancient Spirit made a grunting sound of reluctant agreement.
"I suppose so."
Yugi held the Puzzle a bit tighter, like it might reassure Yami. He hated when the Pharaoh was so troubled like this, and it often seeped, however accidentally, into Yugi's own mood.
Suddenly the Puzzle's gentle heat became fiery hot for a couple of painful seconds. Yugi yelped and jerked his hand away from it.
"Yug, you alright?" Joey asked at once.
"I'm sorry, Yugi," Yami apologised through the link. "he's coming back, I sense him now."
"Who is-" Yugi started to speak, and at the same time the door opened, revealing Marik and Bakura. They both looked rather tired.
Marik peered about the room with poorly disguised disdain; "I think the hospital's looking more and more appealing," he stepped into the room and Bakura closed the door behind them. The Spirit folded his arms and looked at Yugi and his Puzzle.
"See, he did come back." Yugi said through the link.
Yami snorted; "full of surprises."
Marik took a seat at the kitchen table, and he gave Bakura a hopeful sort of look. Bakura lingered by the doorway a stubborn moment, before stalking to the tiny kitchen area. He leaned on a cabinet, near to Marik.
"Where's Ishizu?" Joey asked, looking suspiciously at Bakura.
"Oh yes," Bakura rolled his eyes; "I banished her to the Shadow Realm, and allowed her little brother to go free and escort me back to your individual waiting wrath's," He folded his arms. "I'm quite the mastermind."
Yugi spoke before Joey could gather an angry retort; "have you got-"
"-here's the Necklace," Marik pulled it from his shirt pocket and tossed it to Yugi. "Ishizu is staying with Odion at the hospital," the tomb keeper looked at the ground. "She told me I'd be safer with you. You have items to protect us from it." he trailed off, and looked sick.
Yugi nodded, knowing Marik could hardly bear to talk about his dark half.
"We're all here, then," Ryou broke the silence with an inappropriately bright smile. "Would anyone like some cake? I bought it incase we got hungry thinking of plans."
"What plans?" Bakura asked, giving Marik an expectant look. Marik shrugged and didn't say anything.
"Well we need a plan, right?" Joey said, giving Ryou a funny look he pushed cake in his hand; "are we just gonna sit around and wait for that freaky Marik to come for us again? Cos that's a pretty lame plan."
"That's what we need to figure out," Yugi turned to Marik; "Do you know if you can sense your dark half at all?"
"I don't know," Marik kept his eyes on the table, and looked sicker, "I wish I could...but it all seemed to happen so fast. I had a headache...but that went on for some time, and it...my dark half, he appeared so suddenly..."
"There must have been a reason for him getting to you like that," Tea said thoughtfully. "The headache, that must have been a sign. Can you try to think of anything else, Marik?"
Marik looked hard at the table, biting his lip. Then he shook his head; "I really don't know," he said in a despairing way; "I'm sorry..."
Bakura moved to the table, closer to Marik, and glared at everyone else; "Why don't you stop asking stupid questions? It's not helping."
"We need information," Joey snapped; "and this isn't up to you. The only reason you're with us is because we can't trust you anywhere else."
"Wonderful," Bakura rolled his eyes. "But if any of you possessed half a brain cell you might remember I was in the Realm when Marik's other half returned the other night."
"That's true," Duke nodded enthusiastically. "There was all that weird mist stuff outside of the blimp when I went looking for you."
Bakura nodded; "yes, that is the Shadow Realm," he said like he was talking to a very young child. "Mortals cannot access it unless they are granted permission from the one who summoned the Realm in the first place. Or," he looked at Yugi's Puzzle; "they have a Millennium item."
"So," Joey sighed impatiently; "why don't we just go back to the Shadow Realm, snatch the Rod and get back here again before the crazy Marik notices?"
Bakura snorted; "it must be such an easy life for you, having such an uncomplicated mind."
Joey's face reddened, but Bakura carried on before he could say anything, looking mostly at Yugi;
"But your friend does have the basic idea. It seems the most reasonable way to go about getting the Rod back. Rather than waiting for him to come to us, we should go to the Realm. Take him by surprise."
"We?" Tristan raised an eyebrow. "We aren't doing anything like that, because we are not crazy," he gestured around at Yugi's friends. "Right guys?"
Bakura folded his arms and gave Yugi a challenging look; "how else are you going to get the Rod back? I told you, I am your best bet. My Ring is strongest in the Realm, and you know it. Pharaoh."
Yugi felt the stinging against his hand as the Puzzle glowed, and then the furious energy sparking in his link, as Yami tried to take control of his body. Yugi concentrated hard and shook his head against it.
"No, let me handle this."
Bakura stepped forwards, grinning at the Puzzle; "is the dear Pharaoh all angry at me again? Why doesn't he come out and speak to me properly?"
Yugi blinked angrily up at Bakura; "No. You two aren't fighting again."
"Yugi!" Yami spoke through the link; "let me speak to him now!"
"Not when you're so angry!"
Yugi didn't like to, but he closed the link with some force and focussed completely on Bakura, full of suspicion;
"You already went to get the Rod back before, and you couldn't manage it. What makes you think you can do it now?"
