The Ties That Bind Us

By:

Mystwalker

A/N: There's going to be a bit of a time skip this chapter. Also, the first update of a series of one-shots called Tied Together will be up fairly soon. It'll be a companion fic to this story and will feature all of the funny things that happen with Amane, Ryou, Bakura, and Marik that played out in my head but that can't go here because this story has an actual plot.

So if you like silly things, watch for that.

Regarding Shizuka's name, her official name is actually Shizuka Kawai, not Katsuya, because she takes their mom's name while Jou takes their dad's.

Disclaimer: I don't own Yugioh.

XxXxX

The shadow moved across the room, slashing out at her. She followed it, blades flashing as she blocked his blows with the knife in her own hand. She saw him smirk, his grin reflecting light in the darkness of the room as he jumped back. She jumped after him, her eyes narrowed in determination as she landed neatly on the ground, launching into a run. The figure took a step back, attempting to move away from the wall, but it left an opening. She saw it immediately and moved to take advantage of it, her right arm lashing out like a whip.

Light reflected on the blade in her hand as it arced into the air, stabbing down. The figure grabbed her wrist and pulled, and her blade skittered off to the side, stabbing into the stone wall behind him. Without hesitating, she raised her free hand, her second knife going to his throat.

Lightning flashed, illuminating the shrine and she froze, staring down at her target.

Bakura stared up at her, a smirk on his face. Her knife stopped just millimeters away from his neck. The lightning reflected off the glow of the Millennium Items around him.

He smirked at her, then dissolved into sand, slipping through her fingers.

"NO!" she shouted, dropping her knives and falling to her knees.

A roar sounded from outside the shrine, flames entering the building and setting it ablaze.

Amane awoke with a start, gasping for breath.

She opened her eyes. She was lying on a futon on the floor, staring up at the ceiling. The glow of the street light outside lit the room. The girl took a deep breath, running her hand through her sweat-soaked hair. She raised her hand up, staring at it. The cuff of the shirt she was wearing slid down somewhat, exposing part of the scar she was trying to hide. She raised her other hand, tracing the familiar lines and taking deep breaths to calm herself down.

With a groan, she rolled over onto her side, closing her eyes and trying to get back to sleep.

XxXxX

Marik awoke to the sound of the doorbell ringing and the smell of pancakes emanating from the kitchen. He rolled over with a start, cursing as he fell off the couch and hit his head on the carpeted floor. The Egyptian boy sat up, rubbing his head with his hand as he disentangled himself from his blankets. He had spent most of the night tossing and turning due to jetlag, and it felt as though he had just fallen asleep.

The doorbell rang again.

"Marik, can you get that?" called Ryou from the kitchen.

Marik got to his feet, tossing the blanket haphazardly onto the couch and walking over to the door. He pulled it open with one hand, squinting into the sudden glare of the sun. "What?" he asked.

The brown-haired girl standing outside gasped, taking a step back and raising her hand to her mouth. Her hazel eyes were wide. He recognized her as Jounouchi's sister, from Battle City. Marik frowned, glancing from her to the mirror behind him. His hair was unkempt from tossing and turning through the night, and it was standing on end in places. He muttered a curse under his breath, raising his hand and attempting to smooth it back down.

"Relax. It's just me," he said.

It probably wasn't much of a comfort, considering he was the only hikari out of the yami-hikari pairs that was not completely innocent of last week's events. And then there was the fact that his dark side had not been his past incarnation, or some spirit sealed into a Millennium Item. It had been something born out of his soul. But whatever she thought about it, she hesitantly stepped into the house anyway, slipping her shoes off and putting them aside. She was dressed in the pink and blue uniform of Domino High School.

"Shizuka, right?" he asked, watching her.

"Ah, yes," she said, nervously tucking a strand of hair behind her ear. "Um—Ryou-kun said I could come over. I have a uniform for—."

"Nii-chan, who's at the door?" asked a voice from the top of the stairs.

Marik and Shizuka both looked up. Amane stood at the top of the stairs, dressed in an oversized long-sleeved shirt and sweatpants that obviously didn't belong to her. She leaned against the stair rail, rubbing her eyes with her hand as she looked at Marik and Shizuka. Her thick white hair was sleep-tousled, sticking up at odd angles around her head and making her look vaguely like a white Kuriboh. Despite the fact that she looked like she had suffered from jet lag as badly as he had, her green eyes were alert.

