DD: Alright! Let's get this chapter started! Oh, and I own nothing!

When Yugi woke up the next morning, the first thing that he did was check his phone for texts. To his delight, he found that he had received two. The first was from Yami, responding to his last message with a maybe. Yugi felt heat rise to his cheeks when he saw what Yami had called him.

"Aibou," he whispered, a small smile growing on his face. Then he opened the second text, which was from Joey Wheeler.

Heya, Yug! Anything new on the Christmas party for tomorrow?

Yugi paused. Every year, he and his friends celebrated Christmas together by sleeping over at someone's house on Christmas eve and then returning to celebrate with their families the next day.

And every year, someone had to plan the party. Usually it went in a circle, going from Malik, to Tea, to Joey, to Serenity, to Ryou, to Tristan, and finally to Yugi. And since Tristan had organised for them to celebrate Christmas at the hospital with Serenity after her eye operation last year, it was Yugi's turn.

Another smile formed on his face.

I think so, Joey. You know how Ryou said that his dad would be visiting him for Christmas?

Yeah, what about it?

He can't make it, so Ryou would be all alone.

Would be?

Yugi waited for Joey to realise what he was hinting at. Sure enough, a few minutes later, Joey sent another text.

Ah, I see what you're getting at! So we surprise him by throwing the party at his place?

Yugi groaned.

No; no surprises! You know Ryou hates them.

...

Joey... please tell me you didn't already text Malik...

Just after he sent the text to Joey, he got a text from the blonde-haired Egyptian.

Hey, so what's going on with the surprise party at Ryou's tomorrow?

-TombKeeper-

Yugi groaned, running a hand through his already-messy hair.

No! No, Malik! There's no surprise party! We're going to tell him about it when we see him today!

#Spoilsport XP

-TombKeeper-

Would you stop using hashtags and signing your texts like that?

#-TombKeeper-

-TombKeeper-

Yugi sighed and decided not to respond to the text.

Yami was a late riser, but midday was late, even for him.

He groaned and sat up, rubbing sleep out of his eyes.

"It's about time," Marik sighed from where he was standing beside him. "If you didn't wake up in ten minutes, we were going to wake you up ourselves."

Seeing the glass of water in Marik's hand, Yami had a feeling that he would have been woken up before the ten minutes were up.

He sighed, narrowing his eyes. "Ten minutes, hm?" Marik nodded. "So you weren't going to throw that water over me in about a minute?"

Marik blinked. "...No..."

Yami shook his head. "You really are terrible at lying."

"I'm not lying!" Yami raised an eyebrow. Marik hesitated. "... It would have been two minutes."

Yami shook his head, trying to hide a small chuckle as he threw off the blanket and stood up. He soon found Bakura just sitting on the couch, staring out of the window with his arms folded.

"He's been like that all morning," Marik muttered. "He didn't even react when I showed him the video I had of his first time on a roller coaster."

Yami glanced over at his younger brother incredulously. "Really?"

"I'm serious!" Marik hissed, showing Yami a bit of the video. "He didn't even make me delete it."

Yami frowned, looking back at Bakura. He walked over to the albino and snapped his fingers in front of his dried-blood-coloured eyes. Bakura blinked but didn't react otherwise.

Yami sighed, closing his eyes. Not again... He sat beside Bakura and put a hand on his shoulder.

Bakura flinched and glanced over at him, eyes cold. "What do you want?" His tone was bland, dead even.

"Are you okay?" Yami asked, his own tone clear and slow.

Bakura looked back out the window. "Yeah. Fine."

Yami kept his gaze on his brother. "You and I both know that's not true."

Bakura didn't respond. Marik leaned against the back of the couch, his head between Yami and Bakura's shoulders. "You can tell us, Baku."

Bakura glanced at them out of the corner of his eyes before shaking his head. "You don't want to know."

Yami heard Marik swallow. The latter clenched a fist. "I'm going to kill him."

