Disclaimer: If I really owned any of this or was making money from it would I be posting it on a website? Now let's uses our heads.

a/n Thanks Trinn, I fixed for you.

School

Ryou turned on the sink, locked the door and sat down on the marron toilet seat cover. He had learned long ago that there was little, if any, reason for Bakura's attacks. He had learned to shoulder them and did his best not to cry when they came. Or at least not infront of Bakura. As he drifted in and out of coniousness he heard a small voice out side the door.
"Ryou?" it questioned. He moaned unable to make any other noise as he fell to the floor with a hpht sort of sound. He heard foot steps then nothing then more footsteps and the lock on the door being picked. His world went black and white then completely black. He was faintly aware of small arms gently picking him up and craddling him as whom ever washed his faced and rocked him humming a sweet tune he'd never heard before. The the tune had words and a beautiful voice of an angel began to sing. "I go out walking after midnight. Out in the starlight.." the words drifted off as his eyes flickered open. The first thing he saw was a girl with black hair looking down at him. He then realised he was on a bed in a girl's room. She gave him a small smile. " I saw what he did." She said softly.

"Hmmm?" he questioned as she moved his body from her lap, and stood up.
"I won't tell. Don't worry about that. I just want to know if he's done that before." The name Serena slipped into his mind he didn't know why exactly. He was then suddenly aware of a pounding head ache.
"My head is killing me." he groaned.
"I'll give you something for it once you answer me." she said softly. He was forced to confess his most painful secret.
"Yes, several times." she shook her head and handed him two asprin and a glass of water. Then sat down on a desk and picked up a phone then began to dial. "Who are you calling?" he asked.
"Hush now. I'm just calling...Screw it I got voice mail. Out for two months she gets a cell and won't leave it on." she said slamming down the phone. The sound made him see stars and for a moment he wondered if he were a cartoon character. Upon seeing things were 3-D he decided against that theory.
"I should get back to him or he'll be horribly upset." Serena shook her head.
"Your staying here tonight. Lilly is in Grandad's cabin and won't be back till early tommorow. You will have to stay there for a while. Mom and Dad went to bed a while ago. Bakura said you were wore out and had gone to bed early. I've talked to him though I didn't get much info." she paused. "Your not really brothers are you?" It was to late he was asleep again and didn't wake for twelve more hours.

The sun was just rising behind the river. Dew laid fresh on the ground making it sparkle. Horse hooves beat the ground somewhere in the distance as someone called out to those they were in charge of. Her hand grasp his, her eyes plead with him. "You won't leave me will you?" she begged. As she ran next to him she limped. "It would take all the gods to make me leave you behind." He reassured her. A small smile spread across her lips. Not only would it take all the gods it would take the enitre world to separte him from her. She had saved him from a certin death. He had saved her from a power hungery father. Their lives were one. They fell together behind a temple. In silence they listened for the hoof beats to lead in any other direction except closer. They did. "Thank the..." he cut her off his lips pressed against hers.

