Return to the Old Ways

by kayono

The Pharaoh and King have returned, but the Fates and Destiny have yet to let them out of their grasp. There's more in the darkness than is known, but 'life isn't interesting unless there's a chance of dying.'

8. Year of the Verdict

Return to the Old Ways

Chapter 6: Year of the Verdict

Warnings: Sanity is not guaranteed. AND, swearing. Cursing. Cussing. Vulgar language. Whatever you would like to call it, this goes for everything. People swear in this, they use bad words. Namely 'kura, but others do, too. And some OOC-ness... but that might just be my perspective on them, hm? Oh, and don't kill me, but: CHARACTER DEATH. I hated writing it… and you people wonder why this chapter took so damn long, hm?

Disclaimer: I do not own, you do not sue. Or the whole thing starting with "Kay-fuzz not own" and ending with "Kay-fuzz not a company. Kay-fuzz sad." And any other little quotes that end up in here are also not my doing. If they are quotes, they will be in quotes, high-lighted, and some kind of disclaimer here or at the end. M'kay? M'kay.

Recap: Yami (hereby referred to as Atemu) and Bakura return to their hikaris with Dani's help. Yugi goes missing, ends up in the Hogwarts infirmary, Bakura, Malik and Ryou rescue him, and some leprechauns randomly appear (LEPRECHAUNS!). They all end up living together, the Pharaohs get themselves stuck in the Axis, Ryou and Bakura find them, bring them back after seven years. Dumbledore finds out about them, they get offered jobs at Hogwarts, and are all set to go- but a week before the new year Sugoroku-jii-chan is put in the hospital on his deathbed. Dumbledore and Lasine raid the hospital's store cupboard while Yugi talks with Sugoroku- the elder gives the Pharaoh something, and then makes Yugi promise some stuff. Then Sugoroku dies.

Notes: Haven't even written this chapter and already doing stuff. For more info about pre-RttOW go read Waiting in the Sands (or I shall cut your hands OFF!). Yeah... listening to Bohemian Rhapsody again, go away.

Song: Breath (2 am) by Anna Nalik. I've loved this song for a while, but had no idea what it was called or who it was by. Then I heard the names- I started laughing so hard in the middle of Physics class, and everyone was staring. I mean, c'mon- NALIK is like MALIK- only not. Yeah… I thought it was "Malik" first. Darn me.

Link: It didn't work last chapter, and I'm too lazy to go edit it. So here's the actual URL:
http/ www. egyptianmyths. net/ atum. htm
Kick-ass funny. That's all I'm gonna say.

--------------------------------THIS IS A SCENE-------------------------------------

"Lay down your sweet and weary head
Night is falling- you have come to journey's end
Sleep now, and dream of the ones who came before
They are calling, from across the distant shore
Why do you weep? What are these tears upon your face?
Soon you will see, all of your fears will pass away
Safe in my arms, you're only sleeping."

Yugi glared at the radio as he sat- alone- in a small coffee shop in Domino. The school term would have started three days ago- one week after his grandfather's death. He should have been teaching, should have been helping them through the war the Mark Mages were going through….

But here he was, truly alone for once, sitting in a coffee shop and listening to a song that couldn't be more depressing at the moment.

He pulled the cup in front of him to his lips, and downed the rest of the hot, scalding substance. The sun was slowly fading from sight, the Shadows lengthening- and he was barely able to discern a darker splotch among those cast by the buildings and the poles around him.

"What can you see on the horizon?
Why do the whites' gulls call?
Across the sea, a pale moon rises
The ships have come to carry you home, and all will turn to silver glass
A light in the water all souls pass."

He gratefully opened up the door connecting his soul room to the corridor, and the darker splotch disappeared, only to reappear in his mind.

((Aibou-))

(-Yami, stop. Eh, er… thank you.-)

There was no real reason for the thank you, but a deep understanding that passed between them explained why the hikari felt it necessary to say it.

"Hope fades into the world of night
Through shadows falling, out of memory and time
Don't say, we have come now to the end
White shores are calling; you and I will meet again
And you'll be here in my arms, just sleeping."

A few minutes later found Yugi walking slowly back to the small apartment that Isis had bought for them with their money. Collapsing onto his bed, Yugi let the dams open, and the comfy material below his head quickly soaked with crystalline tears.

Atemu appeared beside him, wrapping comforting arms around his light, holding him as he cried.

In a way, Atemu was relieved to see Yugi cry. The hikari had been seemingly emotionless since the loss of Sugoroku- that had actually been one of the reasons that Dumbledore had told him to take a year off- the loss of a family member, especially one's only living family member, would surely scar the light.

Yugi hadn't reacted to anything, whether it be good, bad, or anything in between. He had merely existed for the last week- and now, everything seemed to crumble and fall, all the emotions and feelings of the last week that had been building up suddenly breaking free in one big torrent….

Yugi turned his head into the other's chest, letting his tears instead soak the leather shirt that Atemu had donned. A warm hand on his back (although cold to everyone else) helped to soothe him, as did the other hand that was playing with his hair. His sobs slowly died down, Atemu gaining cramps and random body parts falling asleep from staying in one position too long.

(-Ar… ari… arigatou, Yami….-)

That surprised him- this time, there was no explanation.

((What for, aibou?))

Yugi's hands tightened, fisting his shirt (and pulling it noticeably tighter than it already was).

(-For listening to me, for comforting me, for letting me cry and soak your leather shirt… being there- here… for me….-)

Atemu was stunned. The way that Yugi had said the last part, it was almost like Yugi had been expecting Atemu to leave! But the hikari had asked Atemu to leave him to himself for a while, and Atemu had returned at the first pangs of stress and sadness- so surely it wasn't because of that? He leaned his head against Yugi's, breathing in the slight fragrance of strawberries.

((I will always be here, aibou- I will never leave you, for anything.))

(-But you did, once. You-)

((I know I did, but it was because it seemed like the right thing at the time. But I couldn't- I couldn't live, if you could call that living. I couldn't think about anything else, except that I had made the biggest mistake of my life- or afterlife. I will never abandon you, aibou. I never abandoned you then, trying every moment I could to find a way to get back to you. Never by my choice- and even if we are somehow separated, I will not leave. Never. I promise you this on Eternity.))

There was silence for a few minutes, Yugi thinking this over.

(-Eternity- but that includes Death.-)

((You will come to the afterlife with me, aibou. I will not be separated from you again.))

Yugi smiled slightly, feeling reassured. Someone who would be with him always- he had known this already, but- Atemu's grip on him tightened, and he allowed himself to relax marginally.

(-Thank you… thank you, Yami... aibou.-)

The word sounded strange in Yugi's mind, calling Atemu that. Atemu almost let his own tears fall- not just Dark anymore. Not just Dark.

((Rest now, aibou. The night is young- but you are tired. I will-))

(-You will sleep, yami. Even if I have to drag you into bed- any bed- you are going to sleep, and stay asleep, until the morning.-)

So many tears, and yet now- the tears must have carried the sadness and depression. When they were cried out, so too were all the negative feelings….

Atemu grinned, laying Yugi down on the bed and tucking him in, before lying down beside him, arms wrapped protectively around the light.

((Then I wish you goodnight, aibou. Have pleasant dreams.))

"What can you see on the horizon?
Why do the whites' gulls call?
Across the sea, a pale moon rises
The ships have come to carry you home, and all will turn to silver glass
A light in the water all souls pass.

"There are grey ships into the West."

--------------------------------THIS IS A SCENE-------------------------------------

Dumbledore raised his arms, signaling everyone in the Great Hall to be quiet. He smiled down on them, a genuine smile on his face. The new Potions Master, Slughorn, beamed with him, while the other teachers looked nervous. The two extra seats had been removed from the Staff Table, leaving everyone curious as to what was happening.

"I believe we are all enjoying a wonderful dinner, after our first three days of school. There might be a few missing- if someone could please pass this onto them, it would be much appreciated.

"By now, I am sure that everyone has noticed the two extra seats up here that had to be taken away. The three new teachers we were planning on having are unable to join us this year, due to familial problems. This announcement may be a bit late, but Professors Ishtar, Bakura and Mo- Levis, who were to be your new History, Defense Against the Dark Arts and Counselor, have unfortunately had to have a premature retirement.

"However, I'm sure that- if nothing else goes astray- next year, we will be seeing at least two of them. Now, I'm sure that we all want to continue on with this wonderful dinner."

Dumbledore sat down again to much whispering. It was a very strange thing to make an announcement about...

…

Hours later found the golden trio sitting in the three most comfortable chairs in the Gryffindor Common Room, staring absent-mindedly at the flames. Homework lay forgotten on their laps or tables near them, as fluttering sounds from outside caught and held their attention for barely an instant.

"Harry, I don't know."

The only girl finally spoke up, addressing her statement to one of the males- a black-haired emerald-eyed teen sitting beside her. He raised an eyebrow, trying to remember what they were supposed to be pondering for the last hour or so.

"What do you mean, Hermione?"

She bit her lip, not wanting to say anything. "It's just- just because they suddenly decide to not teach doesn't mean that they've also suddenly swung to the dark side."

The final male frowned. "But what else would explain why they can't come. Whether they live and work in the magical or muggle worlds, if they can teach at Hogwarts, then they must know what's happening, and they should be more than willing to teach here, no matter what."

"What if there's some kind of problem, though. What happens if they're needed to... oh, I don't know, protect their families?"

"Then their families can come here. If they're protecting them with magic, then the families must know about it-"

"But muggles can't come into Hogwarts!"

"Who said they were muggles?"