Yami chuckled coldly. "Didn't you already try that last night?"

Marik blinked in surprise and looked over at Yami. "You knew about that?"

"Of course we did," Bakura snapped. "Why do you think he's still alive?"

Marik's lavender eyes went round. "You told him?" His voice was barely a whisper.

Then the door crashed open. "Yes, they did," Aknamkanon told him. "Just now."

Marik gulped and Bakura seemed to shrink into himself a bit, but if he did, it was unnoticeable.

Yami stepped between Marik and Aknamkanon.

"Step aside, Yami," Aknamkanon ordered.

"No," Yami replied, his voice neutral. "Marik did nothing wrong."

"He tried to kill his own father," Aknamkanon pointed out, his tone courcing.

"You're not my father!" Marik yelled, stepping out from behind Yami, despite the look that the older boy gave him.

Aknamkanon raised a brow. "It seems you're still quite disrespectful."

"I'm respectful to those who deserve respect!" Marik growled. His eyes were narrow slits of lavender. "Not to you."

Aknamkanon tutted. "I think I still need to teach you some manners." Marik was silent as he glared at Aknamkanon. Aknamkanon took another step towards him. Yami stepped between them again.

"Yami," Bakura muttered, "stop."

Yami glanced at the albino with wide eyes. Bakura's eyes were closed. "It seems as though your brother finally learnt his lesson," Aknamkanon purred with a smirk.

Yami waited for Bakura to stand up and yell at Aknamkanon. Or try to protect Marik. He did neither.

Yami glared at Aknamkanon. "What did you do to him?"

"That is none of your concern," Aknamkanon replied with a smirk. "Now I have some business to attend to with Marik."

Marik swallowed and stepped out from behind Yami. "What do you want?"

"I just want to teach you a lesson," Aknamkanon explained, "so that you don't attempt to kill me a third time."

Wait, a third time? Yami's eyes widened and he glanced at his brother.

Marik's head was lowered. His tanned face was paler than usual and Yami could hear slight clinks as the golden shackles around his wrists shook slightly with his trembling hands.

"You don't have to go," Yami told him.

Marik just walked over to Aknamkanon without speaking, his head still lowered.

"Good boy," Aknamkanon sneered before grabbing Marik's wrist and yanking him out of the attic.

The door slammed shut behind them.

Yami rounded on Bakura an instant later. "What the hell?" He growled. "Why didn't you say something?"

"I did," Bakura replied. "I told you to stop."

"That's not what I meant!" Yami shot back.

Bakura took his time in standing up. "I know what you meant," he said. "And I didn't say anything because it was Marik's fault. Not mine."

Yami stared at Bakura before his eyes narrowed. "What happened to you?"

Bakura's cold eyes met Yami's angry gaze. "He happened. He happened to Marik as well. You're the only one that isn't suffering because of him!" The albino's voice rose to a yell and he clenched his fists.

Yami's eyes went from narrow to wide. "Do you really think that?"

Bakura snorted. "I know it. And so does Marik." He turned his back on Yami. "And just so you know, I won't be covering for you again like I did yesterday."

"You don't have to cover for us!" Yami roared in response, anger flooding him again. "But not telling him what we do isn't covering for us!"

"I didn't tell him anything," Bakura snapped. "You and Marik did. Do you really think I'd tell him Marik tried to poison and shoot him?" Yami was silent. "I didn't think so. It wasn't my fault he was there. It was Marik's fault for not hearing him."

Marik was thrown into a wall as Aknamkanon stopped in front of the basement door. "You're in a lot of trouble, Marik," he said as he unlocked the steel door.

Marik tried to back away but Aknamkanon caught his arm and pulled him down into the basement, slamming the door shut behind them. "What do you want?" Marik hissed.

"To teach you a lesson," Aknamkanon replied, pulling Marik's hands behind his back as they reached the middle of the basement, where a recliner was standing. He tied Marik's hands behind his back with a rough piece of rope. Marik squirmed, trying to get loose, his teeth gritted. "I wouldn't do that if I were you."