Bakura sat up straight in bed trying to remeber where that dream had come from. More importantly who was that girl. He rolled over and saw standing in the door was was Serena. She was a lot smaller than her sister. They were polar opposites of each other. Lilly seemed to like order. Serena was impridictable. Her clothing stlye changed daily. Her attitude, and theories on life changed with them. But she now also knew something he didn't want her to know. She knew he was a monster. He never wanted to beat Ryou. It was an impulse it seemed like breathing. When he did beat the smaller boy he had a feeling now deep in his gut. Like the one you get when you try to breath under water. You know its wrong but untill someone or thing else takes control you still do it. Serena flipped the light on blinding him while she moved into the room.
"I know your secret. I will not black mail you. I will not be burdened with it. I will not let you black mail me. I will not let you control me in any way. If you ever raise your hand to threaten me or any of my family. I warn you once now. I own a rifle. I am a very good shot. I have no fear of death. You mess with me you go down." She said her face so close to his there noses nearlly touched. With a small almost innocent smile she left the room. He quickly showered and dressed trying to make it down stairs and out to the barns as quickly as possible. He needed somewhere to think. He knew the routine and he knew the barns. All he had to do was get there before Lilly. He failed in this. Lilly was standing in the middle of the stable talking with Loki. When she saw him she excussed herself from the horse with a bow.
"Mornin'. I've already grained the animals. Been up most the night. In a few minutes we'll let them out to graze. Don't worry I've even milked the does." She paused looking at him for a moment. "Sleep came hard for you." she stated more than asked. He felt a jab in his mind as if someone was breaking in. Quickly he threw up his defencses. She smilled with satifaction then went to the ladder and climbed up into the loft. He watched her expertly stepping from beam to beam.
"You've done that before." an idea struck him. He wasn't sure she'd answer his questions.
"Done what?"
"The thing with my mind?"
"I don't know what your talking about."
"Its a difficult skill." "No. It is a natural one. If you are to be able to do it you will. If not it will be difficult. Beside that I have little use for such a skill." she swung down from the cross beam and landed at the other end of the stable she pushed open the door then started to let out the horses. She had memorized long ago who went to what pasture. The geldings and young males went out with the cattle. The females and colts went out together. The Males went out to another pasture. The goats were separted by male or female. The kids stayed with their mothers untill they were weaned. When she reached the stallions that were at his end she stopped. Her eyes searched his in a creepy, almost familiar way. Then went back to the door and disappeared to the next gate where she would send out the herd. When she came back in her eyes glinted. He wandered what to say but she grabbed his hand and led in from the barn. "Where are you taking me?" he questioned she just smirked and broke into a run. She yanked him faster toward the woods. In the middle of a empty feild she stopped looked around the held up her pinky. She counted off and began to drag him in a grouping of very old looking trees. Once in he noticed marking on the trees. Words or phrases carved deep in them. Only three or four feet from the ground.
"When I was eight I was in charge of the girls army. We had fought against the boys twice that impaticular summer and won both times. But for the element of surprise I up rooted us and brought us here. If you know what the signs on the trees mean you'll go right to our base. If not you'll just be reading trees and the girls can make their attack." Bakura wondered if she had lost her mind. As she knocked on the largest tree to their right. Then her hand still in his she took him three paces to the right behind that tree was a small crudly built hut. "Welcome to Eyore's Mansion" she said proudly. Bakura looked at it then the only thing he could think fell from his mouth.
"What the hell?" Lilly laughed. Not the forced laugh she normally had when talking with the people that had stopped by the farm.
"I know but I figured. This is all really new and frusterating for you. So if you need somewhere to think. You should come here. Its sheletered from the rain and snow and most the wind because of all the trees. Plus no one comes out here."
Bakura began to say something but decided not to. He didn't want to prolong this any more than he had to. So he nodded and followed Lilly back out to the main path beat down my tractor wheels over that past thiry or so years. He watched silently as she stopped to look out over the feilds. Each feild was full of crops he had only seen in Ryou's books. Or at least in the last few thousand years. She still reminded him of someone. He started thinking of his dream again as they entered the barn yard. Lilly left him to go see what her sister was yelling about.

Lilly found Serena at the top of the hill by the chicken coop. Serena quickly explained that Ryou was feeling under the weather and that Bakura and him were to go with their mother shopping today. "So, they'll have school clothes that don't make them look like members of the chess club?" Lilly questioned. Serena nodded with a small smirk.
"You like him don't you?" "Who?" Lilly asked. Trying to think up a way out of the conversation.
"Never mind. Just go find Bakura and tell him to get ready to go. When Chris gets here we are going to get our school supplies. Ma has the money for ours and Ryou's and Bakura's and Justin's." The rest of the time between then and the day school started was spent lazily as possible. Once back packs were bought and packed, there was little else todo out of the normal. Matt called everynight. Chris spent the days riding or wondering around in the woods. Bakura, much to Lilly's suprise, accutally was of help pouring himself into the chores set before him. Ryou and Serena on the other hand were rarely seen. This wasn't out of the ordinary for Serena and Lilly didn't know about Ryou.The friday before school started Matt came home from his vacation. After that he seemed to never leave the farm.

