Hey everyone! Sorry that it took me FOREVER to update this x_x I got most of it done at the beginning of summer, but then suddenly I was really busy and forgot... so the ending was kind rushed and fails.

And thanks to the two people who reviewed this story. It makes me happy inside ;-; -sniff-

Disclaimer: I do NOT own Yu Gi Oh. Wanna buy it for me? :'D

Eight years seemed to go by much faster then they needed to for Ryou, considering that he had spent most of them alone. His father had given up on him two years after Ryou's mother and Amane's death. His exscuse for leaving- going to Egypt for archeology crap or whatever. Ryou's hardly ever visited, all he did was send Ryou money for food. Ryou knew why his father abandoned him, he was afraid of him.

Ryou sat up in his bed and pulled off his pajama shirt. He grabbed his ring and one hand a trailed his tumb over the eye. This Ring was the reason for all his problems. The reason his mother and sister were dead and his father didn't want anything to do with him. But despite all this, it was the only thing that kept him sane.

More like crazy. Now get up and get ready for school- today is your last day of being eighteen. Your last day of freedom, so get your ass out of bed!

Ryou was surprised at first by the Ring's outspeaking. Sometimes it went for months without saying a word. But today was his last day. He would get to see Marik again…

All you ever think about is Marik these days. Marik this, Marik that. You think so highly about him, even though he practically kidnapped you when you were a kid, then bribed you into selling your soul to him!

"You don't know anything about him," Ryou spoke aloud, climbing out of bed. He pulled on a white tee over his Ring, then slipped on his school's uniform jacket and pants. It was a true statement, the Ring had claimed before that he could not remember anything of that night.

Maybe not, but I do know that he's no good. That rod he had… it's powerful. He's powerful. You may think Marik is doing you a favor, but there has got to be a loophole… just remember that of midnight, you belong to him.

"It can't be that bad. All I'm doing is going to hell," He replied, almost sarcastically. Ryou was now heading into the kitchen, running his fingers through his hair and grabbing his bag off the counter. He often retold himself the story of him meeting Marik to himself outloud, that is why the Ring knew of the rod. "Why are you being so talkative today?"

Because I'm wondering what will happen to me after this. Will I go to hell with you, or will I just dissapear completely? By the way, you should grab something to eat. You are way to skinny. You look like a girl.

"Hmm. I didn't know you cared," Ryou mumbled, grabbing a granola bar from the pantry and jogging out the door. "Now don't expect me to talk to you today, I don't want to weird anyone out,"

It's not like you'll be seeing any of them again for a long time.

Ryou hadn't put much thought into that. He didn't have many friends, though he did hang around Yuugi, Tea, Joey and Tristan. They didn't really like him much though, Joey often called him stupid for saying something that perhaps went against his opinions. Tea was nice to everyone so she didn't count, and Tristan was… Tristan. Yuugi was the only one who he really considered his friend. Yuugi liked games just like Ryou, and talked to Ryou about things that were hard to talk about with others, like the death of his mother and sister, or his father's disappearance.

I hate to burst your bubble, yandonushi, but you're going to be late to school.

Ryou's eyes widened in alarm and he looked at the watch on his wrist. He gasped. He was going to be late to school! The time read 7:45 am, and it took atleast thirty minutes for him to walk to school. Ryou picked up a brisk run and headed down the sidewalk, panting after only a minute of running.

"I really do need to get in shape," He muttered to himself, stopping to catch his breath. He didn't notice the rumble on an engine in the distance.

Mmhmm. Fat reserves energy… wait, what's that noise?

The rumbling was getting closer, and Ryou turned to see a motorcycle approaching him. Ryou blinked in confusion as the motorcyle slowed up next to him. Its rider tapped their fingers against the handlebars before removing their helmet.

Ryou gasped in shock.

The rider seemed to be a near mirror image of Marik. He had the same smooth bronze skin and sand blonde hair, but his hair was not spiked as Marik's had been. It was straight and long, cut into many layers. He wore a Domino City Highschool uniform, but his jacket was not buttoned with the sleeves rolled up and he wore a tight white tee under it that revealed some of his midriff. His eyes were violet, not as dark as Marik's but still captivating. His neck and arms were adorned with gold cuff-like jewelry and spiked gold earrings hung from his lobes.

I can't believe it yandonushi, we finally found someone even girlier than you.

Ryou ignored the Ring's comment and stared in awe at the man. He just smirked up at the pale boy, eyes shining.

"I assume you need a ride?" He said, his voice not deep like Marik's, but possibly more seductive. Though his Japanese seemed fluent, he had a strange, foreign accent.