Aknamkanon shoved him and he tripped backwards, landing in the recliner. Disorientated, he couldn't react as Aknamkanon tied his torso to the chair with a thicker piece of rope so that he couldn't sit up.

He pulled the recliner over to the hose he had installed. Marik tensed, wondering what was going to happen. Aknamkanon turned the tap slightly so the water came out of the hose in slow drips. Then he attached the hose to the wall using several pieces of duct tape.

The water began landing on Marik's forehead rather than the ground. Marik chuckled, "You're losing your touch."

"I wouldn't bet on it," Aknamkanon replied in the same, monotonous tone as he leaned against the wall with folded arms. "Just wait for a while and we'll see what you think of my methods then."

Then he stood up and left the basement. Marik frowned when he heard the door slam shut. What?

Ryou trudged towards the park, where he and the others had agreed to meet up to go ice skating. He can't make it… and mom can't either…

Under normal circumstances, Ryou wouldn't mind if his mother wasn't home. But it was Christmas.

Seeing the gang come into his vision, Ryou forced his usual, polite smile onto his face. At least I'll be able to hang out with them at the party tomorrow.

"Ryou!"

Ryou yelped and fell backward as his vision became filled with nothing but platinum blonde hair. "Malik!"

"You're finally here!" Malik cheered, standing up again.

Ryou sighed, shaking his head. "Is there even any point in asking why you glomped me?"

"Probably not," Malik admitted, causing Ryou to chuckle. "Here." He offered down a hand to help Ryou up.

Ryou took it with a smile as the rest of the gang ran over to him.

"Malik, we told you not to do that!" Anzu scolded, frowning at Malik, who rubbed the back of his head with a sheepish smile. "And where the heck is your coat?"

"I'm not cold." Malik shrugged. Ryou looked at Malik's appearance and noted that his Egyptian friend was wearing nothing but a pair of black cargo pants, a lavender, sleeveless hoodie that was a size too small for him and showed part of his stomach, a white tank top that was also too small for him, and the golden shackles around his wrists.

"How can you not be?" Ryou muttered, shivering even in his thick, furry winter coat that blended in with his fluffy hair.

"Easy," Malik replied, stretching his arms behind his head. "It's warm out."

"Are you kidding me?" Joey, Anzu and Tristan all yelled, causing Malik to jump and almost fall back.

"I'm with Malik; it's not that cold," Yugi agreed, wearing his usual black leather attire.

Ryou sighed, shaking his head. "I really wonder about you two sometimes…"

"Guys, are we going ice skating or what?" Serenity asked, arms folded and an eyebrow raised. She was also decked out in winter gear, but even still, Ryou wasn't sure how she wasn't cold considering how her pink jacket was half as thin as his own coat.

"Yeah, sure, Serenity," Anzu sighed, grabbing Malik by the ear and pulling him along. "Let's go."

"Hey, lemme go, lemme go, lemme go!" Malik yelled, forced to stumble after her.

"It's a pity that Kaiba and Mokuba couldn't make it," Yugi commented, a pensive look on his face. "They always seem to be busy nowadays."

"Actually, I was talking to Kaiba yesterday," Joey countered as they followed Malik and the girls towards the ice rink. "He should be coming with Mokuba in about an hour. Just in time for-"

Tristan cut him off by clapping a hand over his mouth, muffling the end of the sentence.

Joey yelled in indignation and pulled away, glaring at Tristan. Ryou frowned. "Just in time for what?"

"Never mind that," Yugi cut in, eager to avoid the subject. "Since when have you been talking to Kaiba?"

"Since school ended last week," Joey replied with a shrug. "We exchanged emails on the last day." The three boys stared at him in shock. His cheeks began to turn red. "What?"

"Don't you and Kaiba argue over everything?" Yugi asked in shock.