Bakura smirked; "I already told you, the Ring is strongest in the Realm. I'll be better prepared this time."
Marik spoke from the table; "I think it's a stupid idea. Why should you go back to the Shadow Realm?"
"Would you rather wait until he attacks without warning?" Bakura gave the tomb keeper a grim look.
"No, that's not what I meant," Marik huffed and folded his arms. He stared angrily at the cake Ryou had placed politely in front of him.
"Why don't you combine your items, like before?" Ryou suggested, and looked between Bakura and Yugi timidly. He held out another slice of cake, in Bakura's awkward direction.
Bakura gave the cake and Ryou a scathing look; "I don't need help from the Pharaoh. I can do it myself."
Marik scoffed, but looked too angry to say anything else.
"I say if the Spirit wants to do it, we let him do it," Joey said. "Let the crazy defeat the crazy, right? We shouldn't have to get involved."
Ryou looked at the rejected cake in his hand with a disheartened face. He offered it to Yugi instead; "maybe that would be for the best? The Spirit seems to know what he's doing."
"Yeah, something really stupid," Marik said, "Bakura, you can't defeat my dark half alone. Don't pretend like you can."
Bakura whirled round on him, his face very angry; "I know what I'm doing, don't you dare underestimate me, Marik!"
Marik opened his mouth; for a moment he looked like he might yell, but then he just turned violently away from everyone.
"Do what you like then," he snarled under his breath.
Yugi stared between them, and then everyone else. He could feel the Puzzle glowing in his palm, although he didn't want to open his link to Yami just yet. For the first time in so long, he was afraid of how his own Spirit would act.
"Why do you want the items, anyway?" it was Tea who asked, in a voice that was trying to be brave. She was looking at Bakura.
"He won't tell you, he won't even tell me," Marik said icily.
"Why do you need all the items, Yugi?" Bakura kept his eyes on the Puzzle.
Yugi considered his answer. He couldn't trust the Spirit, but there was no harm in telling him what everybody else already knew;
"We need them to unlock the Pharaoh's memories somehow. We're not sure how to do that just yet, though." he spoke carefully, and watched Bakura in the same way, trying to guess his reaction.
The Spirit's expression did not slip from a smirk. He didn't seem surprised at all; "nice to know," he said, and turned away. Tristan stood up and blocked his path.
"Your turn now," he said. "Why do you want the items?"
Bakura laughed, and didn't seem intimidated by Tristan's hand tight on his wrist or his growling face. "Very well," Bakura eyed the ceiling for a moment; "What if I told you I just like collecting things?"
"What if I told you that's not good enough?" Tristan said in a low, dangerous voice.
Yugi noticed Bakura's Ring glowing, and he stood up in a rush, cutting between them. He looked with difficulty at Bakura, the Spirit was smirking at his Puzzle.
"The Pharaoh wants to come out," Bakura observed, and reached out to touch the Puzzle.
The Spirit's pale hand rested long enough on the item for Yugi to see the desire flicker in the Spirit's eyes, and then Yugi shoved him away. For a moment he could have let Yami take over, even knowing how furious he was. It would have been satisfying to see the Pharaoh take everything out on Bakura, who was wicked and did not deserve their trust. But that was no good, he didn't want to sink to that level.
Yugi closed his eyes briefly and turned away from the Spirit, pulling back his remaining patience.
"Let's just concentrate on getting the Rod back for now," he said slowly.
"Very well," Bakura looked pleased with himself, and seemed quite oblivious to Tristan's seething face, and even Marik's hostile look in the Spirit's direction.
Joey stood up; "it's late. First, let's sort out who the hell is sleeping where. We can figure out how to defeat freaky spirits after that."
88
It was gone midnight before everyone had stopped arguing about rooms, beds and awkward sleeping arrangements. Serenity and Tea kept the room with the least amount of dead bugs, which was the smallest anyway, and Joey and Tristan called the double bed and got into a brief, loud fight about it.
Marik ended up sharing a boxy room with Ryou, Yugi and Bakura. Yugi insisted Marik take a bed rather than a sleeping bag, but Marik didn't care. He was very tired but he couldn't sleep because Bakura was so stupid.
He peered into the small living area, where Bakura sat on the couch, watching the snowy tv like it might show him something interesting.
"You can take the bed, if you want it," Marik told him.
Bakura looked sideways at Marik as he sat on the couch; "I'm not tired."
"I'm not, either."
Bakura looked at him properly, raising a brow; "yes you are."
Marik shook his head, feeling stubborn.
"Marik, your link is wide open. I know you're tired."
Marik sighed and looked angrily at his lap. He kept forgetting about that stupid link.
They sat in silence, and for a minute Marik thought he could be patient, but the quiet was unbearable, and it was inviting him to say something; "why won't you let Yami help you?" he asked at last.
"I don't need his help." Bakura said flatly.
"Sure," Marik rolled his eyes, but the sarcasm was mostly drowned in his upset; "because you were doing so well before. I just love how you barely even managed to defeat my dark half with Yami's Puzzle."
Bakura huffed, but didn't say anything. His eyes stayed on the buzzing tv.
