DD: Hey guys! Welcome to the tenth chapter, and the end of the first arc! There's only going to be two arcs in this story. Hope you enjoy. I own nothing!

Reviews:

Ern Estine 13624: Hope you like it.

Guest: Hope this was soon enough.

Kigen Dawn: Aww, thanks! So do I! Only... more sadistic. FIRE.

thor94: Trust me, his life is anything but lovey dovey. This is all just in the Christmas break. Which is two weeks long. Which ends soon since the school was being repaired. As in next chapter soon.

yuukifudo: This review made my day. Thank you. Thank you so much. It was amazing.

LadehEevee: To make as many people as possible feel what you just did.

Guest: Yeah, I'm a dick.

ShadyCandy: Not quite what happened but not far off.

Jean Sumar: Jeez, er, sorry. Didn't mean to do that. Hope you like the chapter.

A tense silence filled the air. "Well?" Aknamkanon raised an eyebrow. "I haven't got all day." He pressed the blade closer to Bakura's throat. "And as you can see, neither does he."

"Release the boy now," an officer called as several guns were pointed at Aknamkanon.

"Ooh, scary." Aknamkanon smirked. "But you see, if you fire, I'll just use him as a shield and bang, bang, he's dead."

"What do you want?" Ryou asked, stepping forward.

Bakura looked over at him and opened his mouth, but Aknamkanon pressed the knife harder against his throat. A thin line of blood trickled down the albino's neck.

Aknamkanon looked between Ryou and Bakura, his smirk growing. "This." He pulled a gun out of his pocket and aimed it at Ryou.

"Ryou, move!" Ryou felt a weight barrel into him from the side and heard the gun go off. It was the loudest sound he had ever heard.

He heard the second loudest sound a second later when whoever had saved him yelled in pain.

Ryou hit the ground with a thud and staggered to his feet, turning to see who had been stupid enough to save him. His face paled.

"Malik!"

He ran over to the platinum blonde and crouched down beside him.

Malik was gripping his chest in pain.

"Get the medics over here!" He heard an officer roar.

"Malik, let me see it," Ryou murmured. Malik's teeth were clenched and his eyes were squeezed shut. He shook his head. "Please, Mal, work with me." He gently peeled Malik's hand away from the wound.

Blood dripped onto the snow beneath them, staining it a vibrant red. Ryou gulped but looked at the wound.

As far as he could tell, it wouldn't be fatal. It wasn't close enough to Malik's heart to endanger his life. But it probably punctured a lung.

"Here; use this!"

He looked up to see Yugi holding out his jacket. Ryou smiled and nodded, taking the jacket and tying it around Malik's chest as a makeshift bandage.

"Keep an eye on him," he mumbled to Yugi, who nodded.

He tried to stand up, but stopped, feeling Malik's hand grip his. He turned to his tanned friend.

Malik smiled feebly. "Kick his ass for me."

Ryou returned the smile and nodded before turning back to Aknamkanon.

Aknamkanon raised an eyebrow as Ryou began walking towards him. "Oh? What's this? Does the bunny want to fight?"

"No. That would be ridiculous," Ryou laughed. It was a chilling sound, unlike his usual cheery giggle. "I want to make a deal with you."

"What kind of deal?"

"Play a game against Yugi. If you win, you get to keep Bakura, Marik and Yami. If you lose, you have to let them go."

Everyone's eyes widened. Bakura glared at Ryou as though to say 'this had better work'.

Aknamkanon narrowed his eyes, as though thinking about the situation. "Deal. Bring him over. I'll challenge him to a game of Duel Monsters."

Ryou smirked and turned to walk back to Yugi. He heard another bang and the third loudest noise he had ever heard.

His own shriek of pain.

He fell to the ground, pain shooting up from his back.

"On second thought, no deal." Aknamkanon pointed it at Ryou again, this time at his head. "Say goodbye, bunny."