"Uhh… y-yeah I guess, b-but I really shouldn't be taking rides from strangers…" Ryou managed to mumble, his face flushed.

The man smiled genuinely, is teeth white and perfect. "Then consider me not a stranger anymore." He held out a bronze hand. "My name is Malik. I recently moved here from Egypt and this is my first day attending your school,"

Ryou gripped Malik's hand. It was warm and strong. He shook it briefly before pulling away and smiling shyly. "I'm Ryou Bakura. It's nice to meet you, Malik,"

The name seems familiar. You say that this boy resembles Marik, hmm? I'm surprised that you can even remember what he looks like…

Ryou bit his lip for a moment before looking back up at Malik, who's eyes seemed to flash for a moment with some unknown emotion, and was staring at something beyond Ryou, before he returned to his genuine smile and polite gaze.

"Hop on, Ryou. I'm sure you don't want to be late," He said, gesturing to the seat behind him.

Ryou did as he was told and sat behind Malik, mildly uncomfortable. He watched as Malik threw his helmet behind a random tree and revved up the engine. "Umm… no helmets, I assume?" Ryou said, nervous.

Malik turned his head to look at Ryou and grinned. "Nah. I was only wearing that before 'cause my sister made me. You'll be fine though. Just hold on tight,"

Ryou wrapped his arms awkwardly around Malik's waist as Malik moved the motorcycle forward. Soon they were traveling down the streets quickly, weaving in and out of cars and getting honked at by these other drivers. They were even flipped off a few times. Poor Ryou was scared out of his wits, holding on to Malik for dear life.

"You okay back there, Ryou?" Malik asked over the roar of the engine.

"I'd be lying if I said yes!"

Malik chuckled and focused back on the driving. They arrived at the school five minutes till eight. Ryou climbed off the motorcycle as fast as he could, legs feeling shaky. "T-thanks for the ride, Malik," He mumbled, moving on to the sidewalk.

"No problem! I gotta go park this thing, so I'll catch ya later," Malik replied cheerfully, driving off into the school's parking lot.

There's something strange about that kid.

Ryou mentally agreed. First of all, his resemblance to Marik had to be more than a coincidence. That name, Malik, was also so familiar, but Ryou couldn't remember why. That night many years ago seemed like a dream. You always had to struggle to keep it in your memory.

"Eh! Ryou!" A voice called.

Ryou turned on his heels to see Joey, Yuugi, Tristan and Tea heading towards him at a brisk pace. Ryou crinkled his nose up briefly in confusion. He wondered why they were actually approaching him when they usually just ignored him.

Joey came up to Ryou and put a hand on his bony shoulders. "Dude, why were you on a motorcycle?" His brown eyes sparkled with interest and he looked on to the parking lot where Malik had exited to.

Ryou sighed. He figured that the only reason they were interested is because of that little show. He looked around. Other students were staring at him too, in curiousity.

"I was running late and I was offered a ride," Ryou muttered, not meeting Joey's eyes.

He could literally feel Joey frowning as he pulled his hand away. Perhaps that was not that answer he had wanted. Not interesting enough for him.

Yuugi stepped forward, those amythest eyes staring up at him in wide concern. "You really shouldn't take rides from strangers, Ryou, it's not safe,"

"He's not a stranger," Ryou replied, blinking. "He recently transferred here from Egypt, he's a new student,"

"Man, he's Egpytian and he's got a badass motorcycle!" Tristan said enthusiastically, "This guy's got to be really tough!"

He could not be farther from the truth.

Ryou chuckled inwardly, he couldn't help but agree. A mental image of Malik flashed in his head. The boy certainly was girly looking.

Suddenly the school bell rang and the other students turned and headed inside, abandoning Ryou. Ryou scowled and rolled his eyes before heading after them.

The morning went by slowly for Ryou. It was the same boring routine for him. Turn in his homework. Be praised by teacher. Watch Joey get scolded at for not doing his homework. Sit at desk in boredom.

The only interesting part was when he doodled in class. But it wasn't really him doodling, it was the Ring. He let the Ring take control of his dominant hand and watched as it drawed mindlessly across a piece of lined paper. The Ring drew fairly good things, and they were captivating. Today he drew someone who looked like Ryou himself, but he was dressed in mostly black and his hair was a tad bit messier. Dark feathered wings reached out of the figures back. The character's eyes seemed dark and cold.

"Hey," A girl who sat next to him whispered, leaning over. "You're a really good artist,"

Ryou's hand stopped drawing and blinked up at her before nodding his appreciation. He couldn't remember the girls name, but it did not matter.

