.:Chapter thirteen - Caught In the Act :.

"So... this is a 'hamburger'?" Yami asked, staring down at the food item. Yuugi nodded enthusiastically, already having his unwrapped and halfway to his mouth. He never even stopped to wonder what kind of place hadn't heard of hamburgers before. In fact, the group of three Earthlings was getting so used to the other three asking so many questions, almost anything seemed normal to ask... almost.

Had Jounouchi not been in the men's restroom at the moment, he most likely would have butted in on this oddity and brought it into the proper light.

Regardless, Yuugi showed his joy on the subject by cheering a happy, "Yup! My favorite food!"

Ryou was either ignoring this conversation or oblivious to it as he was poking at his French-fries listlessly. He wasn't really all that hungry, which was most likely the effect of having far too much on his mind. He lifted the fry to his mouth and was about to bite down into it before he was suddenly holding nothing but air. He blinked, his mind not quite processing what had happened.

Mariku, who was sitting across from him, now had a French fry -- which he did not order any in the first place, mind you -- and was grinning happily at it, eyes shining. He opened his mouth and got ready to shove the fattening morsel in, when he was suddenly slapped on the back of the head. He yelped and then started to whine like a newborn that was about to start a crying fit. A loud one.

Bakura was glaring at him, his former thanks for the other forgotten for the moment, and his irritation from earlier back. "Don't take his food, stupid." he snapped, before going back to glaring at everyone else.

Ah, the joys of Bakura.

Ryou blinked at the other fair-haired male, not having expected that outburst. The other sure was an enigma... He was a heartless jerk one minute, then the next he was sleeping like a baby cuddled up to a stuffed bunny plushie! But... thankfully, he seemed to be starting to come out of his shell. And Bakura, dare he admit it, stuck up for him! Yeah, sure it was just a stupid French-fry... but that wasn't the point.

At least he wasn't being a heartless jerk. Ryou certainly liked him better that way, and he would have liked the whole situation a lot better if the two were going to be staying with him another night. He wasn't even sure why he was considering this, but he was. Besides... Yuugi was right. They couldn't just leave these guys without a place to stay, right?

But then again... they had gotten their things back... didn't that mean that they also got their money back, as well? So now they would be able to get their own place to stay at. This both comforted Ryou and made him feel odd. After staying a night with Mariku and Bakura, he almost wasn't sure he wanted to stay at home... all alone. Even though they seemed to cause nothing but trouble, Ryou wasn't alone in the house. And he had something other than reading or thinking to do.

Yeah, thinking was nice, but that seemed to be the only thing that he had to occupy himself with! And that was almost enough to drive him insane. And he certainly didn't want to end up like Mariku.

But... maybe it was best that they get a hotel or something. But still... he couldn't help but feel lonely. Even now, when he was surrounded by his long-time friends and three complete strangers, along with hundreds of other people eating and talking and walking by and living their owns lives. Yes... maybe it was for the best... after all, he was supposed to be mad at Mariku. That man had taken away what he wanted most -- what he needed most.

Malik.

But, for some reason, that didn't hurt as much as he thought it should. He'd just had his dreams of a future love life brutally shattered, right? Wasn't he supposed to get all depressed and lock himself in his room and watch soap operas while eating self-purchased boxed chocolate?

He gasped and let out a small yelp of surprise when something unexpectedly knocked him in the head. "Hey!" he shouted, rubbing the offended spot, trying to rid it of the stinging. Okay, so it hadn't really hurt, but it didn't feel good, either! Jounouchi laughed a bit nervously.

"Hey, sorry, didn't mean to hurtcha," he apologized, lifting a hand to rub the back of his own head (though sheepishly instead of pained), mussing up the blonde locks even more than previously.

Ryou pouted, eyebrows creasing. "Then why did you?" he asked, even though, as previously stated, it did really hurt much.

The other grinned, reaching out and tapping the white-haired teen's nose -- gently this time. "Because! You were zoning out real bad. Been calling your name a good few times, and you didn't even notice! You were starting to worry me." he explained, though he obviously hadn't been that worried.

