AN: Ah, I never clearly explained: In most Asian countries, students/family members have to pay for tuition, even for public schools…and the story takes place in Japan. Hope that cleared up any misunderstandings. 

Thanks to…

dragonlady222: I hope so too! One day, Bakura will have to explain things to Ryou, but for now, hopefully Ryou gets it. Thanks for the review!

ONIX-21: Lol, that's great to hear! Thanks for the review!

FlyingShadow666: I'm glad they're running away, too. Hopefully their new life will be good. Thanks for the review!

AnimeNymph: Haha, okay! Thanks for the review!

casaragi: Really? I'm glad! Thanks for the review!

Spirited-Lilly: Yay! That really makes me happy!  Thanks for the review!

The Vampire Prince: Alright! Some improvement! Lol. Thanks for the review!

Tails7651: Heh, no problem. Bakura's not 'ebil'!! Haha, wonder what made you change your mind? He's a nicer guy than he seems, yeah? And I'm really pleased to hear that. Thanks for the review!

Chapter Eight: First Acquaintance

Bakura's arms were growing numb, and he could feel sleep just waiting to take him. Grunting in annoyance, Bakura shook his head and sighed as he repositioned himself, taking care not to disturb the lightly snoring Ryou in his arms. The seats of the subway train were hard plastic, making the journey uncomfortable. However, it wasn't as awkward as the stares he was receiving from people. I guess I would look kind of strange with a kid in my arms, and a Blue Eyes White Dragon backpack wedged between my legs, Bakura amusedly thought.

He heaved another sigh as the pain of his body deteriorating returned with his wakefulness. God, I can't wait to sleep…But Bakura knew he wouldn't get that chance unless they checked into some kind of homeless shelter.

Could he risk it? Wouldn't the first place his father may possibly check be all the homeless shelters of Tokyo? Was it guaranteed that the social workers at the havens didn't tell anyone who was staying at the sanctuary? Bakura gritted his teeth as he went over the scenario again. He couldn't recall whether or not homeless shelters gave away information concerning runaways. And couldn't the government take away Ryou, saying that he would be better off in foster care than in a shelter? I should've done a little research on this stuff before just…argh.

Once again, Bakura arrived at the same conclusion. He couldn't risk going to a shelter, not when Ryou's future as well as his, hung in the balance.

So what was he going to do now?

I…I have to get out of Tokyo…

His first thought was that he had finally gone insane. Get out of Tokyo? a voice sneered. How are you going to do that? Bakura closed his eyes as the train rumbled around a corner, thinking fast. He could take the Tokaido Shinkansen to Kyoto! The nozomi trains only took about two and a half hours, though the fare was pretty high. If his father was crazy enough to track them that far, he would have a hard time finding them. After all, Kyoto had a population of over 1,400,000. It was the best hiding place.

A small voice broke his chain of thoughts. "Aren't you tired?"

Bakura blinked, trying to focus his bloodshot eyes. "Uh, just a little," he lied, patting Ryou's back.

The child looked curiously at him, cocking his head to the side. "I'm worn out. Were you awake this whole time?" Ryou asked, covering his mouth as he started to yawn.

"Yeah…I was thinking," Bakura said, nodding slowly. He glanced up at the message box to see what stop was coming up. The teen groped at his feet for the backpack; they would have to get off at the next station.

"What were you thinking about?" Ryou enquired again, crawling off Bakura's lap and sitting down next to him as he rubbed a palm against an eye.

Bakura pushed himself up as the train started slowing down. Ryou followed suit, and almost fell over. "Careful!" Grabbing the child's hand, Bakura answered, "I was thinking about where we're going next."

As soon as the train came to a complete stop, the doors opened and a few people got off. Bakura and Ryou stepped across the threshold, and found themselves in a dark corridor of half-broken lights.

"And?"

Bakura led the way to the escalators, keeping a strong grip on his little brother's hand. "And I believe we're going to Kyoto."

"Eh?! We're leaving Tokyo?" Ryou exclaimed, obviously wide awake now.