"Yeah, so?"

"So why are you emailing him?" Ryou asked, shaking his head.

"Do you have a crush on him or something?" Tristan laughed.

Joey's eyes widened and he glared at Tristan. "What was that?" Before Tristan could reply, Joey turned to Yugi. "C'mon, Yug, you know I don't like moneybags like that! Tell him!"

Yugi sighed, finding it impossible to ignore the large, pleading brown eyes in front of him. "Tristan, leave Joey alone." He smiled and began running towards the rink. "Now come on, before the others start without us!"

Marik groaned. His head pounded with every drop of water that landed on it. His vision was blurry, he couldn't think straight and he couldn't tell whether he was looking at the roof or the floor anymore.

"So." Aknamkanon leaned over him. "Are you ready to talk?"

Marik groaned again. "What about?"

"I want to know how you tried to kill me," Aknamkanon said, "and how you managed to almost do it."

Marik swallowed, his lips dry. "Got a gun from Bandit Keith…waited by the door… only reason I didn't shoot you was 'cause Yami stopped me…"

"Your dear brother, eh?" Aknamkanon raised an eyebrow. "Go on." Marik shook his head. Aknamkanon turned the tap a little and the water dripped out faster. It felt like a weight was hitting Marik's head with every drip. "Talk or it'll just get more painful."

Marik swallowed again. "Found some sleeping pills in the bathroom one day and I tried to sneak a bunch into your food… and then later on I tried to stab you in your sleep…"

Aknamkanon nodded. "And why did neither of these attempts work?"

"I dropped the pills and you were coming so I didn't have time to put them into your food…and Bakura heard me in time to stop me," Marik said in little over a whisper.

"Excellent." Aknamkanon turned the water on full blast. Marik yelled in pain and began squirming, unable to breathe with the water cascading over his nose and mouth constantly.

"Don't worry, I'm not going to kill you," Aknamkanon purred as he watched the platinum blonde struggle. "This is just to teach you not to try to kill me again." He leaned close to Marik's ear as the latter's struggles began to grow more desperate. "Because it won't work. And the next time you do, I really will kill you."

Then he turned off the tap, leaving Marik gasping for breath. A cloudy fog covered Marik's gaze and he was vaguely aware of being untied and hauled out of the seat. The trip back up to the attic was hazy for him. All he remembered was tripping over his own feet more times than he could count.

Then the door to the attic was opened and he was shoved in, skidding on his knees.

He didn't seem to notice Yami walking over to make sure that he was alright. He didn't seem to notice that Bakura didn't even glance in his direction.

His wild hair was now sopping wet, along with his black t-shirt and brown trousers.

"Marik." Yami put a hand on his shoulder. "Are you alright?"

Marik glanced up at him, blinking. "What?"

"I said are you alright?" Yami repeated in a slow, clear tone.

Marik shook his head to rid his ears of the buzzing noise that filled them. "Yeah, fine," he replied. He staggered to his feet, ignoring Yami's offer of help, and made his way to the bathroom to dry off.

His head continued to pound as he towel-dried his hair and he glanced up at the mirror. His tan skin was pale, his eyes were bloodshot and he had a feverish blush on his cheeks. "Great," he sighed before pulling off his black tank top and leaving it on the radiator to dry. He walked back out to the main room in the attic and flopped down onto his mattress.

"Marik-" Yami began.

"Don't," Marik mumbled, not looking at him. No one spoke again after that.

"Okay, will someone please tell me what's going on now?" Ryou asked. Soon after Kaiba and Mokuba had arrived, the group had split up. Yugi and Malik had stayed with him, Tea had gone off with Mokuba, Tristan with Serenity and Joey and Kaiba had started arguing. Again.

But then they had all gathered together again for lunch and continued to throw secretive glances at him.

Malik grinned his usual, hyperactive grin and looked over at Yugi, ignoring Ryou's question. "So where are we having the party this year, Yugi?"