"Face it, you need his help," Marik said. "My...my dark half must be strong, to be so powerful against two items, never mind one-"
"It doesn't matter, I don't need the Puzzle's power," Bakura said.
Marik shook his head incredulously; "I don't believe what you're saying. How...why are you being so stupid?"
"It's not stupid, I'm thinking ahead," Bakura looked at Marik carefully. "I don't need the Puzzle just yet, so there's no point in using it."
Marik closed his eyes for a moment, trying to temper his frustration with the Spirit; "look, I don't know what your plans are for the items, and Ra knows you'll never tell me. But I do know you're being stupid. Anyone can see that."
Bakura leaned back on the couch, not saying anything. It infuriated Marik even more;
"You said the Pharaoh was the proud one who wouldn't accept any help. Now look who's being proud and arrogant!"
Bakura shook his head, and looked almost as frustrated as Marik; "you can't understand."
"Maybe if you told me why you need the items-"
"Why do you need to know? It's never going to affect you, Marik."
Marik stared at him; "That's hardly the point!"
"Then what is the point?"
"To tell me things! How else am I supposed to trust you, if you keep things like this from me-"
"Hah! That's rich!" Bakura said, his face flushed with a bit of colour; "what about you and your secrets about the Pharaoh, when were you going to tell me about those?"
"I already told you, it was never my intention to keep secrets," Marik could feel the burning prickle of his link with Bakura, and he realised the Spirit was angry. The link was like a line of excited electricity, dancing about in Marik's mind and somehow reminding him of everything he already knew about the Spirit. Or everything he probably wasn't supposed to know.
He could almost touch upon and visualise those strange images that has flashed through his head so quickly when they had joined hands, and when Marik had known it was the only way he could pull Bakura away from the darkness and his dark half in the Shadow Realm.
He could remember Bakura's hands, and how they had been painful and clawing, yet had eventually melted into something like surrender, holding onto Marik just as tightly in the end.
Marik reached out a hand now, and found it touching Bakura's own on his lap. The cold touch didn't really register, since Marik's mind was far too distracted by everything else; the simple wide opening of a link, pouring memories he had seen before into his head, and the alarming vulnerability that flashed too quickly on Bakura's face...
A cold slab, like ice, suddenly pounded through Marik's head. He blinked as his mind became clear again, and Bakura was looking at him with hateful eyes.
"Don't do that again," he growled.
"Do what-"
"Don't pretend you don't know." Bakura sounded dangerous.
"I don't know!" Marik snapped. "What have I-"
The bedroom door creaked open, and Ryou peered in, looking sleepy and apologetic. "Can you two be a bit quieter, maybe? Just a little bit?"
Marik was fine with that. He stood up, shaking in a confused rage and not wanting to look at Bakura anymore. He followed Ryou through the door and didn't look back.
"Is everything okay?" Ryou asked, rubbing his eyes as he crawled back into bed.
"Not really." Marik told him. He burrowed roughly into his sleeping bag, and stared at the off-coloured wall.
"Is Bakura-"
"I told him he could have the stupid bed," Marik interrupted. "He can do what the hell he wants."
88
Bakura rubbed his temples, feeling a little violated. He hadn't meant to snap at Marik like that, but then he wasn't used to humans having such access to his own mind like that. It was unsettling, to think Marik could pry into his thoughts and memories so easily, when Bakura himself had little idea what any of them meant and how he was supposed to handle them.
He wasn't sure if he should let the human see them. Maybe it would help this trust thing that humans valued so much. But then why should Marik still be allowed to keep his own secrets? It didn't seem a fair deal. Was that really how these things worked? Bakura was damned if he knew. Humans gave him such a headache.
He didn't want to sleep in the bedroom. There were too many humans and he wasn't used to it. It had been a great relief earlier, just to get off the blimp and away from human confines. And though he had planned to stay with Marik anyway, the journey to the hospital had been wonderfully quiet, and nobody had watched him with frightened eyes.
It was easier because Marik had trusted him.
He curled on the horrible couch and watched the broken tv for a little while longer. The burn of Marik's link told him the human was still very angry, and it wasn't the best thing to fall asleep to. He supposed he could just close the link and ignore it, but that'd be too easy. And he wanted to know Marik was okay, even if he was so angry.
Bakura closed his eyes and held the Ring loosely. As his link to Marik began to calm, an old headache took it's place. It was painful and had been there in the background ever since waking up on the blimp in his own body.
He tossed onto his side. Bodies were terrible things. So much needless pain, and all of it a reminder of his new weakness. He wouldn't readily admit that Ryou was very useful, but right now he was seeing the advantages to having a host. At least he didn't have to care about bodies then.
As the headache took proper hold, Bakura remembered his Soul Room with a longing. He wondered if he could reach it, anything to retreat from the pain bouncing around his head. He looked down at the Ring and held it tighter; feeling it's warm glow, along with a mix of sensations he knew from inhabiting his host Ryou.
It was the feeling of returning to the Soul Room after a gruelling day, and the relief of being a simple essence and nothing else for a little while after.
Bakura slipped back into his Soul Room with some ease, but it was a short-lived relief.
8
It was colder than he remembered, or perhaps that was because he'd not been there for a little while. Human contact had spoiled him. He looked up on instinct, and there was the swarm.