Ryou poked his head out of the kitchen. He was already dressed for school, a light blue apron on over his uniform. It was dusted lightly with flour, as were the tips of his fingers. He wiped them off with a rag as he looked up at her. "Shizuka Kawai, the girl I was telling you about. She brought a uniform for you." Ryou turned towards her, smiling. "Come in, Shizuka-san. Breakfast is just about ready."

Shizuka bowed politely at Amane. "It's nice to meet you, Bakura-san."

Amane made a face, walking down the stairs. "Amane, please," she said. "Bakura's what they call my brother."

"Not lately," said Ryou with a sigh, stepping back as the three of them entered the kitchen. "That's gone to my yami now."

"That just makes it worse!"

Shizuka smiled. "Then…Amane-chan?" she asked.

"That'll do," said Amane.

Bakura stepped out onto the landing, looking down the stairs. Like Ryou, he was dressed in the dark blue school uniform of Domino High school, but unlike Ryou, his jacket hung open, and his bag was lazily slung over one shoulder. He stared down at them, frowning as his eyes landed on Shizuka.

"Oh," he said. "It's the loudmouth's sister."

"Good—good morning, Bakura-kun," said Shizuka, smiling tentatively.

Bakura glanced at her as he reached the bottom of the stairs, then replied with a shrug. He walked into the kitchen. "What's for breakfast?" he asked.

"Pancakes," replied Ryou, slipping his apron off and setting it aside.

Amane looked up. "Pancakes?" she asked.

Ryou smiled, looking over at her. "Strawberry pancakes," he said.

"I love you!" said Amane, running over to the table. Marik watched as Ryou placed a plate in front of her, a frown on his face. "Favorite food?" he asked.

"Favorite food," replied Ryou with a nod.

Amane grinned, reaching for the bottle of chocolate syrup and squirting it onto her pancakes. Marik grimaced, taking a seat in front of her. "You're going to make yourself sick," he said.

"I don't care," said Amane. "I haven't had chocolate in seven years."

"I honestly don't see the appeal," said Marik with a frown, picking up a knife and spreading a small amount of butter over his own pancakes. Amane frowned, looking up at him from over her plate.

"…There's something wrong with you," she said after a while, going back to eating.

"You have no idea," said Bakura, walking up to the table. He stared down at the plate in front of his seat, scowling. "Hikari, why does my food have pink spots in it?"

"They're strawberries, Yami," said Ryou, sitting down. "Just eat."

Bakura picked up his fork, poking uncertainly at the pancakes as he frowned down at them. He took a small bite, frowning for a moment as he considered it. Apparently satisfied, he speared an entire pancake onto the fork, turning it over and taking a large bite. Ryou sighed, taking his own seat across from Bakura and turning towards Shizuka, who stood uncertainly at the edge of the table. "Help yourself, Shizuka-san," he offered.

"Ah, thank you," said Shizuka. The one empty seat at the table was between Bakura and Marik. Shizuka eyed it uncertainly before taking a deep breath, pulling it out and sitting down. She reached for the large plate at the center of the table, taking a single pancake.

"I actually already ate, but it looks so good. I think I can have one," she said.

"I'm glad," said Ryou, smiling.

"I didn't know you could cook, Ryou-kun," said Shizuka.

Amane looked up, wiping her mouth with her napkin. "Yeah," she said. "When did you learn how to cook anyway?"

Ryou smiled sheepishly, scratching the back of his head. "Ah, well…I lived alone for a while and eventually got tired of take-out. Plus it was getting expensive, so…"

"He does all the cooking and cleaning," said Marik, glancing at Bakura. "And what do you do that's useful?"

"Get rid of unwanted house guests," replied Bakura, smirking at Marik and raising his knife slightly.

"You can try," said Marik, ignoring him and going back to his meal.

Between them, Shizuka shifted uncomfortably, staring between the two of them.

Ryou sighed, pushing his food around his plate with his fork. "Don't worry, Shizuka-san," he said. "They won't actually start something."

"Yes, don't worry," said Bakura with a smirk, going back to his plate. "I have fairly good aim. I doubt I'd hit you at all, unless my hand were to slip."