"Would said they weren't?"

As the bickering continued, Harry sighed, watching the flames. Whether or not the -absent- new teachers were or weren't working for Voldemort seemed to be useless information, compared to what was truly on his mind. He had finally received a response about the letter he had written more than a month before...

------------------S'AA--------------------

((You've got to be kidding me. There is no way that we're actually-))

(-Yami, hush. We have no other choice. Our contract remains with the school. Juni surely won't mind if we take another year.-)

((I don't care about the boss-man. I care about everything else! The Axis is-))

(-The perfect place for a thief? Please- I'm sure that we can find something to keep you busy here for a year, preferably without doing anything illegal.-)

((Hikari, let's go back to the Axis, spend a year there, and come back in time for the new school year!))

(-Yami, I swear, if you even attempt to do that I'm personally going back to the Temple of Kuru Eruna to throw the Ring down the pit.-)

Silence met the light's ears, and Ryou couldn't help but smirk slightly. He added on the final touch to make sure that Bakura would listen. (-I need to be here for Yugi, Bakura. He's lost his only family- I can't just leave him without other human contact. And no, I'm not counting Atemu as a human. I don't want him to turn away from everything he's known because of this.-)

Bakura growled. ((Fine, hikari. Do what you wish. But I will not sit around and let you spend all your time comforting the midget. He'll get over it within a year, and then we'd better have something lined up to do. A year is a long time to waste.))

(-You wasted 5000 years, didn't you?-)

Bakura sputtered indignantly, as Ryou continued walking down Alturist. No one stared at him weirdly- he and Malik had become enough of a presence that people in cloaks with the Charter-made adornments were considered 'common' and 'normal'- neither of which would naturally apply to the two.

He turned into one of the shops, browsing through the different spell ingredients. Running his fingers along a jar with some crushed sorrel inside, he glanced idly around, eyes lingering on the different herbs, intestines, and many other possible ingredients that he would probably rather not know of. He grabbed a small satchel from within his cloak and gently placed some of the sorrel into it, waltzing up to the counter to pay for it.

((And what, dear hikari, do you need that for?))

Bakura's tone of voice made it easily known that he was still angry after the last comment.

(-I just needed to clear my mind for a second, and getting out of this madness seemed to be a good way to do that. The sorrel is just in case I get hungry.-)

((I still can't believe you can eat that stuff.))

(-I still can't believe you can eat raw meat.-)

Again, silence. Ryou was glad for it, as he was barely able to dodge around a group of younger Mark Mages, nearly getting run over in the process. He began wandering again, looking at everyone attempting to get their shopping done before nightfall. However, the atmosphere was a lot more relaxed than it was over in Europe- being nearly on the other side of the world seemed to have some advantages.

Ryou gently felt the bag that rested in his palms, the metal thread rope wrapped firmly around his wrist- Bakura refused to allow their money to be anywhere else on their person while in Alturist. It was getting kind of empty (then again, he hadn't refilled it for almost a year), and, for some reason, he had the urge to randomly spend something.

((You're getting as bad as those dipstick females, hikari.))

(-Thanks for the compliment.-) He replied dryly, trying to not roll his eyes. He heard a chuckle as Bakura looked out through his eyes for a second.

((Since when did my wonderful hikari become so feminine?))

Ryou couldn't reply to that as a younger witch suddenly crashed into him, making a grab for his pockets and then the pouch around his wrist. Immediately, a light flashed and she found herself unable to move, stuck to the ground. Ryou stood up slowly as a few passers-by stopped to look at the commotion.

She didn't lift her head (although she should have been able to), and Ryou found himself wondering what had possessed her to do that. Faint footsteps running away caught his attention, and a sudden awareness from his other half caused Ryou to believe that there were certainly more thieves in the area. ((Hikari, let me handle them.))

(-No. You'd probably send them to the Shadow Realm or something, yami. Let me deal with her, first.-)

More silence, and Ryou bent down, tilting the girl's face to his own. Dirt covered what would probably be pale skin when cleaned, matted, long black hair hung down into dark brown eyes- filled with defiance.

"Let me go!"

Ryou was taken aback by her tone. She had looked so feeble, and now-

The startled look on his face quickly turned into a frown (though no one else was able to tell). "And why would I let you go? So you can go find your friends and then steal more money from someone?"

"I ain't stole nothing!"

Ryou rolled his eyes. "You can speak properly, I can hear it in your voice. And no, you haven't stolen anything- from me. But you were trying to, and you probably have some money on you from other people, right?"

She continued to glare, and Ryou felt himself grow bolder- and angrier. Bakura's annoyance at the little upstart filtered through the link, nearly causing Ryou to move without thought- quickly forcing himself to calm down, he stood up again, and frowned, releasing the bonds that held her in place.

"Go, and stop thieving. There are others who wouldn't be so kind- especially other, professional thieves." His eyes narrowed, and she took off, the crowd quickly dispersing as he continued to make his way to the bank. (-I should know, I live with one in my head.-)

((That little… she better be grateful you let her go.))

(-I bet you're grateful, since I kept you from killing her.-)

((Ha! A petty little thief like her couldn't-))

Ryou quickly cut his other off so that he wouldn't have to be a witness to the loud and generally crude language that came with the emergence of the 'thief' personality. Making his way into the bank, he sighed as he saw both the girl and some of her friends huddling in a corner, eyeing the patrons.

Bakura, apparently, saw them too, as he broke through the mental blockade Ryou had created, screaming. ((WHAT THE HELL ARE THOSE MIDGETS DOING HERE!))

(-Bakura, it's a bank. It's a public place. They have every right to be here.-)

Some grumbling, but relenting. Where they were going, the kids couldn't follow.

The back counter, hidden in some shadows, had only one goblin tending it- and he looked amazingly excited to see Ryou there.

"Oh! Sir! Would Sir like to withdraw, or any other service we can offer you?"

This goblin seemed to have taken the position only recently, excited as he was- but he seemed to have en excellent memory, immediately hoping over the counter and bowing before Ryou. The hikari chuckled, nodding his head, showing as much respect as the goblins here would allow him to.

((They're like the house elves.))

Ryou silently agreed, following the young goblin towards the mine carts. This pattern was different from the one they had originally taken, but none the less just as complicated. Ryou easily lost track of how many times they switched mine carts and used walkways and stairs that no one had probably used in centuries. Bakura kept track until they were about 3/4 of the way to the vaults- and then gloriously got himself confused, nearly confusing Ryou in the process.

Ten minutes later found them in front of the three double doors, Ryou already walking over to his own and going through the lengthy process he and Bakura had installed required to open it.

Once the doors were open, Ryou entered, nodding to the young goblin. He bowed again, scampering away to do some other work around Gringotts before returning to pick the hikari up.

Bakura materialized beside Ryou, as the light turned around and shut the doors most of the way, leaving it slightly open. A cool breeze filtered through the gap that had previously gone unnoticed, ruffling Bakura's hair slightly, and into his eyes.

Ryou walked further back into their vault, going through the different trinkets and treasures. "What's wrong? You usually just take over out in public- not create your own body."

Bakura growled. "You could say I have a reason." He stalked over to Ryou, turning the light around the pushing him against the wall. "What the hell did you think you were doing, letting that brat get away? Letting ALL of them get away?"

Ryou blinked back tears, his head throbbing from where it hit the wall. "Because everyone deserves a second cha-"

"Don't. Don't even start on that. Do you honestly think that she is suddenly going to change her ways because you let her go?" When Ryou didn't answer. Bakura's eyes darkened considerably. "Then you're even more of a fool than I thought you were."

"Bakura-"

Ryou's words were suddenly cut off as a bright, glowing light filled the room. As it dimmed, both looked over at a small pile of artifacts near the back of the room, a familiar feeling tingling in the air. As if in a trance, Bakura lowered Ryou back to the ground, and both made their way over, ignoring the crunching from beneath their feet as they stepped on valuables or kicked them aside.

The feeling was quickly identifiable the closer they got. The final piece of evidence to prove what they thought were the Charter Marks floating in the air around the glowing pile, and those that streamed continuously over said pile.

"What is it?" Ryou whispered, still drawn to the pile.

"A glowing pile of gold, hikari. Use your eyes." Bakura's retort was humorless, the glow preventing any other thoughts from taking precedence in one's mind over it.

Ryou bent down, gently prodding the pile. Gold shifted, and some fell off to the side, revealing some black leather, stretched tight over… something. Bakura bent down beside his light, and both moved the gold off the pile, watching with fascination as they uncovered the artifacts buried beneath.

Eventually, Bakura leaned back on his heels, pulling a black, leather-bound book from the pile as Ryou was able to unearth a black leather-hide bandolier with seven pouches- the smallest the size of a pill box, the biggest the size of a closed fist. Each had a long, ebony handle with gold trim and inlayed gold and silver stems. He eyed it, before pulling the bandolier on over his head, letting it sit diagonally across his chest. For some reason, having the bandolier sitting there, having it near enough to grasp and use, felt… right, somehow.

Bakura looked at his hikari as Ryou ran his fingers over the bandolier, smirking at the look in the light's eyes. Turning his attention back to the book that now sat in his lap, he blinked. This book felt a lot like the one that Pharaoh carried around with them everywhere…. Expecting the same flash of life energy, he was surprised when the only thing he could feel was-

"Death."

Both looked up at each other, surprised at the unification of their voices. Ryou moved to sit alongside Bakura as the dark ran his hand over the leather bindings. The leather felt fresh, even if it smelt and looked ages old. There were subtle hints of gold on the spine- the bindings, probably- and silver alloy clasps which held it shut. Five marks on the front cover of the book indicated what it was to be used with, and both Bakura and Ryou froze upon finding them, hidden amongst the other Marks that swarmed through the cover.

