Disclaimer: See last three chapters please.

Review Responses

Molly (): No I can't. I can't save it then, and the format is messed up when I email it to me from your house. All I can do is come up with ideas. Which I believe we did. And I can't write a whole chapter in a day, especially since I'm trying to make them longer. I can't sit still that long.

Ryou VeRua: Here's your update! Thanks for the compliments--that kind of thing is what keeps me posting.

Daughter of Horus: Eh, well, I'm back now…wish I could have stayed longer though, it was sooo awesome…I went to one of the Concordia language camps. People come from all over America, I don't know about other countries. Anyways, they're located in northern Minnesota, but as I said, there were people from California to Maryland, all over the country, just in our cabin. Ah, it was so fun! Anyways…ehehe…must stop rambling about camp… Don't worry, I won't forget to update.

Jesse: Thanks for the review! It's great to hear from new people. Arigato!

I'm SORRY ABOUT THE WAIT! I really have no good excuse, but I will make some anyways. For example, high school was harder than I thought it would be and I'm still adjusting, I have writer's block (AGAIN!), and I still can't concentrate. Which are all bad excuses. But still…they're all I have. Actually, school is a fairly good excuse; my homework load has increased by about 2 and a half hours this year, at least. It's getting rather stressful, and I have very little free time.

Disclaimer and Warning: Please refer to last three chapters; I'm out of creative ideas….

Oh, one other thing: I know Japanese schools don't have their long break in summer, but I'm not sure when it is, so anyways, that's what I mean by summer break.

Another thing: I know it's hard to review when you don't have much to say, but it isn't exactly encouraging when I almost never get any reviews. I mean, I haven't posted in maybe a month now, and I only got three reviews. I know more people read it….the new hit counter thingy that tells me how many times the chapter was opened said 76 hits. I know some of those may be repeats, but I still doubt only four people read it. It would be really nice if people would tell me they read it and maybe what they think. Just a few seconds worth of typing, you know? You don't even have to log in to review…I'm not really trying to complain, but it's just not encouraging when so many people say nothing to me. It makes me feel like the story wasn't worth their saying anything. Thanks! And double thank you's to those who found reviewing worthwhile; you people are what keep me posting.

Chapter 4

Bakura sat on the edge of his hikari's bed, watching the boy sleep peacefully. Really, he wasn't watching, but thinking about the activities of the previous day….something about it really bothered him. 'Like the gods are working to repeat what happened then….' He thought. He turned his head to stare out the window. 'And the Pharaoh is surprised that I don't like them much….they're always hurting the people I care about, is it really a surprise?'

While he sat there, lost in thought, Ryou stirred and woke up. "Hnnh…'Kura?" Startled, the yami looked over at the pale teen. "Yami…is something wrong? You look upset…"

Bakura sighed, before answering quietly, "Nothing's wrong, Hikari." No need to worry Ryou over his stupid mind that thought too much….though the look his hikari gave him said clearly that the teen wasn't convinced.

"Yami…" The pale hikari sighed. He wrapped his arms around the spirit in a brotherly hug. The spirit turned around, holding his hikari close. "Yami, it'll be all right. You shouldn't worry so much; you'll stress yourself out."

Bakura smiled at his other half's words. 'He's right,' the thief thought. 'I'm not locked up this time, the pharaoh doesn't remember being a heartless bastard, and even if he had, I'm still not about to lose my brother again, not if I can help it…' He stood and walked out of the room, saying, "Let's get breakfast, I'm starved."

Ryou walked down the street, staring blankly at the sidewalk. Summer break was almost over. Really, there was only a week or two left…by this point he'd done everything there was to do by himself. Yugi and the others usually forgot about him unless he was right there….which effectively eliminated doing things with anyone but Bakura. That hadn't worked long; the spirit would end up stealing something expensive every time he saw it.

Wandering through the city, his mind began to wander. 'I wonder what would happen if life was like those TV shows…one of those action ones, where there's always something interesting and new going on….or do those just not show the boring parts of life? Maybe life is really no different there, except the exciting stuff is more dangerous and dramatic…I wonder if love there is the same too, then.' He considered that idea for a while. 'I doubt it….too much danger and drama. There's not enough time for cuddling….love can't be as wonderful.' The idea that the real world was better than someone's imagination in some way struck him as something to celebrate.

Slowly wandering around, the pale hikari looked up at one point. Startled, he glanced around him in an attempt to figure out where he was. The streets were unfamiliar, but unthreatening. In fact, it seemed to be an ancient market. The streets were practically empty, though, unusual for any kind of shopping area. Perhaps it was hard to find, or just not well known.