It was making a deafening amount of noise, buzzing and echoing all about. Bakura cringed back, his head felt fuzzy. The swarm rushed down, circled him for a few seconds before taking form a few metres away.
Bakura was not surprised to see it's form was Dark Marik, but he was surprised that it was in his Soul Room once more.
"Ah, this place takes me back."
"How did you get in here?" Bakura asked.
"I have the Rod, Spirit. Are you forgetting the item so quickly?" Dark Marik grinned as he waved the Rod in his hand. "The item lets me enter another's mind. Surely your good friend Marik told you about that?"
"I know," Bakura glared. "But you shouldn't be able to get in here at all. You're trapped in the Shadow Realm."
"Not all of me is in the Realm," Dark Marik explained conversationally. "I owe you some thanks, actually Spirit. I took a tip from you and kept a part of myself within your own mind. It makes sense, this place has sentimental value. It was the place I grew up, after all."
Bakura pulled a face, wanting to kill but stuck on the problem of how; "I'll force you out, then."
Dark Marik shook his head regretfully, "I can't leave just yet, there's still things to be done."
Bakura watched as the Dark Marik's form fell in on itself, and then he was the swarm once more. It's hum was almost a laugh as it rushed to Bakura, and Bakura braced himself as the stinging headache took over and invaded all of him.
It was still very painful, but he could at least get to grips with what to expect now. He recalled dark Marik's words about barriers and shields, then he felt for the link he was growing more and more familiar with, the one that needed to be defended.
Marik's link was being pulled back; it was a tearing sensation like a vicious migraine that had found a certain point to torment in Bakura's mind. He knew that once the link was open Marik would be exposed to his dark half once again.
Bakura would not let that happen this time.
He concentrated hard; the darkness was powerful but he had felt enough of it to be able to cope and know how it worked. He closed his eyes and found Marik's link. It was open, but not too much; the darkness had not seeped completely into it just yet.
He smiled to himself; Dark Marik wouldn't get through again. He ignored the gale of dark that physically attacked his own body, and kept all his attention within his mind. He pushed the swarm away; it was easier when he knew what to target, and it was already starting to give up.
It began to drain from his mind with a gradual and slow relief.
The link to Marik healed itself in a few short seconds. It felt much longer, and Bakura opened his eyes, feeling sick and dizzy. He was kneeling on the floor, and the swarm had spread out. It was flying away, past the Soul room's walls, and fading off into nothing.
Bakura got up with some effort; his vision was blurred and his body ached more than he had expected. Still, the darkness was gone now, it hardly mattered.
He looked about his Soul Room with anticipation all the same; Dark Marik would still be about, even if he'd been weakened enough not to fight for the moment.
With that in mind, Bakura looked at the ceiling and wondered about getting back out.
He'd never been in his Soul Room as a creature with his own body. He tried to think about how Marik used to do it when he visited.
The Ring's heat was soft against his chest, and acted as a reasonable enough answer. Bakura held it with a little uncertainty. It was strange how it was glowing; usually that meant there was another item in range, or perhaps danger.
Bakura scanned the Soul Room once more. No sign of the swarm. He stepped back and held the Ring with both hands. Maybe it'd be the same as taking possession of Ryou's body. It'd make sense; since he was returning to a corporal form.
So he did what he always did when it came to possession, closing his eyes and searching for a link within the Ring, the one that anchored him to the body that wore it.
He returned to his body with very little strength left. The aches of the Soul Room seemed to have joined him in his proper body, and now he just wanted to sleep more than anything else. Stupid weak human body.
The Ring burned against his chest. He should probably try to get up, or at least open his eyes. But he felt flimsy like paper. He was too tired for any of that.
88
Yami had not intended to come this far, and even as he reasoned to himself that the Puzzle had been glowing, telling him there was danger, he still felt like he shouldn't be doing this.
It was 3am, and he stood over Bakura's sleeping form, holding the Key and shaking just a bit. He was close enough; and it'd be so easy. Just one quick movement, twist the Key, and he could set his mind to rest.
It was too easy, though. And it wasn't fair.
Yami lowered the Key when he looked properly at Bakura's face. It was very white and Yami could see the shine of perspiration there even in the dark. The Spirit's body twitched every now and then and a murmur of discomfort passed his lips as he tossed his head. Yami didn't know Bakura might dream, never mind have a nightmare.
He would have been concerned, if not for the glowing Ring and all his suspicions. And it was Bakura.
The Puzzle still glowed, as though warning him and reminding him not to fight instinct just yet. He'd come here because the Puzzle had been alight, telling him something was wrong. It never let him down.
Yami hesitated. He wouldn't use the Key, but he could still take the Ring back if he wanted. He reached out a hand, only millimetres from the item. Bakura didn't move; their items were so close to each other, they both burned so fiercely.
Bakura sighed unevenly in his sleep, and Yami realised nothing was going to happen.
He stood back quickly and stared at Bakura, wanting to be angry at the Spirit but finding he was more angry at himself. The presence of Yugi's sleeping link was always there, and now, even though the boy was fast asleep and had no idea of any of this, Yami could imagine his disappointed face. That hurt more than anything.