Bakura was the first to come out of his stupor ('Rising Dead Book' not having as much effect on a dead person as it might on a living one), and gently used his fingers to pry open the book. He felt quite a bit of resistance, and wondered if another person would have a harder time doing so.

Ryou was able to blink himself out of his shock, eyes trailing over the Marks on the first page. He frowned, grabbing the book from Bakura's hands. The yami glared at him, but made no move to grab the book back. Ryou flipped through it, eyes lightening with each page he read. Bakura looked between the book and Ryou, not understanding how he was able to read the script on the pages- considering that they were written in a tongue that he was sure most certainly wasn't around when he was alive, and from what Ryou and the others had told him, hadn't been around since.

Ryou finally stopped, looking up at Bakura. "Er, sorry…."

Bakura flapped his hand in Ryou's face, eyes and other hand already searching out another treasure for him to examine. "You seem to be enjoying yourself with that 'Rising Dead Book'. If it helps me, go for it."

Ryou sweatdropped, looking back at the book. "It's actually called the Book of the Dead. It just has to deal with, er… rising Dead."

Bakura blinked. "Necromancy?"

Ryou nodded, but held the book closer to himself as Bakura made a grab for it. "It's actually something like an instruction manual for someone called 'Abhorsen' or something. They're supposed to work against Necromancers and the Dead to stop them from killing everyone."

Bakura glared at the Book. "Does that mean you're going to try to get rid of me in the middle of the night?"

Ryou smiled, enjoying this new position of semi-power: this was certainly enough to put him on an even level with Bakura now in their little power game. "No, yami- it just means that if I practice this, we get to travel a lot more and lay the Dead back to rest."

"Traveling exorcists-"

"No. I don't know exactly, but from what I understand, the Dead this refers to are living, or have some kinds of bodies, or- oh, I don't know!" Ryou exclaimed, exasperated at the look Bakura was giving him (that, coupled with the emotions down the link clearly called him an idiot).

"Fine, hikari. Practice with your Book of the Dead. I'm going to look around here and see if there is anything else of interest. Every time we come here, there's always something new." Ryou watched Bakura walk away further into the vault, and he turned his attention back to the Book of the Dead.

Deciding to ignore all the warnings in the book about severe bodily, spiritual and mental harm (which was what took up the first twenty pages or so, anyways) he skipped ahead to the actual first page. Biting his lip, he looked around the vault for what they had mentioned, before looking downwards at the bandolier that he had forgotten he wore.

Carefully opening the first (smallest) pouch, he even more carefully pulled out a tiny, silver bell. He used his hand to keep the clapper from sounding while his right held the bell in the position instructed in the book.

"The Abhorsen must get used to bearing and using the bells, as they are Abhorsen's and all living creature's first and greatest defense against the Dead." He muttered, reading aloud from the book. Skipping down a few paragraphs (which generally consisted of what other creatures the bells may be used against), he came to the list of bells, holding the smallest one gently as he read aloud again, this time loud enough for Bakura to hear, wherever he had disappeared to.

"The first and smallest bell is Ranna, the Sleeper." Putting away Ranna, he pulled out the next.

"The second bell is Mosreal, the Waker." He looked over this bell, blinking as he noticed Charter Marks and a strange other pattern similar to the Charter, but not, contained within the clapper and inner bell. Remembering the same thing in Ranna, only fainter, he assumed that all the bells must have the Marks and patterns.

Drawing the next bell, he was surprised that he didn't need to squint to see the Marks and patterns on the inside of the bell. "The third bell is Kibeth, the Walker." He found a strange connection with Kibeth, and was loathe to put it back into his pocket. But the Book said to not linger too long on a single bell, as they had a tendency to ring of their own accord.

"The fourth bell is Dyrim, the Singer." He frowned, finding himself squinting again to see what he knew was there on the inside of the bell. Another frown, as the thought crossed his mind that all bells and musical instruments are generally described as singing. Deciding to not question it, he replaced Dyrim, drawing out the next.

"The fifth bell is Belgaer, the Thinker." Another bell he needed to squint to see what there was on the inside, though not as bad as the others. As another bell he decided not to think about until he needed to, he placed Belgaer back into its pouch, not wanting to find out what would happen should it ring.

"The sixth bell is Saraneth, the Binder." Self explanatory? He held it gently in his hands, finding himself needing to squint again- but not because he couldn't see the Marks and patterns on the inside. The light from this bell seemed to be almost unbearably bright, and yet he found a connection to it, something like Kibeth. He turned his attention to the last, hoping that the feeling of dread in his gut wasn't in regards to it.

"The seventh and final bell is Astarael, the Sorrowful." He bit his lip, about to look at the inside of the bell- but suddenly grabbed a piece of silk and wrapped it tightly around the clapper, to dull the sound as much as it could. Unsure of why he felt the need to do this preparation, he finished turning the bell towards his eyes….

…

"GAH!"

Bakura whirled, heading back immediately to his light. 'If that stupid Dead Book has done anything to Ryou….'

He was surprised to find Ryou face-down on the ground, hands hurriedly wiping at his eyes. Astarael lay across from him, the clapper's sound having been completely dulled by the silk- and Bakura couldn't help but think that it was an extremely good thing that Ryou had such good foresight.

"Ryou, you okay? The bell hit you in the eye?"

Ryou looked up, glaring at his yami. "Try looking at the inside of Astarael, and see what happens to you."

Bakura raised his eye brows, walking over to the bell (somewhat glad that he had been able to hear Ryou when he had read from the book). He turned it upwards, hand instinctively stilling the clapper from even slightly touching the sides of the bell- and blinked.

Squinting, he was barely able to make out the Charter Marks and other… strange patterns on the inside, but generally they were invisible to him. He turned to Ryou, who hurriedly took Astarael and put it away, back into its pouch.

"What? Those Charter Marks and other things blind you, hikari?"

Ryou frowned. "They were so much brighter when I was looking at it…."

Bakura shrugged. "Ah well. That's what happens, bakayarou."

Ryou punched Bakura in the arm, causing the yami to laugh. "You want to fight?"

Ryou reached down and grabbed a satchel that had seemingly come from nowhere and place the Book of the Dead inside, tying off the top. He took off his cloak and slung the satchel over his back, before replacing the cloak and pulling both the hood and cowl over his face, hiding the satchel straps over his shoulders and the bandolier across his front.

Bakura scooped up some of the galleons, sickles and knuts (even as he grabbed mainly sickles- silver was always a wonderful commodity for Egyptians), and then grabbed Ryou's hand, putting them in the small wrist-wallet. Ryou nodded, and Bakura disappeared back into his soul room.

Exiting the vault, Ryou was glad to find his guide waiting for him.

"Shall we go, sir?"

Ryou nodded, shutting the door and locking it. "Yes."

-----WE LIKE THESE BREAKS, DON'T WE?------

He stared at the elaborate headstone, the words from his position in the Shadows underneath a tree obscured by distance and rain. The few people who had gathered moved together in a flock of black wings, turning away from the stone and towards limos, cars and taxis at the entrance of the small cemetery.

Warm hands gripped his shoulders comfortingly and cool arms wrapped around his waist in support, but his eyes never left the grave, and the others around him made no attempt to draw his attention.

Finally, the last person left, taillights glimmering red in the distance. No cars remained on the dirt road that wound through the cemetery, and this section of the graveyard was hidden from the sight of the managers by a large hill that crested in the middle of the cemetery.

The hikari took a step forward, the warm hands letting him go, while the cool arms and body moved with him, helping him and guiding him towards the stone with the elaborate carvings and marble wings wrapped around it. Trailing his eyes over the stone engravings, the entire weight of the situation finally fell onto his shoulders, bringing the weight of everything else with it-

The light dropped to his knees, bringing the dark that supported him down with him. Silent tears streamed down his face, trailing down alabaster cheeks and landing with silent plops onto lap, knees and grass. Arms tightened around his shoulders as others moved forward silently, dressed in flowing black robes, placing gifts and tokens of both life and death at the angel's feet, before backing off, forming a ring around the statue.

Silently, the arms helped the light stand, move forward. Shimmering amethyst, filled with tears, gazed lovingly towards the statue, as he reached into his own cloak and placed one final gift in the waiting, outstretched palms of the angel, before stepping back, the Dark's arms wrapping securely around him again.

The others moved forward and focused energies, watching as everything seemed to disappear, sinking into the ground.

Two glittering orbs of violet and crimson gems shone one final time, before merging with the hands they were placed on, the eyes of the angel glowing for a moment each color, before settling back down to normal.

…

Dumbledore stared sadly at the statue, unnerved by the general feeling of the area. With everyone dressed in black, including black cloaks for safety reasons (Domino, after all, had had its share or strange happenings), it felt eerily like a Death Eater's meeting- only without a domineering Dark Lord and everyone wearing skull masks.

The two others who showed up with his three new teachers were unexpected- especially as they were never more than a few feet away from Mouto and Bakura. The other crowd, all of whom seemed to know no one else, did not speak, and instead opted to share the sadness which emanated from the young light.

For ten minutes they stood in silent vigil, the only sound being wind blowing through stormy grey skies that had only recently let loose their tears upon the world. And then, as one, they all moved away from the angel statue, an invisible force making them, leaving five cloaked figures at the feet of the beautiful sculpture.

