Yin - Yang:

Theory of Relativity

Authoress Notes: So... bit short... as a thought, this is probably all gonna go pretty fast, as it's an intricate plot that I'm trying to fit into about seven or eight chapters. If it's longer than that... this story will not last. Unfortunately the same thing goes with chapters that are too long. So... I hope you guys don't mind that they're only three to six pages. If you do have questions, you can review them, and I'll try and cover it in the next chapter, or simply send you a message to explain. Thanks for reading guys.

Chapter Two

Brown eyes peered hesitantly through the window. "You sure about this?"

Malik glanced in his direction. "You wanna change it up, right?"

"Well… yeah," Ryou hesitated still, looking through the window.

"Then I'm sure about this. Besides," the Egyptian shrugged, "I could never find someone to come here with me before."

The pair stood in front of the Domino city kickboxing arena. And Ryou was terrified. He wasn't sure how Malik convinced him to do this, but he soon found himself changed, and warming up. Malik and he chatted lightly about school, their darker halves and Ryou's plan as the warm-ups came to a close, and shortly even that ended.

The course was aimed toward beginners, and thus the first class was relatively basic. These are the kicks, these are the punches, and these are the rules. Play nicely.

Nevertheless, the pair were relatively worn out by the time they finished, and headed out for something to eat to continue discussing the plan – after other matters were settled.

"I didn't realize I was so out of shape," Malik muttered, taking a seat with the least healthy hotdog Ryou had ever seen.

"I guess… slim doesn't mean fit," Ryou shrugged, taking a seat beside him.

Malik pouted. "But I'm not just slim! Look'it my muscles," he raised his shirt a little.

Again, Ryou shrugged. "I dunno, Malik-kun, maybe it's because it's a completely different set of muscles."

Taking a big bite of his hotdog, Malik nodded. "That must be it."

With a new wardrobe, and kickboxing lessons started, Ryou began a single-minded quest for grace. Yuugi sat on the counter, taking notes as Ryou walked across the room. When Ryou's eyes turned expectantly towards them, Yuugi handed his list to Yami.

"It's not that you aren't graceful," Yami said, taking the list, "you're just… not gliding."

"So…?" Ryou perched in a chair. "What am I doing wrong? How can I fix it?"

"You lean too heavily on your right leg," Yuugi said, gesturing. "If you can balance it out more…"

"And you slouch a little when you walk," Yami included, "so your posture is off."

Ryou listened intently until a grumble came to his mind. //Oi, light, are you making dinner or what?//

Sighing, Ryou stood, and Yami cut off what he was talking about for a game plan. //I'll be home in a minute.// "Sorry guys," Ryou shook his head, "Yami-sama's getting grouchy."

Yuugi smiled, hopping off the counter to give Ryou his list. "I'm sure you'll get this all down, Bakura-kun. Good luck."

With a smile to Yuugi, and an amused noise at Yami staring at his hand, where Yuugi's list used to be, Ryou left, and began the trek home.

Reading over Yuugi's list, Ryou made notes to himself about how to correct them. He put the list away and began to concentrate on his walking, longer steps with his left, no slouching, longer steps with his left, no slouching. The mantra continued all the way home.

Bakura sat irritably at the kitchen table, watching Ryou flit around the kitchen, making dinner. Steak was delicately spiced, and placed in the oven as he watched. Ryou steamed mini-carrots and broccoli, while the scent of cooking steak slowly filled the room.

"So, why are you annoyed anyway?" Ryou asked, leaning against the counter.

"They pillaged another tomb in the Valley of the Kings," Bakura grumbled.

"And this bothers you because…?" Ryou raised an eyebrow.

"…There's gold in it."

"And…?"

"Do I have to spell everything out to you?" Bakura snapped.

Ryou just shook his head. "No, no… I just wanted you to admit that modern archeologists outdid you."

Bakura let out a short snarl, and Ryou knew the topic wasn't to be discussed further. Turning back to check on the steaks, Ryou pulled a couple plates out to put food on, and set them on the table. He grabbed himself a fork and knife, and only a fork for Bakura.

A disgruntled noise emerged from the yami at not receiving a knife as well, but he stabbed the steak and bit into it, as Ryou delicately took a bite of his broccoli. They ate mostly in silence, if you ignored Bakura's loud, somewhat messy eating habits, and Ryou stood to clean up the dishes and mess Bakura had left on the table.

"You smell like the nutcase," Bakura observed.

"The nutcase has a name," Ryou stated, soaping up the dishes.

"Whatever. Why were you with him?" Bakura perched on the counter.

Ryou glanced up momentarily, and then returned to the dishes. "Because I wanted to spend time with him."

"With that psycho?!"

Yeah, I know, Ryou thought sourly, When I have one at home, why run off with another one? It took him a moment to realize he'd thought that. And another three to acknowledge that yes, yes he'd really thought it all on his own.

"Why not? …It's not like I'm not used to them," Ryou continued with his dishes, welling up a bit with pride in himself. Bakura cocked his head at him, before frowning, understanding his undertones.

"What's that supposed to mean?"

Turning to face Bakura straight on, Ryou frowned. "I think you know exactly what that's supposed to mean."

And without another word, Ryou turned and stalked to his room, leaving a somewhat baffled Bakura watching after him. Bakura heard Ryou's door slam, and a crashing noise from the other's room. He wasn't sure what to do, as his other half slowly turned back against him. It all seemed wrong; it wasn't in Ryou's nature to act out.

Something fishy was really going on, and he had this nagging notion that the Ishtars had something to do with this.

End