Shizuka let out a small 'eep', staring down nervously at her plate.

"Yami!" said Ryou.

Bakura's laugh echoed throughout the kitchen.

XxXxX

An hour and a half later, the five of them were walking into Domino High School. Marik tugged uncertainly at the uniform jacket Ryou had lent him. Like Bakura, he wore it with the jacket open. Amane walked beside her brother, tugging uncertainly at her borrowed uniform. Amane was slightly smaller than Shizuka, and although the uniform still fit, it was slightly loose on her.

"Sorry," said Shizuka from beside her. "You should get your own uniform today."

"No, it's fine," said Amane, frowning. "I'm used to loose clothes. But why is it pink?"

Bakura sniggered, and Amane shot him a glare. "Well, you try wearing it," she said.

"No thanks," said Bakura. "Marik might want to though."

"Hey!" shouted Marik from behind Bakura.

Amane giggled, covering her mouth with her hand. Shizuka smiled from beside her. "I think it's cute," she said. "But you're right. For a uniform, it feels like a bit much sometimes."

"Amane, our classrooms are down this hall," said Ryou as they entered the building. "The freshman classrooms are back there. Now, are you sure—."

Amane rolled her eyes, resting her hand on her waist. "Onii-chan, I survived in Ancient Egypt. I think I can get around a school building. Besides, I've been to school before."

"Yes, but that was primary school in England. This is different," said Ryou.

"Don't worry, Ryou-kun. I'll help her out," said Shizuka. "Amane-chan, what class are you in?"

Amane frowned, taking out the piece of paper they had handed her at the office and looking down at her schedule. "1-C, why?" she asked.

"That's my class too," said Shizuka, grinning.

"What? Really?" asked Amane, turning towards her. "Great!"

"Well, we're in 2-B if you need us," said Ryou. "I'll see you after class."

He turned, about to walk down the hallway. Shizuka frowned, staring down the hall. A group of students stood at the end, their backs to them. One of them had blond hair.

"That's my brother," she said to Amane, pointing him out. "I want to go over and say hi first, if that's alright with you."

"It's fine," said Amane, nodding. She frowned, staring at the boy. Another boy stood beside him, his back towards her. He was slightly shorter than Shizuka's brother, and wore the dark blue school uniform. His hair stood up in a familiar tri-colored shape.

She tugged on Bakura's sleeve. He glanced down at her.

"Is that…?"

His eyes followed her line of sight and he frowned, nodding once.

Amane's frown deepened. "Thought so," she said. She took a deep breath, then moved past Ryou, running quickly down the hallway. Ryou's eyes widened.

"Amane!" he said, reaching out a hand to stop her. She slipped out of his grasp, stopping just behind the boy. Amane drew back her foot, kicking him squarely in the small of his back. The Pharaoh stumbled forward, surprised.

"That was for sending me back like that, you jerk!" she shouted angrily.

He turned around to face her, his eyes widening in surprise. "A-Amani…" he said.

"Hm." She folded her arms sternly, glaring down at him. Atem straightened up, his eyes wide.

"What—What are you doing here?" he asked.

"What do you think I'm doing here?" asked Amane. "You sent me back yourself!"

"You said you were from England!" said Atem. "I may have just gotten my memories back, but I remember you saying something about it."

"I am from England!" said Amane, scowling.

"Amane, what in blazes is going on?" asked Ryou, jogging down the hallway to catch up with her. Bakura followed slowly behind him, standing on Amane's other side with a frown on his face as he looked at Atem. Atem glanced from Ryou to Bakura and back to Amane, growing comprehension in his eyes. Shizuka and Marik hung back, watching.

"What's goin' on, Atem?" asked Jounouchi, frowning. "How come you know Ryou's sister?"

"Ryou's sister…" repeated Atem, glancing from Bakura to Amane again.

"I forgot to mention," said Amane. "My real name is Amane Bakura."

Atem stared, a sudden look of shocked understanding on his face. Bakura stared at him for a moment, before reaching out, placing his hand on Amane's shoulder.

"Tch," he said, turning her around and leading her back down the hallway. Ryou's eyes widened and he turned, starting after them.

"Will one of you please tell me what on earth is going on?" he asked, following them back down the hallway. Shizuka bit her lip, a worried expression on her face as she watched them.