Dumbledore knew that they would return to Hogwarts in the night, knew that they would seek out some kind of either comfort or retribution. He continued walking, finding a small, out-of-the-way spot in which to apparate. Hogwarts still needed his guidance; and he had been taking enough time off as it was.

…

Even after Ryou, Bakura and Malik had left to prepare to leave for England (and, as it turns out, Ryou's dead great-aunt's home, which he had somehow inherited), Yugi and Atemu remained at the feet of the angel, Yugi staring up into Violet-crimson eyes… so much like his own, and Atemu's.

Said yami still held the light to his chest, running calming fingers through his hair and emanating as much calm and reassurance as he could. Yugi's reaction was to snuggle further into the dark's chest, taking as much comfort as he could from the other.

Nearly an hour passed, and Yugi finally pulled out from his dark's arms, standing slowly. He took a single step forward, touching the angel's palms again, then its feet, its shoulders. He turned his head to Atemu slightly, amethyst meeting ruby- and Atemu nodded, without any words exchanged.

The Card Reaper appeared behind them, bowing to them both. With a flick of his hand, a single symbol appeared on the angel statue, on the plaque just below the winged creature's feet. It glowed momentarily, the eyes shining in response. Before the light died away to a plain black, Yugi pricked his finger, letting his blood well up from the small incision. He traced the symbol with his blood, whispering a binding for the Card Reaper to the statue.

When it was finished, the blood melded into the stone, the glow died down, and the symbol became a faint marking on the plaque.

Yugi looked about ready to faint, his energy drained, and Atemu quickly pulled his light into his arms, causing the hikari to lean against him.

"Are you alright with this, Card Reaper?" Atemu asked.

The Reaper nodded, a ghostly whisper echoing from his hood. "Yes, Master."

Atemu nodded, before walking away to, like all the others, find a suitable place to Shift through.

-------------AN APPARTMENT---------------

Ryou collapsed onto the couch, Bakura's Shadow-made body soon following. Malik collapsed into a plush love seat next to the couch, one leg draped off the armrest, the other leg dangling off the side and his head against the other rest.

They sat in silence, waiting. When there was no call of someone returning home after nearly half an hour, Ryou sighed, breaking the silence.

"Who were all those people…?"

Malik shrugged. "Dumbledore was there, so maybe some local witches or wizards?"

"But why would they come to Mouto-jii-chan's funeral?"

"I dunno- I'm not a Mark Mage."

Silence reigned again- but for barely a minute.

"Some were from the Axis- they could probably sense our own Auras, like theirs, and came to pay respects because we were here."

Ryou lifted his head to look at Bakura (who was lying sideways on the couch, eyes closed and head on his light's chest). "You could tell?"

"Unh."

Malik frowned. "Okay, so some were from the Axis- what about the others?"

"The Priestess always said that we probably weren't the only ones to use Heka like Mio, Spirit and Charter. Anyone from the Axis is immediately considered an Aura Mage, and Dumbledore is a Mark Mage."

"And we're Shadow Mages…." Malik summed up.

"So there was a representative of each kind of Heka there." Ryou sighed. "To think that Mouto-jii-chan would get such an honor…."

Malik sighed. "He probably made a lot of friends when he was an archaeologist, right?"

Ryou blinked at the tomb keeper. "But he wasn't an archaeologist. He studied it, but didn't Yugi say that Mouto-jii-chan earned his living from gaming?"

Malik laughed. "I wonder where Yugi gets his love for games."

Ryou shook his head, and instead turned to talking with Bakura. Malik raised an eyebrow at the look on the other's face, but let it slide… until, of course, Ryou looked up at him with a conspiratorial look.

"Oh, Malik… since you know so much about history, could you help us with something….?"

Malik gulped.

---------------NYU-NYA!--------------

Malik groaned, reaching above his head to grab another book. Why Ryou was so insistent on doing all this extra work suddenly was beyond him, but apparently the other hikari had a brain storm, and was making sure to use all possible resources.

Actually, Malik hadn't seen Bakura around lately….

Shuddering at what Ryou could have possibly conned his darker half into doing, Malik flipped open the book that now rested easily in his hands, none too heavy. Skimming the first few lines, he nodded- and tossed the book onto a growing heap behind him.

A pecking at the window caught his attention, and Malik whipped his head around to see a snowy owl perched on the sill. Raising an eyebrow in humor, he opened the window, only for Enima to fly in and land on the book he was reading.

"You know Ryou will kill you if you mess up his books." Malik informed the owl, sitting back down at the desk and taking the letter.

Enima made a shrugging motion, and clicked back, "The King does not need to know that I have been here."

Malik glared at the bird. "Oh sure, blame everything on me."

"Gladly."

Enima took off again, missing Malik's swipe at her, and flew out the window, circling higher and higher as she went. Malik made a face at the owl before staring at the letter in his hand. The script was obviously in Isis' hand, and he could only wonder what his sister would want from him.

He opened the envelope (whether by owl or normal post, Isis used modern means), and watched as a letter and a second envelope fell to the ground. Grumbling, he took the envelope and opened it up, pulling out another letter and quickly scanned through it, beginning to smirk as he did so.

"Dear Malik,

How are you, brother? I haven't heard from you in a while- what happened to weekly letters? I believe I am also at fault for that- however, as I have been waiting for a reply, I must say that it is not entirely my fault. The Tauk recently gave me a Vision- the first one I've had in a while, regarding a middle-aged man from England named Avery. He showed up here not two days ago. Apparently, you had a run-in with him, and removed him from the Dark Lord's service. Not that I don't approve of your action, but next time you decide to make a man a fugitive from a life he's lived since he was born, at least have a place for them to go first.

REGARDLESS IF IT IS IMPULSIVE OR NOT.

I do not mean to scold, but if I find one more ex-Death Eater that you have decided to 'liberate' coming to me at work and talking to me about you and the events happening in England, I swear I will drag you back here and make YOU work at the Museum for a month, every single day!

How are the Pharaoh and the Thief? I feel strangely separated from you all here in Egypt- I hope you can take some time to come visit your poor sister. We recently discovered what might possibly be a new tomb in our caves, and are planning on excavating it. The hieroglyphics seem to point to Egypt's Shadow Era, and we're guessing that this might be the Pharaoh's Great Grandfather. We'll keep you posted, brother.

Give my regards to Pharaoh and Thief, Malik, and I will hopefully talk to you later.

Ja,

Isis."

Malik sighed, tossing the parchment over his shoulder, and looked at the other letter, sitting oh-so-innocently on the ground. Something inside him screamed at him to ignore the letter- something else made him bend down to pick it up.

"Damn it… what's wrong now?"

He got barely halfway through the first sentence before his eyes widened, and he forced himself to continue to read. The moment he finished it, Malik whirled around, looking for the closest dark spot to Shift through the Shadows.

The letter floated harmlessly to the ground, landing face-up on the floor, the ink becoming smudged as an invisible liquid poured over it.

"Dearest Malik,

I know that I'm including this with my other letter, but something just came up. We recently found a number of bodies in our Tombs, not more than a few days old…."

----------AND NOW FOR SOME VARIETY: NYA-NYU!---------------

Jounouchi Katsuya sighed as he walked through black-painted, wrought-iron gates. Gravel crunched under his shoes as sunlight occasionally filtered between light grey clouds, lighting his path. Beside him walked the cold-hearted brunette CEO of Kaiba Corp., who was only there for a periodical check-up on his property.

Jou shot a glance at the stoic businessman, wondering if that was really why he was here- but Jou didn't have a car, and he would never turn down a free ride to the Domino Cemetery, since it was nearly 5 kilometers outside the city's boundaries.

Cresting the hill, Jou's eyes immediately landed upon the angelic guardian of the final resting place of Sugoroku Mouto. Something about the area seemed to have changed, seemed to have developed a new quality to it that made Jou's skin tingle and the hairs on the back of his neck stand on end. On his left, Seto paused in his stride, immediately feeling the new energy- but he continued on momentarily, acting as though nothing had changed.

Jou grumbled before following the CEO down to the statue, the only grave marker in the area (it had been in Sugoroku's will that he wish to be buried by his wife, who didn't have a marked grave). Jou looked up at the angel, blinking as he thought he saw something swimming in the winged creature's eyes.

Seto growled as he bent down by the name plaque, staring at a faint smudge that was barely noticeable. "I paid good money for this thing…."

Jou glanced down at the plaque too and frowned as he saw the pale lines. Crouching down beside the CEO, he traced the lines with his finger. They formed a kind of circle, inside of which eight lines ran from the center outward, past the circle, and then arced counter-clockwise, though they never touched. In the center where the lines met, another circle was drawn, this one with a triangle inside of it.

Seto grabbed Jou's hand away from the lines, glaring at the blonde. "What are you doing, Mutt?"

Jou growled, pissed. "What does it look like? I wanted to see what kind of shape the lines made- a gang marker, or something. What's it to you?"

Seto blinked, as though unsure why he had reacted the way he had, before he turned his head back toward the statue, this time looking up. He looked about to say something, but stopped himself, instead looking back down at the symbol. He mouthed a single word (Jou blinked as he found it looked like 'Yugi') before standing again, brushing off his hands.

He did his customary walk-around of the statue, double checking the ground and surrounding area, before coming back to the front of the statue where Jou still crouched, watching him. Seto caught Jou's eye and sneered down at the blonde. "I'll be waiting in the car, pup."

He turned around and walked quickly away, customary trench coat flailing out behind him.