When the Ring finished its drawing of the winged character it moved on to draw somebody on a motorcycle. After time he noticed it was Malik. Ryou remembered the highly attractive bronze-skinned boy,and realized he hadn't been in any of his classes. He sighed and began to wonder why the Ring was drawing Malik in the first place.

Time passed quickly after that, and before he knew it, it was lunch. Ryou headed to the cafeteria, lost in thoughts of Marik and the occult events that had happened that day many years ago. He automatically sat with the rest of his "group", at the farthest end of the table. It didn't matter though, he was never apart of their conversations anyways. Ryou stared at his lunch, not planning to eat it. It may be his last lunch here, but he knew that it would normal just like any other day.

… until Malik showed up and decided to sit right next to Ryou.

Yuugi, Tristan, Joey and Tea stared in awe as Malik smiled warmly at Ryou.

"Hey Ryou!" Malik said in a cheerful, yet seductive voice. "It's a shame that so far we are not in any classes together…" A small pout crossed his lip, his eyes flashing. It was undeniable how attractive this boy was.

"Uh, Ryou, would you mind introducing us to your friend?" Tea murmured, her eyes clouded in obvious lust as she scanned over Malik's body.

Malik didn't even glance in her direction. "That would be nice of you," He said softly, his violet gaze never leaving Ryou.

This guy makes me uncomfortable…

Ryou bit his lip. "Uh… okay. Guys, this is Malik. He was the one who gave me a ride to school this morning. Malik, this is Yuugi, Joey, Tristan and Tea."

"A pleasure to meet you all," Malik replied, looking over the group briefly.

"As it is to meet you!" Yuugi chirped, his voice friendly and overly enthusiastic as always.

"So you're from Egypt?" Tristan enthused.

The rest of lunch went by in a flash due to Malik's presence there. Ryou found it odd how Malik always seemed to be staring at him, but he dismissed it. He would miss the Egpytian boy's friendliness towards him, but it's not like Ryou had a choice. Everyone he knew would forget him in time anyways. The end of the school day also came swiftly, despite the fact Malik was not in any of his classes. As Ryou headed down the school's front stairs to walk home, he realized something with a jerk of sadness.

Not a single person had wished him a happy birthday.

Before Ryou knew it, darkness had fallen and many hours passed. The pale boy sat slouched on his bed, drumming his fingers against his thigh nervously. He glanced at his alarm, the digital numbers glowed 11:56.

Only four minutes; The Ring murmured.

Ryou had changed out of his uniform and into a blue and white broadly striped tee and pale blue jeans. They were comfortable to wear, but he guessed it would not matter in hell.

Placing a hand against his cheek, Ryou sighed. He wondered endlessly, pondering many questions in his head. Would he see Marik soon after he got down there? Would he get to see his mother and sister again? After all, Marik had said something about a place down there where the good people go, and the curse had been lifted. Marik had also mentioned something about a Messenger. Would Ryou be meeting him tonight? He sighed again and turned his head to watch the clock change to midnight.

Then there was a sharp ringing and a blinding flash of light.

When the light and ringing faded, Ryou noticed he was no longer the only person in his room. A tall man stood close to the wall opposite of him. This man had light skin and neatly cut brown hair. His clothes were casual, but they contrasted against the serious expression bore onto his ice blue eyes and face. Ryou then realized that this man was not merely standing, but floating! His feet were adorn with sandals that had wings at the heels, and these wings were beating very rapidly. This man was also surrounded in a strange gold aura.

What the hell…?

The man glanced down at his clothes and his expression changed from serious to shock and the to raw anger. He whipped around towards the wall.

"Katsuya, you little fuck!" The man yelled, seemingly at no one. "I know you followed me here!"

Ryou's mouth gaped open in shock as another man came through his wall like a ghost and landed clumsily, face first, onto the floor of his bedroom. Ryou could see that this man had messy golden hair and was also dressed casually in a green jacket and jeans. He was surrounded in the same aura as the other man, too. Ryou thought this man seemed awfully familiar…

"Get up, you pathetic mutt," The brunette hissed as his companion struggled to his feet.

"Fuck off, fancy pants. How 'didya know I followed ya anyways?"

The brunette scowled and tugged on his own t-shirt. "Because this isn't what I chose for my human self to wear,"

Ryou's eyes widened as he realized who the blonde man reminded him of…

"So? 'Thought you could use a change of style 'cause you always-,"

"Joey?" Ryou blurted out.

Both men turned as if they had just noticed Ryou for the first time.