He walked away because of it.
88
Bakura woke up to a familiar smell, and it reminded him of his old host Ryou. He rubbed his eyes and sat up with difficulty. His limbs were still protesting and he remembered his Soul Room with a grimace. He could have gone back to sleep again, but Ryou was standing over him with burnt food, and Bakura was starving.
"Toast," Ryou said, disarmingly happy.
Bakura took it, too tired to really glare or remind Ryou he did not like him, and just ate the toast and looked around wearily.
Nobody else was there except for Duke, who was frowning at the kitchen table.
Ryou moved with some unease to a chair, and offered Bakura another more terrified smile.
"Everyone's out right now. Well, except for me and Duke," he gestured shortly behind him. "Everyone-"
Bakura knew that Ryou was scared of him; he didn't bother about that, and he didn't care about everyone.
"Where is Marik?" he interrupted his host.
"Oh," Ryou paused. "He's at the hospital, visiting Odion."
Bakura looked at the floor; "he went without me?"
"Yeah," Ryou sounded careful. "Yugi, Tea and Joey went with him too."
Bakura sat up a bit more, and peered at the bedroom where he knew Marik had slept. He remembered the tomb keepers angry face and the angry link. He felt for it now and found it was closed.
"Are you alright?" Ryou asked, his voice tentative. "You don't look especially well."
"Well, I'm dead."
"We were thinking that this morning," Duke said, and walked over in that bold way of his. He looked Bakura up and down, entirely fascinated. "You slept for ages, nobody dared wake you though, incase you tried any of that weird shadow...stuff."
"Very wise" Bakura nodded, and added a glare for good measure. "Marik would wake me."
"He thought you'd be better off getting some sleep," Ryou said.
"Yeah," said Duke; "Looks like you could do with a little more though."
Bakura scowled, hating the idea that humans might have stood around him, watching him and deciding what was best for him. He looked down at his Ring with a tiny bit of comfort. At least he still had that.
"Just in case you do try any funny stuff, we have the necklace to protect us," Duke said, looking a little more careful as he took a seat near the couch. He helped himself to a slice of Ryou's cake, left over from last night.
"Not that we'd think that," Ryou added very quickly. His eyes were darting between Bakura and his own lap, "you said you were going to help us," he added, sounding hopeful.
Bakura hadn't thought much about Ryou or their link for a while. Now he poked it with some curiosity and found it was open to him. Fear and nerves waved through his old host's mind, and Bakura didn't enjoy the sensation even if he'd expected it. Ryou was always so scared.
Bakura leaned forwards on the couch and eyed the plate of cake on the small table. He took a piece after some hesitation and then ate it up. It was okay, and he was still rather hungry. He looked at Ryou, who was smiling at him much more naturally. His link of nerves had calmed a bit and it made Bakura feel better for whatever reason.
He rubbed his temple; the headache was still there, but he could get used to it. He nodded at Ryou;
"I'm helping you get the Rod back. Nothing else."
"I know," Ryou's smile seemed to grow. "I'm glad you're helping."
Bakura didn't know how he was supposed to react to that; he didn't much care what Ryou was glad about, or most other humans really. He stared between his host and Duke, for once not very happy to be in an uncomfortable silence.
He wished Marik had woke him.
"Do you know how to fix it?" Duke's voice broke the silence.
"What?" Bakura followed Duke's gaze to the tv. He turned to Duke; "I don't imagine so," he said very sarcastically.
Duke leaned back in his chair and pouted a bit; "well that's just great. I'm stuck here, in this little hell hole of an apartment, whilst my potential girlfriend goes off on a date with a guy I could kick into next week, and the tv doesn't even work. It doesn't get much worse."
Bakura turned to Ryou, who smiled at him apologetically.
"Tristan's taking Serenity out, Duke's really jealous." he explained simply.
"I'm not jealous," Duke corrected. "Tristan has nothing on me."
Bakura grimaced; humans and their relationships never failed to confuse him to no end. The way one human could adore another, and yet hate the next, or maybe they both hated each other but really they didn't...Bakura thought they should just make their minds up and not waste energy on those in between, confused emotions.
Hate everyone or no one. A human was a human, it didn't make much difference.
Bakura thought of Marik, and thought that might be different.
He searched for their link again. He was disappointed to find it was still closed.
"I don't care what they do, I'm taking Serenity out next time and she'll like it," Duke said with confidence.
Ryou rolled his eyes like he'd heard it a thousand times before; "I'm sure. Would you like a drink?"
Bakura nodded absently. He knew he wouldn't feel anything but distracted until Marik was in his sight again, or at least he was given access to their link. He startled at the hand that pressed easily on his shoulder, and he pushed it away when he saw it was Duke.
Duke just grinned; "so, fancy helping me fix the tv?"
8
Bakura was good at fixing things, or so Duke would inform him after about an hour of fiddling with different coloured wires and wonky aerials. The tv wasn't too hard to figure out when Bakura realised it was all just a matter of wavelengths and signals. It was rather like mind links; just a matter of finding the right signal and making sure there was a good, strong enough reception for something to become tangible, or visible enough to connect with.