Marik watched them as well, his expression contemplative. He slowly folded his arms.

XxXxX

Amane stood on the rooftop overlooking the schoolyard, her hands on the railing in front of her. She closed her eyes, feeling the wind running through her hair. It was pleasantly cool, a nice change from living in the desert for seven years, where the only time the weather would get like this would be in the evenings or in the very early mornings. Ryou had a meeting with a teacher about something, and had told her to wait so that they could walk home together, but Amane had never liked staying in one place for too long.

She heard the door to the roof open, someone knocking three times on the doorframe.

"Can we talk?"

She opened her eyes and sighed, her hands slipping to her sides. She didn't turn around. The voice was familiar, although it felt weird to hear that voice speak this language. "I don't know…" she said, quietly. "Is it going to end like our last one?"

Behind her, the Pharaoh sighed, walking up to stand next to her. He rested his arms on the railing, leaning forward and looking out over the school. For a while, he didn't say anything. Amane glanced over at him, clenching her fists.

It may have been three thousand years for him, but the memory of what had happened back then was still a very fresh wound for her.

"I'm sorry…" said Atem, after a while. "I had no idea. If I'd known…"

"Save it," said Amane curtly, cutting him off. "You were completely rational. He was a threat. It was my job to eliminate threats. I was standing there in that damned shrine with him under my knife and I let him go. You were well within your rights to banish me for that. Hell, you would have been well within your rights to execute me for that. Set certainly wanted you to."

"You could have said he was your brother."

"And then what?" asked Amane. "If I said that, Set would have had me executed on the spot and you wouldn't have been able to stop him. It was my fault. I had the chance to kill him and I chose to let him go. So leave it at that."

"I just wanted to explain…" said Atem.

"There's nothing to explain," said Amane, cutting him off.

"Fine," said Atem, stepping away from her. "I won't bother you anymore."

Silence fell over them for a few moments.

Amane sighed.

"I was standing right there," she said, as Atem walked away.

Atem stopped, glancing back at her. "You don't have to tell me," he said.

"I want to," she said, not looking at him. She clenched her fists tighter, hating the way her voice broke at that moment. "I was right there, hiding behind one of the pillars. I had the knife in my hand, and I saw him come in, with all those Items. I knew what he was going to do. And I thought to myself…I can do this. He's not even really my brother. He'll be dead soon anyway. I killed my mentor—how much harder could this be? And then he stopped, and he looked at me. And I tried…I really tried…but in the end, none of my reasons worked. I couldn't do it. It didn't matter that he wasn't exactly onii-chan. For three years, he was my brother. He was still my brother."

She took a deep breath. "I couldn't. I was weak…"

"There is nothing weak about loving your family," said Atem slowly, reaching over and placing a hand on her arm. She tensed, and it was all she could do to not recoil. "…No matter who they are."

Amane took a shuddering breath. She wouldn't cry, she told herself. Not here, and not in front of him.

"…I was wrong to treat you so harshly back then," he said.

She shook her head. "I'm grateful," she said. "Grateful to be back here, and that everything turned out alright in the end."

"Yes, but it could certainly have been handled better," said Atem with a frown. "You didn't deserve the things I said to you back then. I hope you can forgive me."

Amane frowned, staring down at the school yard in front of her. "…There's nothing to forgive," she said. "But I can't be the Shadow anymore."

"I don't need the Shadow anymore," said Atem, smiling tentatively at her. "However, I could always use another friend."

Amane said nothing for a while, continuing to look down at the schoolyard.

The door opened again.

"Cut it short, Pharaoh," said a familiar voice from the doorway. "My light's looking for her."

Atem nodded. "I'll see you tomorrow," he said, releasing her arm. She exhaled, pushing herself away from the railing and taking a step back. Bakura stood leaning against the doorframe, his arms folded as he watched them. Amane turned to walk towards him and Atem turned to watch her go, his hand still on the railing.

When she reached Bakura, she hesitated, turning around to face him.

"Pharaoh," she said, causing him to look up. "Friends?" she asked.

Atem smiled, nodding once. "Call me Atem," he said. "Everyone does. See you tomorrow, Amani."

Amane grinned. "Amane," she corrected, nodding once and walking down the stairs. Bakura let the door close behind her, following her.