Ryou glanced down at his cooled food and felt his face heat slightly. Had he really been that wrapped up in his own thoughts...? He glanced up, his hair shading his face. "Sorry," he answered. "What was it you needed, anyway?"

The blonde's grin widened and he leaned over the table, snaking an arm around the other's neck. He leaned in further, forcing Ryou to rise up out of his seat a bit to keep from getting his head pulled off. "Well," Jounouchi began slyly, "I was just wondering if you were gonna eat your food. Because it's a mighty big shame to let it get too cold..."

"That's our Jounouchi! Always thinking with his stomach." Yuugi smiled, finding the whole thing highly amusing. To his right sat the ever-treasured flowerpot, and to his left sat Yami, who was now working on his drink. The food here really was delicious! The food back on Althasia was meant to give the body protein and nutrition, and wasn't very big on appealing taste... But the food here seemed to be the opposite.

You can pretty much guess which one he preferred.

The honey-eyed male waved his hand in Yuugi's direction, as if saying he didn't mind the comment at all. "Best thing to think with!" he countered, before turning back to Ryou. "So, you gonna eat that?"

The paler of the two made a face, before shaking his head. "Take it. I'm not really as hungry as I thought I was." And he was finally let go of and allowed to sit back down. When his rear made contact with the chair, he let out a sigh, tipping his head back. Jounouchi was a good friend, and could always be counted as a loyal companion, but... Ryou like him better when the other wasn't hanging onto him. No offense meant to him at all, but he smelled like a guy who hadn't changed his shirt in days.

Malik had yet to say a word. He just sat at the corner of the table, not really looking at anyone, and looking deep in thought. Ryou frowned. 'Why didn't they hit him instead of me?' But that thought slid away quickly as he realized he was staring right into the other's lilac eyes. He looked away as fast as he could, not even wanting to see his ex-crush's eyes. He was still pretty miffed at him, anyways.

Then a very un-Jounouchi-like scent wafted his way. He lifted his head and glanced around, wondering where it was coming from. It smelled good. Like, really good. It couldn't be himself -- he wouldn't have been able to smell it, it if was him that smelled... good or bad. It was almost like... cream. Or something cold and refreshing on a hot day. Like a malt... or something. It was hard to describe. He was just about to ask if anyone else smelled it, when he was interrupted by an exclamation.

"We should have a party!"

Well... was that really worth interrupting his smell-question for? Ryou thought not. And plus, he wasn't big on parties.

But then Yuugi agreed happily.

"That sounds great, Jounouchi! It should be a sleepover, though. Those are a lot more fun."

And why was everyone agreeing to this? Well, everyone save Malik and Bakura. But that was because the former was still in his own little bubble world, while the latter was just constantly pissy.

"If Grampa and Mom say it's okay, we could have it at my house!" the short teen continued, looking excited. And as much as Ryou didn't like being alone, he suddenly didn't feel like being around anyone. He just wanted to figure out what that delicious smell was.

"Right on! Malik, Ryou and I'll meet you there in an hour!" Jounouchi volunteered, not even asking if it was okay with them.

And so, here he was; dragged into something he didn't want to do.

Again.

Figures.

---

A man sat in a wheeled-chair, his feet resting up in the table in a highly informal manner. He had his hands behind his head in a very lazy-like fashion, eyes dropped in either boredom or exhaustion; it was hard to tell. Those eyes started to slide shut, body relaxing further. Today was slow, so what would it harm if he took a small nap? He continued to crawl into a light sleep, when something landed on his face. His eyes jerked open, and he swatted at the tickling sensation. A small frizz of white-blonde hair floated down to his shirt, where it made its new home. He frowned. He certainly didn't have blonde hair, at least not last time he checked. Which was no longer than an hour ago. (He'd been trying to impress the woman working in the department above his. She was such a cutie!)

