AN: Back again, with the next chapter!

Thanks to…

FlyingShadow666: Sorry it took so long to update. I try to update every three days or so, but it's kind of hard sometimes, you know?  Thanks for the review! I'm glad to hear that you're looking forward to the next chapter.

dragonlady222: Ryou as Pharaoh, huh? He'll have to knock Nyq off first. You can do it, Ryou! But first…go Bakura! Lol. Thanks for the review!

casaragi: Hands casaragi a glass of milk to go with her cookie Too cute and too sexy to die? Lol. As weird as it sounds, I think those are pretty good reasons. Thanks for the review!

Shamise: That's great to hear! Thanks for the review!

The Vampire Prince: Yeah, talk about a trailing ghost…anyways! Thanks for the review! I'll see you in about twelve hours, for the plane to Peru. 

Chapter Seventeen: My Gift

Marik was starting to get really worried. It took a lot of effort to keep his cool, especially when the building continuously groaned like it was doing now. He had a staff of medical practitioners at hand, including the Head Priest Seto Kaiba. However, the seconds that crawled meticulously by were starting to take their toll on his patience and sanity.

Rocking on his feet, standing a few feet from the Captain of the Guard, was the Crown Prince. His eyes were on the fire as he bit his nails in nervousness. The Pharaoh himself was standing at a distance behind Marik, his expression stern and slightly anxious.

Marik looked to both of the members of the Royal Family before staring back at the fire. For the first time in a long time, he murmured a prayer to Ra.

Screams erupted as the double doors of the building nearly exploded off of their hinges. Marik threw his arms up in an attempt to shield himself.

Amid the flare of crimson sparks and shards of burnt wood. That was when he saw the snow hair.

Without wasting a second, the Captain ran forward, calling to the little prince and the thief. Already, Bakura was on his knees, with Ryou cradled in his arms, but he didn't make it past that stage. As soon as Marik took Ryou from him, Bakura collapsed.

Ryou cried out in surprise as he weakly reached for his thief.

"Keep a good grip on him," came the strict voice of Kaiba, as he bent over Bakura and hauled him up to a sitting position. He quickly examined the burns and gave the teen a little room to breathe. "I want fresh water and bandages, with salve and clothes to be ready in five minutes."

From the wheezing form that the priest held as a low growl of, "Check the kid."

Grudgingly, Seto Kaiba let his assistants take away his patient as he turned to the little prince. As he had predicted, the child only suffered from the smoke since Bakura had covered most of the little prince before pulling off his dangerous stunt.

"He needs fresh air, water, and a cool cloth. Keep him hydrated, and if he says his eyes sting, drop some of the cleansing liquid in them." The High Priest gave Marik a firm nod before turning away to attend his other patient.

Marik, with Ryou in his arms, turned to leave as well because as soon as he tended Ryou's wounds, the sooner his mind would be at ease. However, he hadn't taken more than five steps when the stables of Ancient Egypt gave way.

---
A few days later…
---

Ryou, who had been confined in his room for the past few days, was ready to go. The coughing fit he had fallen into very soon after his episode with the stables seemed to have lifted, and he couldn't wait to see Bakura. Marik was waiting for him at the door, making sure to check if Ryou was really feeling alright.

"I'm fine!" Ryou said, exasperated. He knew that Bakura had been worse off then him, and it irked him that there was so much more fuss over him than the thief. "Marik, let's go!"

The Captain sighed, not really sure if Bakura would be happy with Ryou seeing him. He didn't have a say in the matter, because Ryou bolted past him and down the hall.

Mentally slamming his head against a wall, Marik sluggishly pursued.

The little prince raced down the hallways of the Palace as he clenched his fists and fought down the spray of emotions. For the last couple of days, he had tried really hard to act happy and normal in front of Marik. Truthfully, he wasn't feeling really happy at all. I took those lessons from Nyq to get stronger and to protect people. The child's jaw tightened as he continued to run toward the Infirmary Wing. Was it Nyq's fault for not teaching me right, or my fault for not being able to wield a sword properly? Ryou shook his head. I can't blame others for my weakness. It was obviously my fault.

I won't be able to forgive myself if Bakura is in a lot of pain again. I…I wanted to get stronger to protect him, but if all I ended up doing was hurt him…

He slammed the doors open, and immediately regretted his actions. The glares he received from all the attendants were enough to dissolve any self-esteem and confidence he had left.

Quietly, and somewhat scared of what he might find, Ryou stepped into the Infirmary Wing and started looking for snow-colored hair.

Each bed was surrounded by visitors or nurses, all except the one in the back with curtains drawn up around it. Ryou swept over all the other beds briefly and made a beeline for that covered bed.

He yanked the curtains back and what he saw nearly made him fall backwards.

The center of the shielded area was occupied by a neatly ordered, clean, unused bed.

Ryou stepped back in dismay, frowning at the sight. "What?"

"What are you doing, my prince?" a woman's voice snapped. She marched over to him and pulled the curtains back into place. "You can't just burst in here and-"

"Where is he?" Ryou demanded, looking directly at the nurse. Taken aback, the nurse stuttered for a moment before she was at a complete loss for words. "Where did the guy in this bed go, miss?"

"Quit picking on lady, Ryou."

The child blinked at the familiar lilting tone, before he gave a small smile. "Bakura," he said, turning around to face the thief. "I…I-"

Ryou never got to finish his sentence, because at that moment, something was chucked right at him.

Letting out a surprised cry, the child put up one arm to defend himself against whatever was thrown, and used the other to blindly knock whatever was coming at him away.

Instead, the item that was thrown at him caught on his arm. "Eh?" Ryou gently untangled himself as he examined the finely crafted bow in his hand.

When he looked at Bakura with inquiring eyes, the thief grinned back at him. Leaning casually against the doorframe, his entire upper body with the exception of his left arm bandaged, the teen explained, "Learning the sword would be useless to you, Ryou. Marik would never let you get close enough to slash at anything. So, I'll teach you how to wield a bow instead."

Ryou was speechless for a moment as his gaze fell back to the weapon in his hands.

"And since I'm so generous, I'll help you learn how to ride a horse." Bakura's grin grew wider as Ryou's face brightened with joy. "With my help, you should be able to shoot that thing," he said, referring to the bow, "in no time with deadly accuracy. Don't you think?"

The little prince lowered his head as he fought back tears. This wasn't the reaction that Bakura was going for. The thief moved forward, kneeling before his prince. "Ryou? What's wrong?" he murmured, evidently troubled by the child's behavior.

Ryou continued to cry as he wrapped his arms around the thief. "I nearly got you killed again, and yet you're still here. While you've given me so much, Bakura, I haven't got anything to offer. What am I supposed to do?"

Bakura never would admit that he was touched by the child's words. Hiding a blush, he returned the embrace, and lifted the child up. "Just do your best. That's all I ask."

---
AN: It's a little shorter than usual, but then again, this is about how long my chapters usually are. Um…look for an update on Sunday afternoon or night. I'll be gone again this Thursday, Friday and Saturday for a trip, so I apologize ahead of time (going to Peru!). Please review, and thanks for reading!