When he thought about it like that it was easy to forget things and just do a simple human job.
Ryou spent a lot of time balancing the old aerials in his hands, and practising bizarre and stupid positions as he did. Most of them involved standing on the couch and falling off it again. Duke laughed loudly, and Bakura might have smiled through his concentration.
Duke almost choked with laughter when Bakura decided to use the Ring, and the tv set's picture became clear with a woman and a man having a heated discussion on the screen.
"Just in time for my favourite daytime soap!" Duke said, and rushed to pat Bakura gleefully on the back, "these Millennium items, is there anything they can't do?"
"Apparently not," Bakura curled himself away from Duke's hold and retreated to the couch. He noticed Ryou's bemused face.
"The Ring did that?" he asked.
"Can you believe it?" Duke grinned.
Ryou looked at Bakura; "Not really."
Bakura shrugged. "The items attract all sorts of energy, I suppose electrical energy is one of them."
"You should set up a business," Duke said; "tv repair demon. You'll make lots of money." he beamed.
Bakura tilted his head at the human; he looked so happy and pleased, and it was sort of strange that it was because of something Bakura had done. It was strange, but not really a terrible feeling. Bakura could live with it.
"Yeah, maybe consider it," Ryou said. "You know, just in case all this Shadow Realm stuff gets a little dull."
Bakura looked at Ryou, and saw his nervous and yet very amiable face; his mouth always trembling between a grin and a grimace. It was enough to make Bakura grin too. Ryou was an odd human, Bakura could get used to him.
He could get used to both Ryou and Duke as it happened.
"So, let me get this straight. You're not really alive, are you?" Duke dug himself comfortably onto the couch, giving Bakura a fascinated look. Nearby, Ryou made an awkward coughing sound.
Bakura grinned; he quite liked Duke's no nonsense approach, it was a nice to see another human besides Marik who didn't look at him with a mixture of terror and suspicion. Not that those things weren't nice when Bakura wanted them to be.
"Well, technically I am alive, now that I have a body." Bakura said. "But that's all it is. I'm not human."
"You look human," Duke said. "I think you could pass for one, especially if you got rid of the undead complexion look."
"I can't help that I inherit some of my appearance from my old host," Bakura looked at Ryou. "It's to be expected."
Ryou looked horrified. "Am I really that pale?"
"Afraid so," Duke said with no tact at all.
Bakura wanted to laugh; Duke's teasing face and Ryou's mildly insulted one seemed to be asking for it.
"Hmph. You would find it funny," Ryou said, catching Bakura's eye.
Bakura nodded easily, and was strangely warmed by the proper smile Ryou offered him. That was interesting, but not entirely alien. It made him remember Marik.
"So, if you're not human, that means we can't kill you, right?" Duke carried on, still very curious.
"I suppose." Bakura said. "Sorry about that," he looked wolfishly at Ryou, noticing him squirm.
Ryou cleared his throat; "But if that's the case, that would mean we can't kill the Dark Marik either, right? I mean, he's not really alive. He's like you-"
"He is not like me," Bakura corrected sharply, and was surprised by the force of his own words. "He was created by human emotion, therefore he is human. Or at least, he has human qualities."
"That thing? But he looks even more messed up than you," Duke snorted. "Er, no offense."
"None taken," Bakura said, and thought he should address Ryou, who looked far too worried. "You know that I am not human, because I needed your body to exist. You also know I was not created by yourself?"
"Well I would hope not." Ryou nodded.
"Marik's other half was born from Marik himself, if I am understanding correctly," Bakura continued, "From what Marik has told me, and from what he has told all of you, Dark Marik was his own creation."
"That boy has some issues," Duke decided.
"It is a bit worrying," Ryou admitted. "But surely, if that's the case, Marik should be able to destroy him?"
Bakura considered. If only it was so simple. It was easy enough for the likes of Ryou and Duke to think about these things in such simple terms. They were just human, after all. Why should they be expected to know things about the darkness, and everything it was capable of?
"I don't think Marik would be able to destroy his other self now. It has become far too powerful." he tapped his Ring, knowing Ryou was looking at it too.
"Is that how you can tell? Can you sense it through the Ring?" Ryou asked.
"Something like that." Bakura couldn't be bothered with the details. He hadn't even told Marik any of this, now that he thought about it. He also noticed that both Ryou and Duke were sitting far too close for comfort; their eyes watching him in a state of obvious fascination, waiting for more important words to come out of his mouth.
Bakura stood up and folded his arms. "If the Pharaoh wants information he can just ask me for himself."
"Oh no, it's not like that," Ryou said at once. He stood up too, and moved as though to pat Bakura on the shoulder, but seemed to lose the nerve at the last minute. He ended up just smiling in that awkward, semi-terrified way of his. "Honestly, I just wanted to know things. We both did."
"Yeah, so cool down." Duke was much bolder, and he grabbed Bakura by the wrist, tugging him back onto the couch, "look, we're just in time for some funniest home videos," he flicked the remote to the tv.
Bakura watched the tv with disinterest, not really watching it at all. He was far too aware of the two humans, who sat closer to him than he would have liked. This was probably normal, but it was unnerving to Bakura, who was only close to relaxed in this sort of situation when it was Marik who was near to him.