Walking down the narrow street, Ryou glanced into the window of a shop, which was full of necklaces, bracelets, and other cute little trinkets. 'Looks…interesting,' the teen thought. He decided to go in and look around.

Entering the store, he sneezed at the amount of dust in the tiny shop. An old man glanced up, startled. He seemed to be surprised at the fact that someone had actually come in. "Hello, hello," the elder exclaimed, smiling. "What brings you here today, my friend?"

Ryou couldn't help but smile at the man's friendly attitude. "I'm not really sure, actually. I was just wandering around, and…well, here I am." The teen shrugged. "What is this item? It's certainly interesting." He was looking at a bracelet that looked as if it was made of solid gold, carved with symbols that looked vaguely familiar but at the same time, completely illegible. Perhaps his yami would know the meaning….

He was drawn out of his thoughts by the elder's response. "Ah…an interesting choice. This is a…ancient object made by an unknown culture. Unfortunately, I bought it from a trader who had forgotten where it was found, so I've no idea. I'm sorry--I can be of little help with this particular piece."

The pale teen smiled. "It's all right. No one can remember everything." Looking at the bracelet, something about it reminded him of Malik. "How much does it cost?"

The storekeeper held it up. "Hmm….fairly nice weight…looks like gold, but can't be positive on that one. Let's see….maybe 8360 yen?" (1)

Ryou stared at the bracelet in his hands. The price wasn't that high, considering it seemed to be made of solid gold….but it still wasn't cheap. Still…something about this piece of jewelry seemed to make him want to buy it. Or maybe something else….the teen wasn't sure what. But it wasn't like he couldn't afford it. "I'll take it." He said aloud. As he walked out of the store, the old man grinned as he faded into dust.

The hikari found himself wandering around aimlessly again, having no clue where he was. He was considering going back to the shop to ask for directions when he heard a yell.

"Hey Ryou!" Looking over his shoulder, the teen saw Malik running towards him. The scenery was nothing like what he remembered walking past….odd. "Where were you?" The older teen caught up to him, panting. "We've been looking everywhere. Even Bakura couldn't trace the ring."

Ryou looked at him, confused. "I was just going for a walk. I wonder why Bakura couldn't trace me…that's odd." There was nothing about that store that would block their link….though now that he thought about it, Bakura had been rather quiet then.

He was startled out of his thoughts as Malik pulled him against his chest. "I was worried…," the Egyptian whispered. The shorter teen snuggled against his boyfriend, a silent apology for upsetting him.

Suddenly, Ryou remembered the bracelet he had bought. "Oh!" He said, reaching into his pocket and pulling out the jewelry. Reaching for Malik's wrist, he fastened the golden band around it. His boyfriend glanced down at his gift, then smiled and wrapped his arm around the hikari's waist. They began the walk home together.

()()(A Few Weeks Later)()()

Ryou rolled over, groaning. He'd forgotten how early it felt when his alarm clock went off for school….Reaching over to turn off the alarm, the pale teen stretched slightly as he stood up. The hikari blinked a few times before heading downstairs for breakfast.

An hour or so later, he was walking out the door and towards school. Reaching Domino high maybe 15 minutes later, he waited around for someone else to show up. As usual, he was early. Apparently not that early, though, since Malik arrived a few minutes later. The other teen was just starting here, as he'd moved to Japan over the summer, so maybe he wanted to make sure he wasn't late…but still. It was someone to talk to. "Malik!" The pale hikari called, running over to him. Malik turned around, looking apprehensive. However he relaxed as he recognized his boyfriend.

"Ry, thank the gods. Man, I don't know anyone here…." He looked thoughtful for a second, then added, "Well, except for you…but…yeah." He smiled at the other teen, but it was still obvious that he was nervous.

"Come on, you'll need to know your way around. We have some time before everyone else shows up…" Ryou grabbed his boyfriend's hand, pulling him towards the school building.

The older teen looked slightly panicked. "How early are we? Ryou! WAIT UP!"

(insert divider here)

Half an hour later, the pair had covered pretty much the entire school (though Malik was unsure of how much he'd remember…) and other students were actually beginning to arrive. Malik was becoming anxious again; he wasn't exactly sure how well this would go, since the only people he knew here were from Battle City….true, that was mainly his yami's fault, but he doubted that would make Yugi andthe othersblame him any less.

Glancing up at the slightly older teen, the hikari could tell exactly what he was thinking. He leaned against Malik's chest, whispering, "Don't worry so much." The Egyptian glanced down at him, startled. Ryou smiled, then continued, "Yugi will understand; he'll be all right. Jou will probably trust his judgment most of the time, and Honda will probably follow Jou's lead. I don't know Anzu as well, but if those friendship speeches are sincere, then I doubt she'll hold anything against you."