"Bakura. Ryou. Up." Lilly said opening the door and turning on their bedroom light. "Justin. Out of bed." yelled doing the same to her brother. She smirked listening to them groan as they climbed out of bed and rushed to be first in the bath room.
"That was mean." Matt said. Watching Lilly come down the stairs.
"My middle name." she said grinning. In the kitchen milling over bowls of cereal was Serena, Mandy, and Chris. They all looked like Christmas had been cancled. Lilly on the other hand couldn't of been more excited. She'd already read the reccomended reading and dying for a challenge. Once they had rushed through breakfast and moved on to chores Justin still hadn't joined them. "I'll go get him." Mandy voulenteered. When the issue was addressed. Lilly nodded and her former best friend was gone. Fiffteen mintues later the seven teens and Bakura were loaded up in a mini van and a little family car. The drive there was spent with the radio up and no one said a word. Far to soon the two vehicals circled the parking lot before parking. "Welcome to our hell away from home."
" Its just 6 hours a day 5 days a week 4 weeks a month 10 months a year." before Serena could tell them the exact hours they'd be spending at this school Ryou cut her off. Lilly thought it was a bit odd for the shy little yuppy but didn't say anything.
"Umm what do we do?" he asked. "Easy. Bakura's classes are the same as Matt's. Ryou you get to stick with me and Chris all day. Except gym they have that seperated." Lilly answered. She slung her heavy bag over one shoulder and grabbed a Kroger's bag from the trunk. "Pocket knives in." she stated. Matt, Chris, Mandy, Serena, Justin, and herself dropped in their pocket knives. Matt looked like someone had just taken away his pride and joy. Not far off though. He took better care of it than he'd taken care of his hamster. Rest in peace Chubby. The eight of them made it to the doors where they seperated off into homerooms. Lilly made sure to stay as close to Ryou as she could. He was new, looked like a memeber of the chess club, and his hair was the strangest thing she'd seen since the five legged calf Mr. Hobbs had a few years ago. Mrs. Halse had made sure that Ryou's locker was right next Lilly's. They unloaded themselves and Lilly read off the first classes of the day. "Trig, English, U. S. History, then we've been landed with B lunch so we go to Lab for thirty minutes then lunch." "Trig? First up they kill us. How sweet of them." Chris moaned. Lilly patted him on the shoulder and dug out the un-needed things from her bag. "Ready?" she asked. The three shut and locked there lockers. Four paces from their home room, Mrs.Johnson, they were stopped.
"Halse. Hey Halse." Chris and Lilly turned around. Neither were on first name basies with this jock. It was Theodore Hillston. In the minds of most high school aged girls he was the hottest guy they'd ever seen off the t.v. To Lilly he was yet another reason to hate devlopments.
"What do you need Ted?" Chris asked.
"Wrong one. I want girl Halse." Ted said with his normal cocky attitude.
"Same question."
"Touchy this morning. Well, my lil sis is having her ninth birthday this Saturday and she wants a bunny wabbit. I was told you had the best around. She wants one of dem floppy eared things."
"I've got a few stop out Friday after school I'll see what we can do. Anything else?"
"Gee, naw I'm good. See ya 'round kiddies." Ted said turning and leaving the three.
"Maybe it won't be so bad. He didn't even notice Ryou." Chris said with a grin.
"Me?"
"Chris, he wouldn't know he was falling of a ten story building untill he hit." Theur day untill lunch was uneventful. A few kids asked Ryou where he got his hair done. But that was about as exciting as they got.