It wasn't that he was afraid. Bakura was never afraid. It was just very strange.
Through their link, Bakura could tell that Ryou was starting to relax though, like he might be getting used to the idea of sharing his presence with the Spirit he had feared to much before.
Bakura was a little bit pleased about that, and when Ryou offered him some more cake Bakura took it with a grin, and Ryou grinned back. Bakura had no idea why such a gesture might make him feel better about things, but for some reason it did. Perhaps human nature was contagious. Bakura didn't know enough about it to make a confident guess though.
"It's chocolate," Ryou said, talking about the cake. "You like it?"
"It's alright," Bakura considered; "better than the burnt toast stuff."
Ryou laughed, a small surprise to Bakura, who wasn't used to his old host being like that with him. He saw Ryou's arm jerk up a bit as he laughed. It was still bandaged, and Bakura looked at it and felt sorry.
Ryou didn't seem to notice, which was a relief. Bakura turned away quickly, the bandaged arm reminding him of Marik.
He'd been tapping into their link all afternoon with no success at all. Maybe it didn't matter if he got through or not, but Bakura didn't care about that. The point was he wanted to, and it was getting frustrating. He wasn't used to worrying.
He wasn't used to any of this.
He wanted to be a simple essence, back inside the Ring again. He didn't want a body to look after, or a sense of reason, a reason to do the things he was doing right now. He'd never needed one before, why did things have to matter so much now?
"Marik will be back soon,"
Ryou's soft voice was startling, and his sympathetic face even more so. He'd pried into Bakura's link, if only for a moment.
"Sorry," Ryou said quickly, realising that Bakura knew it. "I didn't mean-"
"I know," Bakura interrupted quietly, "you're really getting good at this link thing, aren't you?"
"I've had a bit of practice," Ryou nodded, and looked relieved. "I should probably thank you for that."
"You're welcome," Bakura said, stealing more cake from Ryou's plate. He could get used to it.
8
When Marik returned, along with everyone else, Bakura was pretending to listen to Duke's rants about Tristan. Ryou was washing pots in the kitchen sink, occasionally nodding in listless agreement whenever Duke insisted he was better than Tristan.
Bakura snapped his head round when the door clicked open. He looked past everyone else to see Marik.
The tomb keeper looked sad, but his eyes didn't meet Bakura's, and he walked purposefully to the bedroom, closing the door behind him.
Bakura started to get up, but he froze with the hand on his arm. The Pharaoh was in control of Yugi's body, and his face was very stern.
"Leave him alone, Bakura. He doesn't want to talk."
"I want to see him," Bakura stood up, and angrily shrugged the hand off his shoulder, "So let me through."
"I said no," the Pharaoh's eyes looked dangerous, but no more so than Bakura was used to seeing them whenever they met his own. He was never intimidated by the Pharaoh; most of the time he played up for a reaction such as this, and it would have been satisfying at any other time, but that didn't matter right now. He needed to see Marik.
He dodged round the Pharaoh, but found himself being pulled back by the scruff of his shirt, and then Tristan's warning voice;
"Stay right there."
Bakura turned slowly to face him, his body shaking with a teetering rage; "let go of me, now."
"You're not to see him," the Pharaoh shook his head, blocking the bedroom door. "He wants to be alone."
"And I want to talk to him," Bakura balled his hands into fists; "you can't tell me what to do."
The Pharaoh looked at Bakura's Ring, and his face wavered a moment before he frowned harshly; "I said no, Bakura."
Bakura hissed through his teeth; "then tell me what is wrong with him!"
"Whaddaya think?" Joey spoke up, "His brother's no better. He hasn't woken up yet," his voice got a bit low with the truth of the words, and he looked rather sad.
"They don't know if he'll wake up at all," Serenity added, looking at the ground.
Bakura looked round at all their sad faces, but could not relate, could not bring himself to feel anything for any of them.
Tristan spoke from behind him; "Why would you care, anyway?"
Bakura span round, then curled a fist deep into Tristan's stomach. There was a satisfying wheeze as the human let go of him and reeled back onto the ground. He lay there gasping and Bakura wanted to laugh, but rage was still too prominent in his mind for that.
Tea and Joey gathered around Tristan and their shocked faces matched everyone else's.
Bakura was too slow to react to the next set of hands that found his wrists. They pulled him back sharply and he fell back against the Pharaoh. He could feel the Puzzle jabbing painfully into his back, and then the Pharaoh's voice close to his ear;
"I can't trust you, Bakura," his voice was a whisper and full of contained rage; nobody else could have heard it; "I know you were up to something last night. My Puzzle could sense it."
"What?" Bakura twisted a bit, but the Pharaoh's hold was firm. He managed a grin and whispered back; "what do you think I was up to then, Pharaoh?"
The hands on his wrists squeezed harder for a few seconds, and the Pharaoh's voice was determined; "I don't know, but you don't get another chance."
In another moment Bakura felt his wrists being freed, and then a rough arm catching his chest so that he couldn't move away. He felt a hand scramble up his chest, and he knew before it had happened what the Pharaoh was going to do.