Before he could fire, the gun was forced to the side by a hand gripping his wrist. He looked up and scowled at Seto. "What the hell do you think you're doing?"

"I think that I'm making sure you don't kill him," Seto replied coolly. "It's your own fault that you got distracted."

Aknamkanon growled and wrenched the gun away from Seto, loosening his hold on Bakura as he did so.

Instantly, Bakura was pulled out of his grip by Duke. "Hey, you okay?"

"I'm fine," Bakura growled, pulling free of Duke.

Sirens wailed, announcing the arrival of the medics, who ran over to Malik and Ryou. The two were lifted onto stretchers and carried to the ambulance to be treated.

Bakura looked back at Aknamkanon to see Joey and Tristan fighting him.

Although Aknamkanon was strong, the two street fighters were too much for him and soon had him pinned against the wall.

"You're going away for a long time for this," Seto growled as Aknamkanon's hands were cuffed behind his back. "I'll make sure of it."

Bakura froze. "Aknadin."

"Already checked when we got here," Duke said. "His car's gone."

Bakura clenched his fists. "Don't worry, kid," an officer said, placing a hand on his shoulder. "We'll find him."

"Sure," Bakura muttered, shrugging his hand off. He looked over at Yugi. "Yami and Marik are upstairs in the attic. Go let them out."

Yugi hesitated. "But what about you?"

"I'm fine. Just go."

Yugi didn't need to be told again and he bolted inside. Bakura looked over at the stretchers and walked over to the one that Ryou was on. The snow-haired boy's eyes were closed, so Bakura assumed that he was unconscious. "You idiot. Why the hell would you put yourself in danger like that?" He hissed.

Ryou opened his eyes and smiled at Bakura. "I wanted to help you."

Bakura scowled, the fact that Ryou was awake not phasing him. "So you get yourself shot?"

"I wasn't planning on it." Ryou frowned. "I just knew that either he'd accept the challenge and lose, or he'd attack me and get distracted."

Bakura shook his head, gripping the sides of the stretcher. His knuckles turned white. "You're an idiot," he whispered again.

"So are you." Ryou smiled and placed his hand over Bakura's. "But you're a free idiot."

Bakura paused and let that sink in. He was free.

"What do you think is going on?" Yami asked. Both he and Marik had fallen silent and had been listening to the muffled yells from outside.

Now there was nothing.

"He wouldn't have killed them outside," Marik reasoned. "Maybe-"

They both froze at the sound of thundering footsteps and looked up in time to see the door swing open.

Their eyes widened in shock. "Yugi?"

Yugi smiled at them. "Hey."

"What are you doing here?" Yami asked, pulling away from Marik.

"I came to get you guys out," Yugi replied, running over to Yami. He threw his arms around the taller boy.

Yami winced slightly but returned the hug. "Are you okay, aibou?"

"I'm fine," Yugi assured him. "But… Ryou and Malik…"

Marik sat up straighter. "Malik-pretty?"

Yugi nodded. "They… they were both shot… The doctors said that they'd live, but…" He swallowed.

Yami rubbed Yugi's back reassuringly. "I'm sure they'll be fine."

Yugi smiled. "Thanks, Yami." He stood up again. "Come on; let's get out of here."

Marik nodded, standing up. He turned to Yami. "Think you can walk, Pharaoh?"

Yami hesitated before trying to stand up. After a few failed attempts, he managed to stand with Yugi and Marik's help. "Thanks."

"No need to thank us." Yugi looked up at him. "We're your friends. Well, and brother."

Yami chuckled. "Still. Thanks."

"Anytime, Mou Hitori."

"Tell us what he did."

A crash followed the statement. "Bakura!"

"That recording equipment is expensive!" The chief protested, glaring at Bakura.

"I don't care," Bakura hissed. He knocked the microphone off the table and it landed with the recorder. "It's our business. Not yours."

"We're just trying to help-"

"You're not even fucking arresting him!"