Bakura's day was off to a much worse start. After home room his first class was 'lab'. Which turned out to mean computers. Bakura had left all of this new aged tech crap to Ryou. Now for the first time ever as he sat infront of a blueberry Mac he wished he had Ryou there. Matt sat on one side and on his other was Justin. It seemed that the teachers had made sure the three would be seated together because it was the same in home room. He'd had to struggle through introducing himself twice now. Ryou had tried to give him a basic idea of what he was supposed to say about himself. Of course he hadn't listened to his smaller half.
"Don't you know how to start that?" Matt asked leaning over to pick the pencil of the ground he had obviously dropped on purpose.
"Nnn." he replied feeling like an idiot. Matt didn't ask questions or even give him a look of pity just pushed the small white button with the strange looking symbol on it. The screen blinked to life. Over the next forty-five minutes Matt would keep leaning over to keep Bakura on the right path. Today's assignment was just to get used to the new systems that had been installed over the summer. Finally the bell rang and the teacher dismissed the class.
"What's your hang up? I thought they had a bunch of robots and stuff in Japan." Matt questioned as they pushed their way down the halls. He had quickly learned that everyone stepped out of the way of the jocks and their little Barbie doll looking girlfriends. So the three stayed close behind them the fact that Justin was on the basket ball team helped a little so they didn't look like complete morons.
"Of course we do. There's even Godzilla." Bakura ground out. Justin didn't say anything.
"Sorry. "
"Dude, we've got to hurry up or we'll be late." Justin mummbled. Untill lunch they were pushed along from class to class. Bakura had introduced himself and explained why he was here about a hundred times and was pretty sure he'd be muttering his introduction in his sleep. Beside that the walls in this school were to close. He felt like he was in the padlock when the animals came in at night for feeding. Everything was tight and packed together. He didn't have a problem with tight spots. He was actually quiet fond of being in tight spots. It gave him an adrinaline rush that was hard to beat.

Ryou sat next to Lilly and Chris in the B lunch. He had been told Bakura and the others would be here soon. He prayed they would be. In many years since he'd never been separated from Bakura for so long. Even if he did beat him he'd never let any other harm befall him. That at least wasn't completly nesassary. Lilly used her spork to mix the so called spegetti and meat balls, with ten packs of salt.
"Lils stop that. You know that his Marshmallo sees he'll have a cow."Chris scolded his cousin. Lilly just looked up and smirked.
"Mommy told you she wasn't going to get us out of trouble didn't she?" Lilly asked.
"Mommy? His mom works here?" Ryou questioned. Chris sent Lilly a dirty look as he nodded.
"Yeah, my aunt works here. You've seen her at church on Sundays. She's the one with the red hair. Looks like Reba." Lilly said.
"Reba?" Ryou asked becoming even more confused.
"Reba is one of Aunt Annie's favorite country singers. But my mom is a teacher here. You won't see her much. We are related to her so she can't teach us. The board is woried that we'll cheat or something." Chris said. His hand suddenly went up. Lilly looked in the direction of the closest entrence to the hall and Ryou followed her gaze. There stood Bakura and Matt. Justin was no where in sight. The two made there way over to the table. It was very cramped, with the benches built right on to it. There was no way to be comfortable on one of theses. Lilly and Chris had explained that there was a table for each division of the students. The football players had there own table with select cheerleaders, there was a table right behind this that was for all other sports and cheerleaders that really took two tables, then the normals they were basically the kids who weren't jocks or nerd they just were, then it just went down hill from there. At the very end in the back of the room was their table. It was for the speacal needs students, and country bumpkins or hill billies. "Hey there guys. So we are all still in one peice?" Matt greated them. Matt had a way of making even the most serious matters funny. Ryou figured this was a good skill for someone who spent all day everday with the Halse girls. "Head shoulders knees and toes." Chris answered.
"Good to here soldier. I wouldn't want my troops falling apart at the seams. 'Bout you Lil?"
"ly. Lilly. And I'm good. Can't wait for this to be over. How are you doing?"
"Well, pretty good untill world history. When Bakura decided to correct the teacher when she told us what one of the hyerogliphics meant." Ryou looked to Bakura who just growled something under his breath.
"What teacher?" Chris asked.
"Umm...Mrs. Barney? She looks like that chick on Mad TV that Justin had a crush on. Barney isn't her name it sounds like Barney."
"Harfman." Bakura supplied.
"Harfman Barfman?" Lilly asked with a grin. Matt and Bakura nodded. "Her daughter is the one who had the tripplets her Jr year. She wasn't supposed...but the board is pretty much screwed when it comes to finding teachers in this little town."

Before long lunch was over and it was back to classes. When the final bell rang releasing the students they all raced to get out. Like rats from a sinking ship. Regrouping at the cars thoses headed back to the Halse's farm loaded the trunks down with their bags and reclaimed their blades. Ryou watched amazed as they found their own knives out of the nearly identical lot of them. Lilly climbed into the driver seat and started one of the cars while Justin took the other. The rest of them were left to scramble into one of the two vehicals.Once home they commenced chores then what little homework they were assgined.