He looked up, and promptly fell over in his chair, letting out a shout as a very loud bang issued forth. He grasped his heart as he looked around, noticing the filter had fallen off the vent. The dark-haired man continued to breath roughly, trying to assure himself that, had there been an actual emergency, he wouldn't have pissed his pants like he almost had just then. He then got angry at the damn thing for startling him so badly in the first place. It had probably come off because of bad installation, or something. It hadn't been too long ago that they'd gotten new vent-cages.

But then another few hairs flew in his face as he went to inspect the evil thing. He almost girlishly flailed his hand, like most people would with a bug.

Okay, this was ridiculous.

He growled softly to himself. "Damn hair... who the hell has blonde hair?"

But it was then that he noticed the screws lying on the carpet. He picked one up and turned it all angles for his eyes to see. He frowned. Nothing wrong with them. They looked normal; not too small -- which is why he figured they had come out in the first place. He looked up to the open vent. The air-conditioning was on, and it was causing cold air to blast through the said vent.

Another hair fell out.

"What the hell?" he asked no one, now confused and intrigued. He turned and grabbed his chair, wheeling it over so that he could stand on it and check this out. He couldn't really see much of anything, but after a few more seconds, he spotted a rather large clump of hair. It looked like it was caught on something.

A chunk flew off and smacked him in the face.

"That's it," he growled, getting off the chair, hand touching the table just to the left of being directly under the vent. He hissed and took his hand back. He'd placed it on something sharp. After he looked down to see why, he noticed some dirt on it.

And a footprint.

His eyes widened. Common sense was enough to tell anyone what had happened.

And so, he promptly turned, leaving the room, quick ready to inform others that he thought there was an escaped man up in the vents.

---

Thu sipped her coffee, obviously not caring very much when the man from the other end of the station came running up to her, hair mussed and out of breath.

"I think there's someone in the vents!" he said quickly. The people in the general area looked over, some startled, others rolling their eyes.

This guy was always paranoid.

The brown-haired woman set her cup down, crossing her legs. She stared at the man before her. "You know, uh," he paused, forgetting the man's name. He was from America, but didn't have blonde hair or blue eyes to show for it. The one time they had talked, he'd rambled on and on about how he had some Russian blood in him or something. Psht. Like she really cared.

"Sean." he answered, not missing a beat.

Thu cleared her throat, shrugging her shoulders. "Yes, Sean... You know, when you go around saying things like this all the time --"

"But I have proof this time!" he interrupted, looking almost... proud. And scared. Poor guy. He seemed to be trying to impress her.

The woman nodded, glancing over. "Okay... care to tell me?" she urged, though she didn't really look too interested. Idly, she thought that maybe she should suggest he be moved to another section of town...

"Well, there was this blonde hair in the vent! And the vent filter was pushed off its hinges, and, and," he said, trying to think of some more information. Thu actually looked a bit more concerned now. And he suddenly felt stupid. "Oh! And of course... how could I forget? There was this dirty footprint on the table next to it..."

Well, honestly, it had really been more of a... clean spot. Since the table had been so dusty to begin with. But the footprint had had some dirt and stuff that had come off on the table, so it could be considered dirty...? Oh, well. Maybe it was a good thing no one ever cleaned that table. Otherwise, the situation wouldn't be what it was at the very moment.

The dark-haired female nodded, frowning slightly. Then she leaned back in her chair, her computer making a few soft whirring noises from beside her. "But why would someone wander all the way into your side of the building just to climb into the vent?" she asked. It was possible, but... she wanted to make sure it was also logical.

Sean blinked, then pressed his teeth together, his jaw stiffening because of this. "Well, my section has the mainframe computer system with all the importa--"

Thu stood up. Something in her mind had clicked, and she suddenly saw the image of Mariku, smiling innocently at her, as he was lead to the bathroom. And how he had been in the restroom way too long. 'Way too long' being just long enough for an expert hacker to get into the locked computer files and change a few things. She quickly grabbed the front of Sean's shirt, dragging him off. He sputtered, stumbling slightly but kept his awkward footing as he followed. What was Thu doing! His face flushed slightly. She was almost touching him... He could feel her thin fingers against his chest.

By the time they got to the bathrooms, Sean had a semi-retarded look on his face, but snapped out of it quickly as the woman dragging him along practically stormed into the men's restroom.