Malik stared at his boyfriend for a moment; it was as if the younger teen had read his mind. He then smiled, shaking his head slightly, and whispered, "Thanks." Hand in hand, the pair walked towards the entryway to try to find the others.

Walking into the classroom they shared, the two teens immediately noticed Yugi's hair in the back corner. Walking in that direction, Jou's voice drifted over the chatter that filled every classroom before school started.

"Aww man, I can't believe I didn't see that coming!" It was obvious that the blonde teen had just lost another duel…."Come on, Yug', gimme a break, all of us can't be experts…"

Covering a slight giggle, Ryou pulled Malik towards the small group. Standing a little bit behind everyone else, the Egyptian's anxiety began to return. 'What happens if they hate me….' He thought. 'That could make life…more difficult….I hope Ryou's right….' He was startled out of his thoughts by Anzu's voice.

"Ryou! We haven't really seen you much, have we?" As the others turned around to say hello, she seemed to notice Malik standing there. After staring at him for a moment, she whispered something into Yugi's ear. The short teen looked over at him.

"Oh, hey Malik! I take it you moved here?" The Egyptian stared at Yugi, surprised by his friendly reaction. Completely undiscouraged by his surprised look, the short hikari continued, "I haven't seen you since Battle City. When did you move here?"

Smiling slightly, Malik answered, "Just a month or two ago, during break. There wasn't really much left for me in Egypt; it's not like I know anyone there." It was nice to know that Ryou's prediction had been right about Yugi at least.

The shorter teen smiled up at him, replying, "Well, it's great to see you again." Just then, Yami walked over. "Hey Yami, Malik's back!"

The spirit smiled at his hikari. "I can see that much, Yugi." He turned to the Egyptian. "Nice to see you again. How are you?"

Before Malik could answer, Anzu shook off her shock. "Guys!" she practically shouted. "He practically tried to kill us in Battle City, and all you do is say hello?" Looking at her face, the blonde flinched slightly. This was more the reaction he'd been expecting….she looked like she hated him. He looked down slightly.

Suddenly he heard Ryou speak. "Anzu, that isn't fair. Marik was really the one in control that time. Malik's not a bad guy."

Angry, the girl replied, "So he can't even keep control of his other half, and we're supposed to trust him? That's stupid."

Now Yugi joined in. "Ryou's right. None of us can keep control of out yami's all the time. You don't complain about Yami and Bakura, so it isn't fair to ask Malik to do what the rest of us can't."

Looking around at everyone, Malik began to smile again. So they did trust him…the feeling was wonderful after wondering for the past few hours whether they'd hate him.

At this point, Jou added, "That makes sense. Bakura's just as crazy as Marik, no offense, Ryou. But if we'll trust Ryou, why not Malik too? Ya can't blame them for crazy Yamis."

Anzu was furious by this point. "Fine, don't listen to me then! I'm leaving." She yelled, causing half the class to look back at the stunned group.

A few minutes later Yami turned back to Malik. "Nice," he said. "I've been trying to get her to leave since I got my own body…ouch!" He shut up as Yugi hit him over the head.

"Yami! Just because she's obnoxious doesn't mean you have to CHASE her away!"

"Yes it does, otherwise she'll never leave us alone." Seeing his hikari's pout, the spirit frowned. "Why does it matter? It's not like it ever made a difference…" The rest of the group laughed.

(School day passes; nothing of significance happens)

After the school day ended, Ryou was walking home with Yugi. The shorter hikari was rambling on about something when he suddenly asked, "Are you doing anything right now?"

Surprised, the pale teen replied, "No, nothing in particular."

Yugi smiled before exclaiming, "Great! Do you want to come over to my house? It would be fun to spend some time together, I really haven't seen you all summer."

Ryou looked at the shorter teen, obviously startled. A smile lit up his face as he replied, "That sounds great. I'd love to."

(end of chapter)

About $75 with current exchange rates.

Umm….yeah. It's a page longer than the last one, so no complaining about length! By the way, I repeat, yes I do know my excuses for not updating faster are overused and really bad excuses, but I swear to whatever you want me to swear to that they're all completely legitimate and sincere. I'm mostly adjusted to new schedule now though…I can type mainly on Tuesdays, Thursdays, and Sundays (if my teachers are nice and don't pile us down with homework) so if I actually concentrate I think I can update fairly regularly. That's my goal, at least. I swear I'll try!

Sorry about the little divider thingies, but it's the only way that actually works. All other stuff doesn't show up...

Please read and review (though I know everyone's seen the comment a million times)

Ja ne,

Marina