"Bakura, calm down." Ryou stood, his face paling as he put pressure on his injured leg. He placed a hand on Bakura's shoulder. "They can't send him to prison without a court case."

"Why the fuck not?!" Bakura snarled. "They can see what he's done! He just shot you and Malik!"

"He still needs to be given a trial," Ryou protested. "So sit down and answer their questions. The sooner you cooperate, the sooner you can leave and the sooner he'll be locked up. Yami and Marik finished ages ago!"

Bakura glared at the younger boy before reluctantly flopping down in his seat again. "Fine."

Ryou sighed and sat next to him. The chief rolled his eyes and pulled out his phone as a makeshift recording device. "What did he do?"

"He locked us in the attic," Bakura replied. "And tortured us for eight years. Every day. And he killed two of our friends."

"For the record, who is the 'we' you are talking about?"

Bakura gritted his teeth. "You already know that it's me and my brothers."

"Please state their names for the record."

"If you love the record so much, why don't you two just fuck? You look like you need it."

"Bakura!" Ryou hit the other's shoulder lightly, hiding laughter.

The chief's face flushed and he scowled. "Just do it, kid."

Bakura sighed. "Yami and Marik Sennen."

"And your friends?"

"Atem Kosey and Heba Abayomi."

"And his brother, Aknadin, was aiding him, correct?"

"Yes."

"What was the last thing they did to each of you?"

"Aknadin ruined Marik's arms and cut up my back, and Aknamkanon…" He paused. "It happened to Yami. His business is his business."

"Son-"

"Don't call me son!"

"Fine. Look, kid, we need to know what happened."

"Didn't you see that video?" Bakura snarled.

"Yes but-"

"Yeah, yeah. For the record. I get it." Bakura gripped the sides of the table. "Aknamkanon raped him. Happy?"

The officer stopped recording. "Thanks for your time."

Ryou stood up. "Come on, 'Kura. Let's go. You and Marik are staying at my house for a while."

Bakura stood up and stormed out of the room.

"Disagreeable brat," the chief muttered.

Ryou turned and glared at him. His eyes blazed despite his calm demeanour. "Excuse me, but you just made him tell you some very personal and traumatising things. If you can't imagine it, picture finding out that your wife or husband raped your child if you have one. Now picture forcing the answer out of someone who was forced to watch." Ryou turned and followed Bakura out of the room. "Good day, officer."

Yugi sat on the plastic chair of the station waiting room, swinging his legs back and forth. Marik, Malik, Bakura and Ryou had already left for Ryou's house, where they would all be spending the night. Yami and Yugi on the other hand were waiting for Solomon to collect them.

"Do you think Grandpa will be mad?" Yugi asked.

"Maybe a bit," Yami admitted, "but he'll calm down once we explain things to him."

"You think?" Yugi looked up at him.

Yami nodded. As though on cue, Solomon pushed open the door to the waiting room and hobbled in, making a beeline for Yugi. "Yugi!"

Yugi gasped as he was enveloped in a bone-crushing hug. "Grandpa, I-"

"What were you thinking?" Solomon took a step back. "You could have been hurt! Killed! Are you okay? Did you get hurt?" He groaned. "Dear gods, Yugi, I've been worried sick! I've been praying to Ganesha the whole time and-"

"Grandpa, I'm fine," Yugi insisted with an assuring smile. He turned to Yami. "Yami, this is my Grandpa. Grandpa, this is Yami."

Solomon looked up at Yami with narrowed eyes but after a moment he smiled. "Nice to meet you. I'm so sorry about what happened."

"It's not your fault, Mr. Mutou," Yami replied. "And it's nice to meet you too."

"Just call me Grandpa, Yami. All of Yugi's friends do," Solomon chuckled.

Yugi sighed. At least Solomon seemed to like Yami. "Is it okay if Yami stays with us for a while, Grandpa?"

Solomon hesitated. "We don't have a spare room, but we have a blow up mattress that we could put in Yugi's room for you if that's okay?"