Jou frowned at the CEO's back, about to make a comment- and a noise, seemingly coming from directly behind him, caught his attention. Turning around, all Jou found was the angel statue, the angel's wavy, flowing hair running down their shoulders and back. Although the general impression of the statue was very feminine looking, it also carried a presence that made it seem very masculine.

Consequently, Jou had a hard time deciding whether the statue was of a female or male angel.

He dropped to his knees, touching his fingers slightly on the angel's feet and bowing his head to rest on the small space of pure, uncarved stone between them.

"Sugoroku-jii-chan, please help me." He whispered it, so that if Seto decided to come back to get him the CEO wouldn't think him insane, talking to a statue.

"Yug's still missing, Kaiba's becoming more and more ruthless, I just lost my job, and we've all drifted apart. Anzu came back for a day for your funeral, and stayed for only long enough to say hi and ask how we're all doing before jumping on the next flight back to the USA. Otogi is still off in the USA somewhere, too, making a bundle off DDM. Shizuka's moved to Canto region- a bit closer than before, but I still hardly ever get to see her. Honda and I are the only ones that have been able to see each other on a regular basis, and I haven't seen Mai or anyone else for… for a long time.

"Sugoroku-jii-chan… when Yug left, ya asked me t' help ya wit the shop. I think I know now that it was t' make sure I wouldn't get roped into any gangs 'r anything… but ya helped me a lot more than that. Ya got me away from my 'father', ya gave me guid'nce n' ya were like a family to me… ya helped me wit' my education… an ya never made me do anything I didn' want to…."

Jou trailed off, not wanting to face facts. With Sugoroku gone, there wasn't much left that Jou could do. The game shop obviously needed to be taken care of, and for now… for now, he could do that- for a place to live, some living money, etcetera. But he couldn't picture spending the rest of his life working in the Kame Game Shop- maybe he'd wait for Yugi to come back (since the young hikari never finished high school, he didn't have much of a chance to make it in the general world). And if Yugi didn't come back….

Jou shook his head. There was no reason for the light to not come back- and he would continue thinking that until they found- Re forbid- Yugi's body and showed it to him, proving that there was no way that he would be able to talk to him again.

…

Seto stood a few feet again from Jou, having returned to see why the 'mutt' was taking so long to come back to the car. He didn't know how to feel in regards to anything happening now- didn't know why he had felt compelled to create a timeless marker for the old man, why he was suddenly worrying about the mutt and the others who happened to be friends of the short, tri-colored haired duelist.

He didn't know why he had the unexplainable urge to find the light, either.

Seto stood silently, watching the blonde before him start pounding on the statue's feet, silent tears streaming down his cheeks. Surprise weld up inside him- how could the death of one man bring a loud-mouthed, generally emotionless punk to his knees and to tears?

The brown-haired CEO walked forward, placing a tentative, comforting hand on the other's back. Jou froze for a moment, before grabbing onto Seto's knees and sobbing into his pants. Forcing down a groan, Seto crouched down by the other, letting Jou cry on his shoulder instead, even as he wished that the blonde had chosen a different time to have an emotional break down.

A pulsing in the air caught his attention, even as Jou started to sob harder. Seto looked up at the statue, noticing the strange, dual-colored eyes. They seemed to look down at him, judge him… Seto forced back a gulp, smirking up at the statue instead as his cool-headed thinking returned to him. He was scared of a statue with weird colored eyes….

Seto bit back a laugh- which quickly turned into a gasp as a ghastly figure arose from the statue. A cloak hung off his shoulders, hiding his face, while a steel scythe on a crooked, wooden pole was clenched in bone hands. A single piece of rope hung over his shoulder and looped under he opposite arm; cards that were unmistakably duel monster cards hung from said rope.

Seto frowned, about to say something in regards to horribly-done theatrics and attempts to make him loose his cool, when something caught his eye. The angel's eyes were glowing with fiery light, and the symbol that had once been faint and barely there shone bright with possibly black ink, and what looked disturbingly like blood.

As the Reaper pointed his scythe down at Seto, ready to strike, one moment of pure, uncorrupted, unbiased and unrelenting clarification and understanding flashed through his mind, imprinting itself firmly in his consciousness.

Then, the Reaper disappeared, the statue returned to normal- and Seto was left, nearly gasping for breath, as the entirety of the situation weighed down upon him.

Jou finally stopped sobbing, hiding his face and pushing himself away from Seto- or at least trying to. Without realizing it, the CEO had captured his blonde companion in a death grip, and didn't seem too keen on letting go.

Jou waited patiently (taking this time to wipe the remaining tears from his eyes and trying to rub out the tear tracks down his face), until Seto finally let go of him, standing up slowly, and then reaching down automatically to bring Jou up with him.

They walked back to the car in silence, Jou glancing worriedly over at the brown-haired business man, and sat down in silence as the driver started off, back to the city proper. Once they were in the city limits, Seto found himself freed of the burden he had been burdened with- and finally found that he was able to speak again.

"You okay, mutt?"

Jou growled. "I should be asking ya the same thing, Kaiba. You looked like someone had told you that Yug had died and you'd never get the chance to beat him!"

Jou immediately stopped, realizing what he had said. He lowered his head, concentrating instead on his shoes. He had just revealed his own private fears, his own worries- and had no doubt that the CEO would use them against him.

In fact, Jou's words had somehow struck a chord in Seto, causing his retort to die on his tongue (which could be considered a good thing, since it was in regards to the possibility of Yugi being dead). For some reason, the idea of the small duelist dying, or doing something that would cause him to be unreachable, and for Seto to never get to meet with him again, even if only in a duel...

Seto lowered the partition between the back of the limo and his driver, growling, "Straight to the Kaiba residence," before lowering it. Jou glared at him, lifting his head from its downward position.

"What do you think you're doing, Kaiba? I need to get home-"

"You will be moving in with me, and working at the Kame game shop, mutt."

Although Seto's tone left no room for argument, Jou found a number of things to argue about. "The hell, Kaiba! You can't tell me how to live my life! I'm gonna keep living at the Kame game shop until that place…" Jou trailed off, collecting his thoughts. "I'm gonna keep living there till I can't no longer. I'll live there and I'll work there or from there, and… and I'm gonna keep that shop open, for Sugoroku-jii-chan… at least, until Yug comes back."

Jou turned blazing eyes up to the CEO. "You hear me, Kaiba! I'm gonna keep that place good an' ready for whenever Yug' comes back!"

Seto paused, eye brows raising slightly at the blonde beside him. He held back a smirk, his eyes narrowing. "You're blinded by emotions, pup. Yugi'll be Duelling in some underground circuit, ready to come back out and kick your ass."

The reasons for Seto's seemingly random abduction of Jou were quickly obvious to the both of them, and Jou growled at being used- but at least he could get Kaiba's cooperation for the time being.

-----------------NUA-CHA-NYA!-------------

Rumors flew through the castle servants and pictures, carefully kept away from the ears of the humans living within. While the tenants slept, Hogwarts' elves, ghosts, poltergeists, pictures and the occasional spirit that the humans didn't realize lived there, moved from one to another, spreading the news.

The only living relative of the Pharaoh had died, and muggles and mages alike showed up to pay their respects- including Dumbledore. The Headmaster was elevated even more in the eyes of the non-humans inside the castle- some would bow to him as he walked by (which he 'tchd' at and told them he was no royalty); some would give him offers at seemingly the most random times; Peeves laid off students and teachers alike (though only around Dumbledore); and everyone tried at least once to help the aging Headmaster's blackened hand to heal.

No one asked where, why or how his hand had become damaged to apparently beyond even Madam Pomfrey's ability (who easily out-classed and out-healed even the best healers in St. Mungo's), but those facts were not needed to be known.

Even the centaurs had tried to help, and another rumor flying around was that there were giant spiders in the Forbidden Forest and even they tried to help Dumbledore.

All this, of course, happened after the rumor of the death of the relative of the Pharaoh.

The students and the majority of teaching staff were ignorant of the gossiping other residents of the castle. As far as they were concerned, this was the first 'normal' year that they had had in a while, and none were complaining.

Nearly Headless Nick observed to the Lady Mismerine that the first year the Ministry acknowledged the Dark Lord's return had been the calmest since Harry Potter had come to Hogwarts.

Time flew by, and soon it was November- the weekend of the first Quiditch match of the season. The entire school was out on the field, leaving only a very, very few people indoors. Dumbledore walked down the halls, having just returned from the pitch, the portraits bowing to him as he went.

Phineas appeared in a portrait of some Merpeople, scaring them into screaming at him in their high-pitched tongue. "Dumbledore! There's a snowy owl in your office- one of the school's owls! It comes with a message, and won't leave until you read it."

Dumbledore chuckled. "Run ahead of me then, Phineas, and tell our friend Enima to calm down. Fawkes just molted, and he's a bit irritable at the moment."

Apparently, irritable was an understatement. The office was nearly in ruins as Enima was chased around by Fawkes, the letter clutched tightly in the owl's claws. Dumbledore chuckled, even as the portraits continued to yell at the two birds. With a whistle, he brought both birds to each of his shoulders, taking time to pat down ruffled feathers on both before taking the letter from Enima.

"Dumbledore-Sensei,

"Sorry it's taken so long to send off a letter. We'll be heading up to England by noon (Enima should be traveling through the Realm to get there, so you'll probably get this around 10 am… hopefully that's enough time for you to meet us. We'll be arriving in our Private teacher's quarters that you arranged for us for the year.

Here the letter took on a different script- not as soft and loopy as the first one, with slightly more jagged edges.