"Wuh? Joey?" The blonde man said, scratching his head. "Oh. Kid, ya must be thinking of one of my children! My names' Jounochi, and this asshole is Kaiba,"

Ryou blinked in confusion and studied Jounochi for a moment. He seemed way to young to be a father, and he had never seen Joey's dad, since apparently his parents were divorced.

"Enough with the antics, Jou," Kaiba scolded, before turning back to the boy sitting on the bed. "Your name is Ryou?"

"Yes sir- er, Kaiba,"

Kaiba's cold eyes narrowed. "Don't call me that. My official title is Hermes,"

"Hermes?" Ryou repeated back. Wasn't that the name of some god…?

The Ring seemed to chuckle at him.

From Greek mythology. That would explain the shoes…

Jounochi's eyes suddenly widened. "What? Who said that?" He glanced around frantically. Ryou was equally as confused. No one had said anything…

Jounochi's faze finally settled on something past Ryou. Kaiba, or "Hermes", also looked, but his expression was calm.

Ryou tried to look at what they were staring at, but nothing was there! Jounochi glanced back at Ryou and nearly jumped right out of his skin. He pressed back against the wall and point a shaky finger at the white-haired boy.

"H-he has a Millennium item!" Jou uttered, his voice basically quaking with fear.

Kaiba, on the other hand, didn't seem so impressed. "No shit, Sherlock," He said, voice dripping with sarcasm."It seems like you're so stupid that you've gone full circle and have become a genius,"

Jounochi opened his mouth to protest, but Kaiba held up a hand to silence him and his icy glare fell onto Ryou, who winced slightly.

"My apologies. I wasn't expecting my associate to show up," He said, shooting a glare at Jou, who only stuck his tongue out in return.

"So… you guys are partners?"

Kaiba merely shrugged, while Jounochi wiggled his eyebrows at Ryou, like saying "in more ways than one,".

Kaiba bared his teeth and waved his hand swiftly through the air. "I saw that you stupid mutt!"

"W-what did you do to me?" Jou said frantically, looking down and behind himself. He noticed that he now had a golden-brown dogs tail. Jou reached up to his head, only to grab a furry ear. He growled at Kaiba, then flushed red in embarrasment. "Bastard," He muttered.

Kaiba directed his attention back to Ryou, "Once again, my apologies. I am sure you're confused and don't understand what we are staring at…"

"There's a lot of things I don't understand here," Ryou muttered to himself.

"Mm. Anywho, I'd like to first say that we are what you mortals like to call gods,"

The white-haired boy stared in disbelief and slight awe. "No frickin' way,"

Kaiba only arched a single, perfect brown eyebrow. "If you don't believe me, then how do you explain how I gave Jounochi here dog ears and a tail?"

Ryou glanced back over to Jou, who had his arms crossed and was facing away. He bit his lip in brief thought. Maybe they were gods…? Kaiba had said his "official" title was Hermes. Ryou also recalled Marik using similar magic when he made that contract appear out of thin air… did that mean Marik was a god too?

"So… um… if you're Hermes then… uh, who is Jounochi?" Ryou asked cautiously.

Before Kaiba could even begin to respond, Jounochi whipped around, ears pricked.

"The names' Apollo, god of light and awesomeness," He boasted, a huge grin adorning his face.

Kaiba just rolled his eyes. "We get the point, and before I start talking about business things, I'd like to first explain that the person we were looking at is your yami,"

Ryou blinked in confusion and looked back again, only to see that to his eyes, no one was there. "My what?"

"Your darkside," Kaiba replied, looking frustrated.

Ryou's expression did not change.

"Ugh… the spirit of the Millennium Ring!"

Ryou's hand immediately flew up to the Ring, which was hidden beneath his shirt. "The Ring…?" How did he know about it? "But I don't see anyone?"

A small, yet smug smirk appeared on Kaiba's face. "That's because he is not visible to mortal eyes, unless he wills it to be so…"

How do you expect I do that, fancy pants?

The smirk only broadened on the brunette's face at the spirit's comment, and Jou's ears turned towards the direction of Ryou. So they could hear the spirit too…? Ryou's grip only tightened on the Ring.

"As I said… just will it to be so…"

Um… okay…

After a moment, the silhouette of a lithe figure began to flicker near Ryou, before appearing completely. The boy could only gasp. The spirit looks were extremely similar to his own… the only differences Ryou could spot were how he seemed a teensy bit taller, his long white hair a quite a bit messier at the top and his sharp, reddish-brown eyes. He seemed like a ghost, the way he was sort of transparent, like he was a hologram.

"So glad you could join us… whatever your name is," Kaiba said with very fake enthusiasm.

The spirit looked at Kaiba, then Jou, then Ryou, before turning his glare back on Kaiba.