"That would be amazing," Yami said. "Thank you."

"It's no bother." Solomon grinned. "Now, who wants some hot chocolate when we get home?"

The two shared a smile and followed Solomon out of the station.

"You're still an idiot. You know that, right?" Bakura asked with a scowl as he unwound the bandages around Ryou's leg.

Ryou winced. "It was worth it."

"What the hell are you talking about?" Bakura looked up at him in disbelief. "You were shot! Fucking shot!"

Ryou sighed. "Could you please tone down on the swearing?"

"Why should I?" Bakura grumbled.

"Because you're in my house and I don't appreciate it."

"Prude," Bakura snorted.

"I am by no means a prude. You can swear, but just not so much!" Ryou frowned.

Bakura met his gaze. "You look like an upset bunny when you frown."

Ryou blushed and looked away. "Probably got it from Lily."

Bakura snorted. "I've seen Lily. Her frowns are scarier than yours are."

"Oh shut up." Ryou looked back at him. "Aren't you meant to be switching the dressings on my leg?"

"Aren't you meant to be defending yourself?"

"Against what? You saying I'm an idiot?"

"Yes." Bakura took the last of the bandages away and began cleaning the wound with an antiseptic wipe.

Ryou yelped.

Bakura paused. "Sorry." He began again, gentler this time.

It still stung, but it was easier to manage now.

Ryou sighed. "As I said, it was worth it. You're free now." He paused and blushed. "A-and by you, I mean all three of you, of course."

Bakura smirked. "Of course." He threw the wipe into a nearby bin and squeezed some cream into his hand, massaging it into the skin around the wound to prevent inflammation. "But you still shouldn't have risked yourself like that. You could have gotten hurt worse. Like Malik."

It turned out that Malik did have internal bleeding, but since the bullet had missed his vital organs, he would be fine after some rest.

Hence why he was staying with Ryou. Marik was changing Malik's bandages in the kitchen. Or should be, anyway.

Knowing them, they could have forgotten about the injury started making cake.

Ryou shrugged. "But I didn't. And besides, Malik's fine."

"I know, but…" Bakura looked away.

Ryou smiled. "Are you feeling bad for us?"

"No, of course not!" Bakura replied gruffly, bandaging Ryou's leg again.

"Good. Because we'd do it again," Ryou replied. "We'd do it ten times over."

Bakura finished bandaging the wound and met Ryou's gaze again. "Really?"

Ryou nodded and lowered his leg off the couch that they were sitting on. "Of course." He moved closer to Bakura. "We care about you."

"You barely know us."

"We still care."

They both fell silent.

The distance between them grew smaller.

Suddenly, Bakura stood up. "I should go get some sleep. Long day."

Ryou nodded, hiding the disappointment in his eyes. "Of course. You're in the guest room at the end of the hall upstairs."

Bakura nodded. "Thanks."

Ryou watched as Bakura walked upstairs. Not once did the older boy look back.

"Are you sure you'll be okay on the air mattress?" Yugi asked, watching as Yami plopped onto the makeshift bed. "If you want, you can take my bed."

Yami shook his head. "You've already lent me clothes and pyjamas. I'll be fine."

"I'm pretty sure that Grandpa went out and bought them for you," Yugi admitted. "I don't remember seeing those."

Yami was wearing well-fitting dark blue pyjama bottoms as well as a black tank top. They along with the clothes had fit him far too well to be Yugi's.

"I suspected as much, but when I asked about it, he just said he was keeping them in the attic for when you were tall enough for them," Yami replied.

Yugi flushed. "I could wear them if I wanted to!"

Yami chuckled. "I'm sure you'd look just as amazing in them as you do in your own clothes, aibou."

Yugi's blush darkened and he looked away. "Thanks."

"Why are you thanking me?" Yami tilted his head. "You've done so much for me these past few days. I should be the one thanking you."

"You already did," Yugi pointed out. "And it was nothing."