"Dumbledore, we know you're up to something- searching for something or other. Obviously you have chosen not to take us into your confidence, but our main reasons for heading to England are to aid in whatever you are doing. That, and to get away from Japan. With all these rumors that Mouto-jii-chan was buried with some big treasure, more people have tried to raid his grave than… than Bakura's robbed tombs. Our protection on the tomb seems to have upset the family members of these would-be thieves, so we're going to be taking a 'vacation'.

Again, the letter switched back to the original writing- Dumbledore began wondering just who was writing this thing.

"Forgive Malik, he's very blunt. And I believe he is referring to my father, who is an archaeologist- Malik has very… strong opinions about the subject. But he is right that people have been getting suspicious. We always have alibis for the time of the attacks, thank goodness, but sooner or later someone is going to realize that it might not be us, but someone or something we have… 'hired' to work on behalf of us. Sadly, we won't be coming to teach- but if there's anything we can do for you, just ask. The only I ask of you is to be careful around Yugi… there's only person who can talk with him about Sugoroku-jii-chan and not get yelled at, and that happens to not be either me or Malik.

Dumbledore finally understood who was writing, and was more than a little surprised. Strange the letter might be (so far) but he had the strangest feeling that it would only get worse….

"I'm not sure that you would want us to stay in the castle, but it would be easier to keep an eye on things there. It would be certainly notably suspicious if we spend all our time in the Leaky Cauldron or some other inn in England. Regardless, we'll be sure to stay out of your way. Actually, Yugi's been hinting that he needs to see someone there- I would ask for your help in finding them, but as I have no clue whatsoever who it is, I don't feel the need to burden you.

"And Dumbledore- I just want to say thank you. Thinking about Europe- England in particular- and Hogwarts has drawn Yugi's mind off his loss, and he's quickly accepting that Sugoroku jii-chan isn't here anymore, because he has other things to worry about. It's natural for him- us- now, and you'll probably notice that as time goes on.

"But thank you again, and, whatever might have passed between us before is now in the past, and you can be sure that we won't let it altered our opinions of you or your staff- much.

Sincerely,

Ryou Bakura."

Dumbledore decided, as he sat down in his plush, leather chair, gently rubbing his fingers over his blackened hand, that he quite liked the young British albino.

------------------------HM… GUESS WHERE AND WHEN!------------------------

Ryou leaned forward, staring at the script in front of him with confusion and surprise on his face. He flipped through the book to a page in the 'chapter' before the one he was currently on, eyes scanning the writing. He bit his lip, turned back to the original page, before flipping back again to the second. He continued doing this for a few more minutes, until he finally attracted some attention.

Bakura had been staring at his light since he felt his emotions trickle down their carefully guarded and partially blocked link. He had watched Ryou flip back and forth, before he decided he had enough. Standing up, he stalked over to the hikari, slamming his fist onto the pages as Ryou was about to flip the book again.

Ryou's eyes widened as he looked up at Bakura, then quickly lowered again, blushing. "Sorry, yami. I didn't realize-"

"Well, apparently you realized something, hikari, and I would like to know what." Bakura growled, walking around and sitting down purposefully nearly on top of Ryou, forcing the other to move over lest he be squished.

"It's just- this book tells you how to use those Bells in the Bandolier we found."

Bakura snorted. "I believe I figured that out when we found them."

Ryou frowned at him, turned back to the old and slightly mouldy pages. "Yeah, well, not like this. By combining the bells together, or even just ringing them in different patterns, you can change who is affected by the bells, what they do to people, both alive and Dead-"

"Wait, those old pieces of metal can make people do stuff?" Bakura interrupted, eyes greedily shifting to the Bandolier (which was currently hung over the back of a chair in the kitchen).

"Well, Saraneth can… I think. Er… well, they're supposed to be used on the Dead, but apparently have some kind of affect on everyone else…."

Bakura's eyes glimmered, turning back to Ryou. "Teach me?"

The light glared at his dark. "Learn how to use the sword first, yami."

The door opened with a squeak, the sound of something dropping to the floor and someone cursing resounded into the living room, and Malik rounded the corner, hands filled with luggage.

"Ooof!" He dropped them all onto the floor, collapsing on the other side of Ryou so that the albino light was in the middle of the two. The Egyptian gestured vaguely to his once-burden, leaning back and relaxing. "Say hello to our luggage, guys. From Isis, of course- bought here, spelled in Alturist to hold ten times the amount of what it should, with hardly any weight at all."

Ryou looked vaguely impressed, and Bakura looked vaguely annoyed. "Then why in the Hells did you get so many?"

Malik shrugged. "Ask Isis. She's the one that ordered them- said something about what she wanted us to do with all of them would be coming in a package later in the mail." Malik opened one blearily lavender eye, glanced around at the mess of books, paper and food stuffs around the room.

"Where's Yugi and the Pharaoh?"

Bakura chuckled darkly, clearly happy about something. "Oh, they just felt the need to go tie up some loose ends."

Malik raised his eyebrows at Ryou, who shrugged- he had been asleep when the two had left.

Bakura stared out the window opposite him, smirking at the dark splotch on the horizon. "I would love to see how they 'tie' this up…."

---------------AT SAID DARK SPLOTCH----------------

Many people had tried to describe the mansion throughout the years as it was passed from one generation to the other, each one modifying it and, sometimes, nearly rebuilding the whole thing. A picture collage on the progress of the mansion from its early stages was kept in the formal sitting room, as a subject of conversation should either the hosts or guests feel a need to break any form of silence.

Of course, Seto and Mokuba hardly ever stepped foot in the formal sitting room, preferring their dining room for any guests who happened by, or the lounge, games or recreation rooms.

On the off chance that they should ever happen to be in the room, however, they paid no attention to the collage, artistically arranged above one of the five fire places that might have once been used to heat the huge room.

That did not mean, however, that other people did not enjoy the pictures.

"Wow… the Kaiba family has spent a ton of money on this place since it was first built…." Yugi smiled, feeling Atemu stir in his soul room.

((Well, they do like to flaunt power and wealth, aibou.)) The Pharaoh sounded disgruntled and uncomfortable, having been used to being out of his soul room for so long that being back in it made him feel cramped and slightly claustrophobic.

(-Its okay, Yami. As soon as we finish talking to Kaiba, we're going back to the apartment and finishing our packing, then heading off to England. There, we won't have to worry about anyone recognizing that there's more than one of us.-)

That cheered Atemu up- marginally- and he resumed silent brooding as Yugi walked around the room, looking at all the other antiques, a glimmer of gold beneath his cloak as he moved.

One of the servants came to get him, looking at the other quizzically. Yugi had decided to wear his cloak to visit Seto and Mokuba, keeping his hood high above his head. When asked who he was at the gate, he had followed Atemu's advice and had used his middle name and said that he had a special, secret "business opportunity" for Kaiba Seto-sama.

Atemu had gagged at the title that Yugi had to say, but both knew it was the only way to get into the mansion.

After some deliberation, he had finally been allowed in by the guards, the maid waiting by the door finally showing him to this room and told him to wait until he was summoned to "Kaiba-sama's" office.

Said maid reappeared at the door then, beckoning to Yugi. He had the idea that she had been told not to speak with him, in case she unwittingly gave anything away- not that anyone employed in the Kaiba mansion would, of course.

Yugi followed her obediently, gazing with a critical eye at the gorgeous pieces of art scattered throughout the halls. None were dusty, nor in disrepair or a damaged state, but both Yugi and Atemu were of the mind that it was more for show than an actual appreciation of artwork. Seto certainly didn't bother with such things, and Mokuba was too involved with his schooling and Kaiba Corp. duties to have anything to do with art, even if not for a lack of passion for the subject.

They eventually came to a simple but stylish carved wooden door, two effigies of the Blues Eyes White Dragons on either side of the door, and one on the mantle overhead. The maid knocked on the door, and Yugi felt Atemu press against him, offering comfort and reassurance as Seto's sharp voice called for them to enter.

They were both nervous- no, all three were. Seto was nearly on the edge of his seat, as hard as it was to tell, glaring at them and waiting for them to probably whip out a gun. The fact that one of his hands was clenched around something hidden by his desk did not reassure Yugi in the slightest.

The maid bowed to them, and left the room. Neither moved, neither spoke- the silence quickly became unbearable, but during that time the Pharaoh had the opportunity to study his rival.

Seven, almost eight years had been kind to Seto Kaiba- no wrinkles, very slight bags under his eyes, and, from what he had heard in his travels, a world-wide empire that no one could ever hope to dent, let alone bring down. He had grown, though not side-ways, nor vertically: his body, from what Yugi and Atemu could see beneath the suit, seemed to be more muscled, though not overly so, and his face had become more defined, almost more mature than the young high-school CEO/President who both Yugi and Atemu had dueled countless times against.

Suddenly, Yugi was reminded of his absence in Domino, how much he had missed out on- the rest of high school, graduation, college, Jou and Honda's antics, Seto and his continuous challenges, Mokuba's growing up, Anzu-

His breath caught in his throat. Atemu pressed against Yugi again, making sure that the Light knew that he was there. The yami had been worried about this kind of reaction- Yugi had always seemed okay with being in the Axis for that length of time, being away from friends and family. But, with the loss of Sugoroku coupled with this meeting with Kaiba- an elder, different Kaiba….

Yugi walked stiffly towards the desk, placed what he had been holding in his hands on the polished wooden surface, hearing it clank slightly, before turning around, never noticing the surprised look on the CEO's face, nor the dark one that was quick to follow. Instead, he made his way quickly to the door, opened it, and stepped outside, not once hearing any kind of sound to tell him that he should stay, confront this fear.