Yugi smiled and glanced over at Ryou. "Well, I was thinking we could have it at Ryou's house. If he doesn't mind."

Ryou's eyes widened and he stared at Yugi in momentary shock. "What?"

"Well your parents aren't going to be home, and we don't want you to have to spend Christmas alone," Yugi explained only to be cut off by Joey.

"So we're throwing the party at your place!"

"He didn't agree to it yet, mutt," Kaiba sighed from his place beside Joey.

A vein throbbed on Joey's head and he glared at Kaiba. "What'd you just call me?"

"Mutt," Kaiba repeated, glaring right back at Joey.

"I'm not a friggin' mutt, you jerk!" Joey yelled, slamming his hands down on the table.

"You sure look like a dog now," Kaiba growled. "And a disobedient one at that."

"Why you-!"

"Guys, would you stop arguing?" Anzu sighed, her head in her hands. "You're giving me a headache."

The two glared at each other once more before turning away. "What Joey meant to say was that if you want to throw the party at your house, we'd all agree to it," Serenity said with a smile.

Ryou felt tears spring to his eyes. "Guys..."

"Don't you start crying because if you do, then I will too!" Mokuba laughed, looking as far from crying as could be.

Ryou smiled and wiped his eyes dry. "That sounds brilliant. Thanks, guys."

Everyone in the group either nodded or grinned at him before they returned to their conversations.

Later that night, Yugi checked his phone for any new messages. He found that he had received one from Yami a couple of minutes previously.

How was your day?

Yugi smiled and replied to the text.

It was good; I went ice skating with a couple of friends. How was yours?

It took Yami a few minutes to reply.

Not great; I had to spend it with my brothers.

Why didn't you just go outside?

Again, it was a few minutes before Yugi received Yami's response.

Can't; grounded.

That sucks :(

No kidding.

Yugi sighed and was about to reply when he saw a small icon at the top of his screen. He shrugged before pressing it, curious to see what would happen if he did.

It flashed green and Yami's name and number appeared on screen, causing him to freeze.

No, I don't want to call him! Yugi thought, his mind jumbled up and frantic. Before he could hang up, Yami answered the call.

"Hello?" Yami's voice was deep, baritone even.

It suits him, Yugi realised. He swallowed. "Um… hi, Yami."

There was a pause. "Yugi?" Yami's voice had a confused tint to it.

"Yep," Yugi replied with a nervous laugh.

Another pause. "Let me guess… you accidentally called me?"

Yugi could almost hear the smirk in his voice. "How did you-"

"You told me yesterday that you were still trying to work out everything on your phone," Yami replied, "and you sounded embarrassed when I picked up."

Yugi sighed. "Sorry…"

"Don't worry about it, Aibou," Yami chuckled.

Yugi felt his heart leap. "Aibou?"

"Did I say that out loud?" This time, it was Yami that sounded embarrassed.

"Yeah; you also called me that before when we were texting." Yugi tilted his head, even though he knew Yami couldn't see him. "What does it mean?"

"It means partner," Yami replied, still sounding embarrassed.

Yugi smiled softly. "That's so cool! Now I just need to think of a nickname for you!"

"There's no need-"

"How about…Mou Hitori no Boku?" Yugi suggested. "It means 'my other self' and we seem to like a lot of the same things so it's kind of like we're completing each other." Yami was silent for a moment. "Never mind; I'll think of a better one."

"No, I like it," Yami said, cutting Yugi off. A brilliant smile appeared on Yugi's face but before he could say anything, he heard muffled voices on Yami's end of the line. Then Yami returned, sounding a bit panicked. "Sorry, Yugi, I need to go."

"That's fine," Yugi assured him. "Talk to you tomorrow?"

There was a small pause. "Sure. Night, Aibou."

Yugi smiled. "Night, Mou Hitori no Boku."

Then the dial tone sounded in Yugi's ear. Yami was gone.