"You better have an explanation…" The spirit growled in a husky voice, before reaching up to touch his jaw as if his mouth making the words was a surprise to him.

Kaiba chuckled, almost darkly. "I have other things to attend to… but I suppose a brief explanation is in order. You see, there are these things called hikari's and yami's. They literally mean light and dark. There is always a hikari and a yami, like a pair. You two, are one of these pairs,"

"Yah, one of the only three in the whole fucking univer-" Jou blurted out, before Kaiba covered his mouth with his hand.

"Idiot… don't go saying things such as that!" He growled. "Anyways, since Jounochi here already spoiled it, I guess I'll just have to say that there were only two more occurences where there was a hikari and a yami. One where the light was born from the dark… and the other, where the dark was born from the light,"

Ryou blinked up at the spirit, who only returned the gaze wordlessly. "So… how was he… or me… created?"

Kaiba furrowed his brows in confusion. "I… don't know that. All I know is that you two are hikari and yami… yami's usually look very similar to their hikari's,"

Suddenly, Ryou was reminded of Malik… he had looked strikingly similar to Marik… it had to be more than a coincidence. "I-I think I met a hikari today…"

Kaiba and Jou both looked at Ryou in shock. They exchanged a glance and nodded to one another before Kaiba turned back to the two white-haired boys. "That's not possible," He snapped, but Ryou wasn't fully convinced.

"Um… so anyways, kid, what 'ya gonna name your yami?" Jou said quickly, eager to change the subject.

The spirit snarled, he wasn't some pet who could just be named. "I think I'll be deciding that. Since I'm Ryou's other half, I guess, I'll just take the other half of his name… Bakura,"

Ryou smiled. The name seemed to fit him.

"Okay okay enough of this," Kaiba snapped suddenly. "I only came here to quickly sell your soul for Zeus's sake, not get all caught up in this crap. So spirit, be gone,"

Bakura rolled his eyes dramatically before disappearing in a flash, most likely back to his Ring.

Kaiba pulled a contract out of thin air, like Marik had done eight years ago. Ryou briefly saw his signature in blood on it, so he knew it was his.

"Yes, yes… Ryou Bakura… male… will have his soul sold at age eighteen to H. Mar-," Kaiba froze, eyes widened. The boy here… he had really sealed his fate. "I knew there was something special about you… besides the fact you have a Millennium item, which you shouldn't."

Ryou was surprised by Kaiba's coldness towards him… what the heck did he do? "It's not my fault… I don't know what is such a big deal,"

"Kid, you will understand in time," Jou said calmly, but his eyes seemed to be full of pity that Ryou couldn't understand.

"Enough," Kaiba hissed. "There has been a change of plans. I need to stay here over night to take care of… business. Jounochi, I will open a portal to the Underworld for you, and you will escort him to… Marik,"

Jou looked shocked, angry and fearful all at the same time. "What? Why-,"

"Do not question me!" The brunette shouted.

"Um… exscuse me… but what will happen to the spiri- I mean, Bakura, once my um soul has been sold?" Ryou asked nervously.

Kaiba didn't even look at him. "I don't know. You'll probably be split though,"

Before anyone could say anything else, Kaiba waved his hand at the floor seemed to split in two, hellfire spitting up from the cracks. Ryou screamed and tried to back away, but Kaiba had flown over and pushed him in, more screams echoing as he began to fall.

Jou approached the hole and looked back at Kaiba in obvious concern. "Be safe," He whispered, before leaping after Ryou.

Kaiba didn't respond as the crack in the floor closed up and the room returned to normal.

The fall seemed to last for ages.

Ryou was screaming at the top of his lungs and he fell through pits of blackness, blind in the situation. He felt as if he was being ripped in two, and he wanted to throw up so bad. Ryou could now finally see the ground, and he waited as he approached it, and he knew that the impact would kill him.

What Ryou didn't see was the spirit, Bakura, being split from his body and falling away from Ryou in a differenct direction.

Bakura frantically tried to break the incoming impact of the ground. He tried to grab onto something- and he thankfully did. It felt like a stone ledge on a wall, but Bakura couldn't see for it was too dark. His grip slipped from it much too quickly and he fell again, before hitting the hard ground with a sickening crack. He cried out in pain, then the darkness increased as Bakura blacked out and fell into unconsciousness.

...

OHLAWL. What fail.

Hmm... puppyshipping? Why, just maybe...

And don't worry. This hasn't been the last you've seen of Malik. In fact, you'll be seeing him very soon.

Reviews make me happy. They also make me motivated.

This chapter was WAY too long, I know XD