"It wasn't nothing, aibou." Yami looked him dead in the eyes. "Atem and Heba died trying to help us escape and you managed it."

"I guess…" Yugi rubbed the back of his neck.

Yami sat up next to him on his bed. "There must be some way that I can thank you."

"Eh?" Yugi blinked in surprise and shook his head. "No, it's fine. I don't need any thanks."

"That's why I want to give it to you," Yami said. "You didn't do it for anything other than helping people. You had no ulterior motives in mind." He tilted his head. "There must be something you want."

"No, not really." Yugi shrugged.

Yami hummed. "Yugi? Do you trust me?"

Yugi smiled. "You know I do, Mou Hitori."

"Then close your eyes."

Yugi hesitated before obliging. A moment later, he felt a pair of soft lips on his own. His eyes shot open again and he met Yami's gaze.

After a moment, he closed his eyes again and returned the kiss. Yami gently cupped the back of Yugi's head, deepening the kiss.

Yugi moaned softly, wrapping his arms around Yami's neck. Yami chuckled and pulled back, earning a soft whine of protest. He rested his forehead against Yugi's. "Thank you."

"Are you sure you're okay, Malik-pretty?"

Malik took a deep breath and forced a smile. "I'm fine, Marik. I just need to go home for a bit. My sister's probably worried sick about me."

Marik hesitated before nodding. "You know that if you need me, just text me and I'll be there."

Malik's forced smile faded to a genuine one and he nodded. "I know. Thanks, Mar." He pulled on his helmet and turned on his Vespa. "See you later."

"Bye."

Malik pulled away from the house. The drive home was uneventful, apart from the fact that he almost hit a cat.

And even then, he only almost hit it. He didn't actually hit it.

It would have been so much better if he could take off his helmet, but Ishizu would kill him.

And she seemed to have spies everywhere. Whenever he did it, she knew about it.

Thankfully, his house was only a half-hour drive from Ryou's, so he didn't have to deal with his boredom for long.

When he stepped into the house, he wished he was still on his bike. "F-father…"

His father stood in the hallway, glaring at him with folded arms. "Where were you, Billy?"

"My name's Malik," Malik sighed.

"That is not a Calliark name!"

"And Billy is?"

"We've been over this, Billy."

Malik sighed. "I was at Ryou's house."

"You should have been back earlier. You know what day today is."

Malik tensed. No. Not yet. Not again. It couldn't be.

His father raised an eyebrow. "Billy. Earth to Billy. You need to get ready."

"No…"

"Yes. I will not have you abandon our religion!" His father narrowed his eyes. "The ritual will take place in an hour. Get ready."

He turned and walked towards the kitchen, undoubtedly getting ready for the annual ritual.

Malik gulped. No. This couldn't be happening.

He did the first thing he could think of.

Turned his phone on.

"So you like horror films too?"

"Who doesn't?" Bakura snorted. "Gory ones are the best."

Ryou sighed. "I love them too, but my friends never let me choose good ones so I just pretend to be terrified. The ones they pick are nothing but jump scares. No real plot."

"Those are stupid and a waste of time," Bakura muttered. "Have you seen Occulus?"

Ryou tilted his head. "No. Is it any good?"

"It's decided. We're watching it."

"But you haven't seen Sweeny Todd and I want to show you that…"

Marik groaned, his head falling onto the armrest of the couch. "You two are just as bad as each other. Can't we just watch both of them?"

"No," they replied in unison.

"Stubborn idiots," Marik muttered as the two continued to 'debate' over which film to watch. His phone vibrated and he took it out.

A text from Malik. Just one word.

Help!

Marik stood up, pocketing his phone.

"Hey, where are you going?" Bakura asked. "We're supposed to be watching a film!"

Marik didn't even look back at him. "Malik-pretty needs me."

DD: They're out, but Aknadin is still out there! And what will Malik do? Find out in the next chapter. Please review. See you next time, Killer Queens!