Bakura didn't say anything as he glanced up and down the street. "Which way to the shinkansen?" he muttered under his breath.

Thankfully sinking into a plush seat on a nozomi train, Bakura immediately started to nod off. The problem of money was already pressing his mind, especially since it had taken over half his yen to buy one-way train tickets to Kyoto for both his brother and him. However, fatigue clamped down on his body and dragged him off to much needed sleep before he could even start to actually worry.

"Look, Bakura! You can see the-" Ryou glimpsed over his shoulder from his position next to the window and saw his brother dozing off. He swallowed hard as he slowly sat back, feeling a little bummed. As he settled in for a long, silent ride, the boy studied the unconscious Bakura.

The child couldn't help feeling a little hurt at how fast Bakura had fallen asleep, but he also felt relieved that his brother was getting rest. He looks too pale…Ryou thought. Or maybe it's just the lights…

It felt like the minutes were crawling by as slowly as they could to Ryou. The child tried to amuse himself on the train ride by simple things, such as watching the scenery fly by. Yet it all only worked for so long. Soon the child was bored, and even when he tried to sleep, he felt like he was buzzing with energy.

Ryou found he was tempted again and again to awaken his brother for company, even though he knew he was exhausted. However, the child restrained the urge until the very last minute, when the shinkansen pulled into a station in Kyoto.

To Bakura, it felt like he had just closed his eyes when Ryou shook him awake. "We're here!" the boy said, looking anxious. As Bakura groaned, feeling his body complain as he tried to stretch, Ryou excitedly pranced around the window and gazed at passersby. "Come on, Bakura! Let's go!" Ryou got the teen to stand. Bakura winced as he stretched a little, shaking off sleep, before he reached for the compartment overhead that held their backpack of possessions.

Ryou lead the way off the train, but as soon as they stepped off, the child slipped his hand into Bakura's. "Where do we go?" Ryou asked, looking this way and that.

Bakura took a deep breath, still trying to pull himself together.

"Bakura, which way?" Ryou asked impatiently, gently squeezing the teen's hand.

He looked up at Bakura in time to see the teen raise a hand to his face before he passed out.

Ryou was too shocked to scream. Trembling, the boy knelt next to his brother's fallen form and tentatively reached out to touch it. "B-Bakura?" He immediately pulled his hand back as he started to shake uncontrollably. "Bakura?!"

The child screamed his name again, afraid to touch the body. He was frightened, completely and utterly frightened, that Bakura was dead. His mind was too numb to tell him that was impossible. His eyes, though, told him that what he saw before him…

People were already starting to gather around, murmuring and pointing. Ryou was starting to feel suffocated. Why wasn't anyone helping him? Why were they all just standing there?

"Move out of the way, folks," a gruff voice growled. Ryou slowly looked up as an angry-looking sandy-haired teen break through the crowd. The tan stranger glanced down at Bakura, then back at Ryou. His expression never changed.

He was about to move away when Ryou weakly reached out. "H-help…"

Hard eyes almost glared at Ryou's crying chocolate ones when someone shouted.

"Marik! Wait for me!"

Ryou was too traumatized to be surprised to see an almost identical man emerge from the crowd, and so was the teen called Marik.

"I thought I said to-" Marik irately began, but his friend cut him off.

"I can get my luggage myself - what happened here?"

The shorter, more softly-featured teen took one glance at Ryou's empty eyes and knelt across from the child as he quickly examined Bakura. A numb Ryou mutely watched the teen check for a pulse and murmur some things to himself.

The kneeling teen kindly smiled as he looked at Ryou. "Don't cry, kid. He's going to be okay." Ryou didn't say a word, looking lifeless, but the teen just turned his attention to his lookalike and said, "Marik, pick him up. You have to carry him."

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AN: It was a little slow in the beginning, but the end was okay, right? (I didn't get a chance to edit thoroughly…it took too long to do the research :;) Please review! Hrm…expect the next chapter by Monday or Tuesday night! Thanks for reading!