"Good luck getting the Rod back," he said, as the Ring's weight came away from his chest, "You're going to need it."
The Pharaoh shoved him away, holding the Ring tight in his hand.
"We'll get it back, don't you worry," he said.
"Why on earth would I?" Bakura stared at him, and didn't think he could hate the Pharaoh as much as he did in that moment.
He turned round, and everyone was watching him like frozen statues. Ryou's eyes were wide and Bakura could almost see the tiny moments of that afternoon draining away from his memory.
A hopeful smile didn't mean anything, Bakura knew that now. Humans didn't know what they wanted, and that was fine with Bakura. He didn't want to try and help them anyway.
He looked at the bedroom door. It was closed just as well as Marik's link. That was fine, too. It was easy if the human didn't care; it meant he didn't have to anymore.
He brushed past the Pharaoh and everyone else.
"Like I said, good luck. You're going to need it."
He left the apartment and didn't look back.
88
Yami sat down on the couch and tucked the Ring in his pocket. Yugi's voice was quiet in the back of his mind;
"Well, we got the Ring from him. One good thing."
"Yeah." Yami said, and wondered why he didn't feel happier about that.
The room was quiet and the atmosphere was awkward, despite everything. The Spirit had left and he didn't have the Ring, it should have been a comforting thing at least.
Tea sat down next to Yami; "I guess that went as well as it could."
Yami nodded and gave her a weak smile, he didn't really know what to say.
"Yeah," Joey said enthusiastically. "You didn't give him chance to use the Ring, that's for sure."
"Good riddance," Tristan mumbled as he sat down. He rubbed his stomach with a groan; "that's gonna bruise," he looked up at both Ryou and Duke; "Did he try anything else, while we were away?"
"Oh yes," Ryou nodded; "he did lots of evil things. Like eat cake and fixing the tv. It was truly diabolical and terrifying. You really should have been there."
"What?" Tristan noticed the tv's quiet drone. "He fixed that?"
"Yeah," Duke looked annoyed; "we missed the last part of my favourite show cos of all your dramatics."
Tristan's eyes widened; "that maniac punched me in the stomach!"
Serenity put a hand on Tristan's shoulder, perhaps to try and calm him. It didn't go down very well with Duke, who frowned at them both and then at Yami.
"The Spirit wasn't doing anything wrong. Why couldn't he see Marik, anyway?"
Yami looked at everyone, but his gaze rested on Ryou, who was always understanding; "Marik didn't want to see him, it's as simple as that."
Ryou shook his head, and even though his angry face wasn't very frightening, it was still a shock because it was so rare; "Bakura was really worried about Marik. I could tell."
"Worried?" Joey said sceptically, "you sure about that, Ryou?"
"I have a link too, remember," Ryou bristled. "I could tell."
Yami stood up. Listening to this wasn't helping at all, even if he had made the right decision in the end.
Whichever way he looked at it, Bakura was loose, and probably angry. Yami could still feel dark eyes burning into his own, sparking a hatred he couldn't easily forget. Bakura was dangerous at the best of times, with or without the Ring. He'd use what he had available to him. The fist in Tristan's stomach was proof of that.
8
That night Yami kept the Ring round his neck, so it rested against the Puzzle, and then the Key hidden in his pyjama pocket. He wouldn't make the same mistake twice, and if Bakura was tempted to come steal any item in the night, he'd have to pry if off of him.
That didn't happen, but the Ring did glow, and it's pointed ends poked at his chest and woke him from a light sleep.
He sat up at once, immediately on the alert for demonic Spirit's. Bakura wasn't there though, and the only sound was Duke turning in his sleep and Joey's soft snoring. Yami felt the two item's round his chest, they were burning just as they had done the night before, only this time the Ring's sharp ends were pointing forwards.
Yami crept out of bed and tested Yugi's link for a second. It was closed and indicated he was asleep. Yami wouldn't wake him, and he held the Ring up and followed it's points out into the living quarters.
It was empty and quiet except for the hum of the radiator and a coarse wind that beat against the window outside. It was very dark, and the clock on the wall indicated it was just past 2 in the morning.
Time hardly mattered to Yami though; and he held the Ring up a bit more and followed it's lead to the door that would take him outside. He turned the handle and crept onto the stairway. The apartment was only a couple of floors up, and he reached the bottom swiftly.
Outside it was very cold, but the Ring was glowing much hotter in his hands and the points were wriggling with an urgency. Yami quickened his pace as he started down the empty street, the cold wind waking up what was left of his sleep and keeping him fully alert.
He'd almost broken into a run when the Ring's points suddenly dropped, and the glowing began to fade. Yami halted and looked all around him, confused, until he saw the narrow opening that carved a driveway between two houses.
In between them was a shadowed figure who appeared to be sitting very still against the wall.
Yami started running to it when he recognised the spiky shock of white hair.
88
Notes: I explained as best I could about the dark Marik/Bakura's mind thing, but it's never supposed to be very clear. In my defence it was Bakura's point of view and he doesn't know too much about it himself. All very vague right now.
Also I don't usually write alternating point of views, but I think I'm on at least four in this story! Someone tell me if this is working okay for you. I definitely don't plan on introducing anymore pov's though!