Yugi was halfway across the foyer, steps away from the doors outside, when he heard Mokuba's voice ask his brother something, a pitter-patter of footsteps echoing in the large, mostly empty space-

And then a firm, warm hand grabbed his wrist, turned him around and pulled him into a tight embrace. Yugi knew that that had not been what Kaiba had intended- and Yugi knew that he was in a very, very bad place, being this close to Kaiba Seto without spoken permission, but suddenly all his walls broke down, the dam collapsed, and tears streamed freely down his cheeks, even as he buried his face into the chest of his still-taller-by-two-feet rival.

Yugi didn't notice the arms wrap stiffly around his back, didn't notice how Atemu's presence left his soul room to appear beside the stoic CEO, didn't notice how those same hands gently pulled back his hood and cowl, nor how two sets of arms beside Seto's wrapped around his body to comfort him.

All that Yugi knew at that moment was that he felt very, very lost.

…

Atemu sighed as he lowered his head, concentrating on ignoring the glare and shocked looks that were aimed in his direction as he gently caressed his sleeping hikari's face. Yugi had cried himself to exhaustion, and then to sleep, in their arms, and Mokuba was quick to ask Seto and Atemu to bring Yugi to a large, finely furnished guest room beside his own.

For the last ten minutes they had been silent, Seto having left to retrieve what Yugi had left on his desk. However, the CEO had returned, looking for all the world like he wanted to strange somebody- or shoot them, based on how he had also apparently grabbed his pistol as well as the Sennen Key.

Atemu turned his attention to Seto, keeping one hand protectively wrapped in Yugi's own. "I… hello, Kaiba, Mokuba."

Seto frowned, unsure whether to be angry that Atemu was being so improperly formal and improperly formal at the same time. Mokuba, on the other hand, finally was able to break free of his silence.

"Wow! So you… you're- I never got to really talk to you before, did I?"

Atemu chuckled as he watched the raven-haired young man. In his first year of University for business at Tokyo U, Kaiba Mokuba had let his hair reach his waist and nearly passed, kept away from his face by a single silver band at his neck. His bangs had only grown longer, and although the center ones were kept trimmed away from his eyes, the pieces of hair that did not fall directly into his line of sight were left to reach down to his chin.

"Not face-to-face, Mokuba, no. I'm sorry we haven't been around these past few years- how have you-"

"Enough!"

Both looked quickly over to Seto, who was towering over them, filled with rage. "Kaiba?" Atemu asked, slightly worried but more curious.

"Seto?" Mokuba replied, obviously worried for his big brother.

Seto, however, ignored Mokuba as he took a menacing step towards Yugi, and Atemu found himself rising instinctively to fend off an attack on his light.

"You! You think you can disappeared, with nothing to go by for the rest of us, and then reappeared when you damn well feel like it? And then you decide that it would be nice to give me- ME- one of these little, blasted, golden demonic toys that you all seem so happy to have, because people trying to kill you non-stop is fun! I don't need this- I don't need anything you have, not anything you've touched, not anything you believe in." Seto's original train of thought seemed to come to an end after the first sentence or two, and even now, barely a paragraph into his rant, he was already grasping at straws.

Atemu noticed this, relaxing slightly. "It seems with no one to practice long, tedious and round-about conversations, you've become less articulate, Kaiba."

Seto immediately rose at the jibe. "I could say the same for you, Pharaoh."

Atemu twirled his hand around in the air, carefully keeping one steady in Yugi's hand. "Oh, no, I do not believe so. Aibou always makes an excellent conversation partner, and Ryou, Isis and Malik all are able to carry on at the very least interesting discussions. The Thief King, meanwhile, is always someone ready if the need arises to exchange insults with."

Seto fumed, about ready to attack Atemu. Instead, he brandished the Sennen Item he had been given in Atemu's direction. "Leave. Now." When Atemu made no move to follow his 'request', he instead turned to Mokuba. "I believe that there is still some work for you to do in your office, Mokuba."

The dismissal was obvious, and Mokuba hurriedly left, shutting the door behind him. On his way out, however, he mouthed the words "Good luck" to Atemu, fear and confusion in his eyes. Once Mokuba had left, however, it was back to the staring match.

Atemu could not understand what had caused Seto, normally so calm and emotionless, to act in such a quick and volatile manner. And a sudden pulse of knowledge from Yugi had him reeling. Seto hadn't truly believed that he existed, not as a separate person, even after the Ceremonial Duel. Seto had always known of him- but as more of a split-personality instead of a separate consciousness.

But now, he had seemingly shown up out of thin air, and Kaiba was obviously still trying to wrap his mind around that, as well as they showing up so suddenly after being completely off the radar for at least seven years. Add that to the Sennen Item clutched possessively in his hand (though Seto himself did not seem to notice this), and Atemu was sure that it felt like all rules of reality had been thrown out the window.

The mental image that produced caused him to chuckle slightly, before standing up and gently laying Yugi's hand down at his side. He immediately felt colder, but ignored it, walking over to Seto slowly, taking off his cloak as he went.

The familiar black leather and silver buckles instead of the strange cloak seemed to make Seto relax slightly, as did the solid contact from the Sennen Item. Atemu reached forward, wrapping his cold hands around Seto's own, causing him to grasp the Key with both hands.

"Maa, Kaiba-"

"Don't." Seto cut him off, eyes narrowing- but hands never struggling. "Don't start explaining, don't start speaking. You are in my home, under a false name, and probably carrying some kind of weapons on you. Be grateful you're not in jail at this moment. But you are going to listen to me, and you will not say anything until I've finished."

Atemu nodded his head, letting Kaiba have his fun.

"Good." Kaiba's eyes shifted over to Yugi's still form, and he felt a slight pang of worry, before he squished it. Yugi was his rival- nothing more, nothing less. He let his cold blue eyes return to Atemu, daring him to speak. "What are you doing here?"

Atemu carefully kept his smirk off his face. "We're not sure. The sudden urge to speak with you before we left for England-"

"England?"

Atemu nodded patiently. "Yes, England. Aibou has been offered a job at a special boarding school in England, starting next September, and we have decided to take the job and go."

Kaiba's eyes narrowed further. "Continue."

"We also had the impulse to take along the Key, although for what reason we did not know- though, when we were standing in that beautiful sitting room you have downstairs, we decided that there could only be one reason for either of these impulses, and decided to act on them."

Kaiba did not believe him- that was obvious- but he also could no longer believe that everything he had once so dutifully frowned upon and scorned was still just myths and legends- the being in front of him was proof of that.

He shook his head, trying to deny what was in front of him, but knew it was no use. Instead, he met steady crimson evenly, about to say something that would cause Atemu to love away from him- when a second glance at the ruby eyes caused him to stop. Did the once-Pharaoh think this was funny?

Seto met his gaze dead on now, challenging. 'So, he thinks that a Kaiba can be swayed easily….'

Seto spared Yugi a glance, a plot forming in his mind to throw Atemu off-balance. "So what exactly is this, anyway?"

Atemu immediately knew what he was referring to- even in Khemet where same-sex relations were not nearly as frowned upon as they were here and now, most people in those relationships did not openly show their emotions in front of others.

"It is as it always has been, always will be, and always was meant to be. You can decide what it is, Kaiba."

Seto frowned. "Is that so? Well, maybe you should take better care of your boyfriend, then."

It was a cheap shot, and both of them knew it. Atemu, however, shook his head. "Boyfriend? Kaiba- look at us. Those kinds of terms, those ideas- do you really think they could apply to us? That they could come close to describing what we are?"

In all honesty, no, Kaiba did not think they could. Then again, he also sincerely doubted that any words would be able to describe any of the Sennen Items Holders properly, other than 'weird'.

The fact that he was probably about to be included in that grouping made him stop and think about the situation. Even as he felt Atemu's piercing eyes boring into his soul, he made no attempt to stop the other. He was too bust with a bit of internal reflection.

'Do I really want to be a part of this? Do I sincerely want to be a part of this freak show?'

…did he really have a choice?

One glance into Atemu's eyes told him the answer- but he would not go down without a fight. "What makes you think I'll willingly let someone let you control my life?"

"I doubt controlling you, your life, your company or your family will be much of an issue with you, Kaiba. In case you've forgotten, we can't even control our own."

Touché.

"Does that mean that I wouldn't even be able to control my own life?"

"No, Kaiba." Tired, weary- Atemu did not want to spend all night doing this question-answer. Kaiba, however, was more than ready to spend days. "You are a Priest- and you would have more control over your life than anyone else."

"In your little group of misfit wannabes?"

"In… probably the entire world, Kaiba."

Well, that was certainly appealing. "And how do you propose this?"

Atemu didn't answer at first, walking over to the bed- and consequently bringing Kaiba with him, as he still refused to let go of the other's hands. It wasn't until they were both sitting and Atemu was- once again- firmly holding Yugi's hand with one of his own that he spoke. "Because, Kaiba, you would have the Key. I would have given you the Rod, but Malik seems to have developed a strong connection with it- don't scoff-" that had been exactly what Seto was about to do. "-and the Key seemed a much viable option. I doubt your competitor's wives, husbands and children wouldn't be too happy having their spouses or parents as your own, personal mind slaves."

Kaiba wanted to contest that last statement- he would never have used the Sennen Rod's power that way (the fact that he had just unwittingly acknowledged that yes, the Sennen Rod could control people's minds went unnoticed).

Atemu frowned, but smiled, eyes meeting Kaiba's again and holding them. "You won't betray us." Statement, not question, and not voiced like a question either.