Dignity and moral values be damned; she was going to see for herself if there was really a connection.

"Wh-what are you doing!" he asked, completely shocked. Why was she... and he... both in the men's restroom?

There was a man at a urinal who glanced over his shoulder when he heard the ruckus. His eyes widened as he saw the woman (and fellow officer) in there, and quickly zipped himself up, muttering something as he left. He didn't even wash his hands. Ew.

Thu pushed Sean up against the wall, and his mind suddenly filled with some naughty images. Or stuff he'd seen in movies. This was like... a very weird fantasy, almost! But she didn't seem to share his imaginative views and left him against the wall as she threw open the stall, looking into each one. When she got to the last one, her eyes narrowed.

There was a pair of dirty, and slightly smudged footprints on the toilet seat. And right above that, was a crooked-looking vent-cover, the screws just barely hanging in enough to keep it there.

"Sean, would you mind getting the chief, please? I think he'd like to know about this..."

---

Yuugi ran downstairs when he heard the all-too familiar ring of someone walking into the shop. He was quite obviously excited about having a sleepover, since he'd rarely had any. Yami had stayed in the living room, sitting on the chair Yuugi had slept in. He was holding the television remote in his hand, hitting the channel-change buttons, watching in a bored-yet-intrigued way at everything that the outdated (for him anyway,) piece of technology had to offer. He stopped and turned when he heard voices and saw Jounouchi walk in, a worn overnight bag in tow and hanging over his shoulder. He grinned at Yami, waving at him. The prince smiled and waved back. The blonde was a truly nice man. Yami could tell already that he had a good heart and was a loyal friend.

Behind him came Ryou, who looked a bit nervous, but at the same time content. Yami stood up, setting the remote down. He stretched a little before moving to greet them. It was only polite, after all.

Mariku came in behind Ryou, holding a very large bag in his arms. Bakura was behind him, grumbling about something that sounded suspiciously like, "stupid pack-mule".

Yuugi was about to ask if Malik was going to be coming, since the Egyptian didn't seem to be with the group at all, or even remotely close behind them, but then he noticed something.

Yami looked uneasy.

The younger boy blinked at him, quite confused. The Althasian was staring straight at the television, like it was ready to jump at him and attack or something. Yuugi turned, eyeing the screen. On it was a news report, and the woman who was talking said that there were three escaped men who were possibly armed and dangerous.

Yuugi smiled, placing a hand on Yami's arm. "It's okay. These things are usually cleared up in a day or two. And they never really happen around our area or anything."

But that didn't seem to quell the prince's look at all. In fact, he turned away from the screen, starting to move away from Yuugi as well. The boy... he was so kind, but he had no idea what was going on.

"Yami..." Yuugi began, a bit hurt that he'd been blown off like that. He was just trying to help, after all, and --

"The names that they go by are Oumono Yami, Touzoukuou Bakura, and Bahir Mariku."

That certainly shut the room up pretty fast. Yuugi, Ryou, and Jounouchi were staring at the three convicted criminals with wide eyes, all of which were unbelieving and shocked.

Yami, Bakura, and Mariku all looked like they just got caught with their hands in the metaphorical cookie jar.

.: Chapter end :.

Grr. I stayed up for hours typing this. I checked the first half, but rushed the second. I hope it's suitable! I also tried to make it a bit longer-ish to make up for other chapters? Ugh.

Anyway, sorry for the long span of no updating... Almost lost our internet because of money problems. But it looks like we're going to get to keep it for a while longer. (Yey!)

I'll try to get the next chapter out quicker! Again, sorry for the wait...

-Cecilia

EDIT: xD I would like to thank Andyouthinkimcrazy, since they alerted me to the fact that Mariku did, indeed, take off his boots beforehand. Whee. Thanks a bunch! I probably wouldn't have ever noticed that at all... Silly me! It's fixed, now. And I looked over this chapter, fixing any type-os that were in it (or that I could find anyways). If any of you guys see errors, let me know! It helps a lot. Thanks!