Seto didn't mind- he had already realized that himself, and took pride that Atemu was second in telling him that.

Seto looked down at the golden Key in his hands. "So what am I supposed to do with this?"

Atemu frowned again, slightly. "I'll have to ask aibou, but we can probably go back and forth from England to here and back." The CEO had no doubt that they could travel that far on a whim. "We'll teach you what little we know of it- just basic rules, like summoning the Shadows."

"And then I have to figure everything else out?"

"I have no doubt you will succeed."

Seto glared at him. "If I die or am disfigured horribly, expect a call from my lawyer."

Atemu shrugged. "Good luck getting a hold of one that will be willing to sue for 'Physical damages caused by magic'."

…

Jou grumbled, turning over in his bed in the Kaiba mansion. He had an interview for a part-time job lined up early the next morning, and he knew that he should get to sleep.

But the overly soft mattress that the duvet the seemed to want to swallow him whole felt so different from the ones at his house, or the Kame Game shop, and he had no intention of letting himself relax in unfamiliar settings. Kaiba, he knew, was just using him to get a hold of Yugi- if the diminutive duelist should ever return to Domino, he would first probably seek out his grand father, and then his friends.

Jou, being Yugi's best friend, meant that Yugi would probably look for him first. He had already acknowledged that that was his only reason to be considered 'useful' to Kaiba Seto- and, growling, wished that Kaiba hadn't decided to offer his a place to stay- with people in it- that wasn't filled with memories.

Jou had learned long ago how important memories were, but he didn't need to relive them every single day. He could have left to go back to the Kame Game shop whenever he wished- he wasn't truly being kidnapped- just Seto and his usual 'friendly' way.

At least he had Mokuba to talk to.

However, both Kaibas had been in some kind of meeting when Jou had returned late from partying with Honda, and had missed saying good night to the siblings.

He turned away from the window, staring at the wooden door that led into the hallway. He heard quick, light footsteps on the carpet outside running down the hall, stopping just outside Mokuba's room, the creaking of a door, and then the same door closing. Jou was pretty sure that was Mokuba, and he sighed, something had suddenly occurred to him.

He growled. Just because he had better senses than most people, and a strangle acute sixth sense, did not make him a dog. 'Kaiba can go screw himself- I am no monkey, I am no dog, and I am DEFINITELY no mokey!'

Speaking of his sixth sense, a sudden power wave flowed over him, and he shot up straight in bed, staring at the door to the hall.

He remained like that for the whole ten minutes it took to hear the even, steady footsteps of one Kaiba Seto outside in the hallway, which paused outside his bedroom door. One of the doors opened slowly, Seto poking his head in, looking around the room- and blue met honey-gold, causing both to stop all movement.

Seto eventually slipped into the door, shutting the door quietly behind him. "Why are you still up, pup? Shouldn't you be sleeping for your interview?"

Jou snorted, refusing to growl. "For your information, moneybags, I've been trying to get to sleep, but this damned bed of yours if too uncomfortable." He patted the duvet which was trying to smother him, and Seto snorted.

"Really? Then maybe you'd like the floor better, mutt."

Now Jou did growl, not longer caring what the CEO thought of him. "The hell, Kaiba, you-"

A sudden amplified feeling came from Seto all at once, followed closely by a new smell on his body. Jou growled again, eyes narrowing. It wasn't anything natural, that's for sure. He looked Seto up and down, trying to find the distinguishing factor.

Seto noticed the scrutiny and frowned. "What, pup? You smell something?"

Jou glared at the other man. "Well 'scuse me, Kaiba. But what you do- go find some Shadows to roll around in?"

Both Jou's and Seto's eyes widened, struck by nearly the same realization at the same time. Jou was surprised that he had said 'Shadows' instead of what he intended, completely instinctively. Seto was surprised that Jou had been able to recognize that- maybe his 'pup' and 'mutt' comments weren't so far off the mark.

Seto sat down beside Jou, pulling the Sennen Key out of his pocket, holding it before Jou's eyes. The blonde's own eyes widened considerably further, before he took the gold Item, turning it this way and that, like a jeweler appraising a never-before-discovered precious stone.

"Re, Kaiba- is this really- when- where- how'd you get this?"

"It's the real thing?"

Jou glared at him again, handing back the Key. "Damnit, Kaiba, if that's not the real thing, then why the hell d'you smell and feel like Shadows?"

Kaiba smirked, about to make a dog comment, when Jou's eyes narrowed. "Know what, Kaiba? I don' care. G'night."

Jou slumped back down under his covers, falling asleep almost instantly. Kaiba remained for a few moments longer, before turning around and walking out the door.

…

Mokuba had waited up for his brother in their family room. It was really a small room, with comfortable couches, a big, 72" wide screen plasma television, and a bookshelf on the wall opposite the home theater. It was a private room, reserved only for the Kaiba family, connected directly to their own bedrooms- and was therefore off limits to the serving staff.

It was also direly in need of cleaning- with both Kaibas now working non-stop, no one was ever there to use this room, except for the dust bunnies.

A rustle from his brother's room told Mokuba that Seto had returned from talking to Atemu- the young man could only hope that Seto had the foresight to not kill the Ancient Pharaoh.

The door to Seto's room clicked open and closed- this room was generally dark, what with being directly in the center of the mansion and therefore receiving no light, and the small corridors to each of their rooms were pitch black. Mokuba didn't know that his brother was actually there until he stepped silently into the small pool of light from the television.

He sat down on the couch next to Mokuba, running his fingers over the key of gold he still had in his hands- Mokuba took that as a good sign.

"Seto…?"

Cold blue eyes flickered up to the television screen, frowned. "Don't ever mention this meeting, Mokuba."

Mokuba's eyes widened. "Wha..? But, why? Wouldn't Anzu and the others-"

"Exactly, Mokuba. Yugi and that damned Pharaoh have been able to get out of the spotlight- and stay there. You know their past- what the Pharaoh has done. If word gets out, heads will roll- and the ones doing the execution will be aiming for Yugi."

Mokuba nodded, still a little unnerved. "I guess… I mean, enough weird stuff happens around Yugi that it will be noticeable eventually, right?"

Seto nodded. "And I still need those two." As he said this, he rolled the key around in his hands, before placing it into an inner pocket of his trench coat- Mokuba wasn't all that surprised to see that it didn't leave the slightest hint that it was there.

"So… what about that Key?"

"Apparently, they'll come occasionally from England to inform the basic ways on how not to kill myself. Then I'm supposed to figure everything else out for myself."

Mokuba grinned. "That should be easy, right, Seto?"

A snort. "Easy to chop my own arms off, it that's what you mean."

Mokuba winced. "What happens if you do?"

"I have informed that Pharaoh that I will be suing them both should that occur."

Mokuba had to hide a second wince- and a chuckle. "How are you going to find a lawyer who will sue for magical happenings?"

Seto gave his brother a long look, stood up. "You need to stop hanging around with the geek squad and the puppy, Mokuba. Good night."

Mokuba waited until he was safely in his own room before laughing. Although it was unfair that he couldn't tell any of Yugi's other friends, he knew that Seto had good reasoning- and the sudden mental image of Seto with a pig's tail, ears and nose just wouldn't leave him alone.

----------------------------------END------------------------------

End Notes:

1. The song used in the first scene is from the LotR soundtrack. It's by Annie Lennox, "Into the West". I thought it would suit the situation properly, and I'll probably end up referring to it occasionally, but not re-typing it. Gah, that would be a lot of work.

2. Yeah, about Kaiba's new Sennen Item. I like Malik with the rod. I just think that there's so many implications that can be taken from Malik learning how to properly use the Sennen Rod's powers, that giving it back to Kaiba seems like Malik's giving up on it and what he's learned in his past. So Kaiba gets the Key instead- and I'm saying Key, because I've seen both 'Key' and 'Ankh', and as I'm using 'Ankh' for something else, it's now 'Key'.

3. And about Jou and the whole 'dog' like thing- I was originally going to bring in some other little critter that Kaiba would end up getting 'attached' to, but since Jou already has so many 'dog' references, I couldn't help myself. :) More next chapter (or the one after that….)

4. Yeah- it's late, I'm going to go de-fry my brain now.

Eh, it's shorter than all my other chapters (I think), but I felt this little Mokuba scene was a good place to leave off. And the pig idea? Don't ask- I've been studying ICS non-stop for the last five hours or so (with the exception of the last half hour, when I finished this off) with "Listen to your Heart" by DHT and "Shadow Games" by Trixie Reiss playing in the background. For some reason, pig and cow stuff sound really funny to me right now.

So, erm… yeah. I was originally attempting to put the whole year off into this one chapter, but gave up once I realized that I was on page 27 and that I couldn't go much further without shrinking the rest of the events into one half to one page each.

Blah.

And I HATE contacts- they make your eyes go all scratchy and screwy if you wear them too long (especially if you've had them in since 7:00 this morning, and it's now almost midnight). But they make your eyes pretty (especially the amethyst-colored and cat-eye ones), so it doesn't matter. .

And if anyone out there can explain where in Re's name is the section on "Format" in the "Introduction to programming using Visual Basic: Versions 5 and 6" text, please tell me- preferably before February 1, 2006. Our ICS teacher is the biggest loser in the world (a funny loser, but the class is stupid- HE doesn't know how to do the applications, he expects US to know!)

And now I'm sighing because I still have to draft a Physics 'Help' (Cheat) Sheet. I can't wait until all these exams (which are NEVER timed properly) are done, because then I can learn about the Meiji restoration, and THAT is an interesting subject.