There's more to life than Duel Monsters Chapter 8: Arrivals, a yu-gi-oh fanfic

There's more to life than Duel Monsters.

Ch8: Arrivals.

Again! Ah! I do it too much! Apologising for the long wait – I had to scrape through some tough university subjects. Not worth the time spent, let me tell you. Yes, well enough excuses! Let me continue where we left off…

(A couple of notes:

Amenti is the religious Egyptian place of judgement and purification for dead souls.

A satrap is a local governor left in charge after being conquered, paying tribute to the Persian Empire.

Conon – an Athenian general – and his 8 ships took refuge in Salamis after their defeat at Sparta.)

F L A S H B A C K

Cyprus, Salamis

The reign of Evagoras, satrap to the Persian Empire

The predominant smell was that of fish. But then Bakura had found that to be true of most docks.

It wasn't like the people around here cared. Every night small fires dotted the streets in the poorer districts.

Bakura had been revelling in the anonymity of Salamis at night. He had just washed the berry dye from his hair during a refreshing swim in the sea.

Bakura was still wet and salty but there seemed to be a festival on, so he was one of many. Though the streets were decorated and Bakura had lived here all of this life, he'd had a hard week and thus didn't know which festival was on.

Thank the gods it's over.

Walking past the fires was unavoidable in that festive harbour – there were too many, all surrounded by people chatting or incapacitated. Some of them were sailors from Conon's Athenian fleet – comfortable in their element, some were poor and homeless – they welcomed the warmth, and some, like him were part of the unofficial thieves' guild – here for the talk.

Bakura grinned. It's time to collect my reward.

As he approached the nearest fire, he noticed the young man. The gold jewellery he wore was unmistakeable, as was the armband Pemas Bakura had made for him.

The blonde, tanned Athenian sailor was standing with some other people around the fire, listening intently to the story being told by a scruffy urchin.

Bakura casually walked within earshot and hid in a convenient alcove to observe the group unnoticed.

"…but that is nothing to our Phantom. They say he can melt into shadows and steal everything you own in one night. No lock can stop him; he is the greatest thief in the world. You have heard of that hideous nobleman slain by his slave? Well, a week before, the Phantom…"

News sure spreads quickly in Salamis.

Bakura thought back to his biggest heist so far. It had taken a lot of manoeuvring to get access and maps for the mansion. It had taken days of work to steal everything that wasn't nailed down, then the nails and then everything that was.

Bakura smirked as he remembered hanging around in the empty halls afterwards; trying to think of some way to make a mark to show it was him. He had been against drawing things on the walls every time he robbed a place because that was just asking for trouble, his anonymity earning him the street nickname Phantom, but it worked against him when trying to become the best thief in the world by reputation.

Bakura stretched as he remembered being captured because the owner had decided to come home early and sent his staff ahead to prepare the house. That was a close call.

It had taken a bit of doing and a couple of switches with Pemas Bakura to convince the guards that he was an innocent slave, a present for their master who had been waiting at the house and hid when the robbery took place. Thankfully, the guards fell for it, mostly due to the fact that he did not have anything on him at the time and looked scared to death.

Bakura shuddered as he remembered the fat aging nobleman who owned the mansion, and his interest in his newest slave. He had eventually found the perfect opportunity and escaped, after a gruelling week. Bakura really hated being forced to kill people but the man really had it coming. Even the guards didn't seem too eager to capture the assassin.

Bakura pushed away the disturbing memories for later; they would make a nice bed-time horror story for Marik.

He looked over at the man by the fire. It's sweet how Marik finds these things educational.

In the glow of the fire it was hard to tell whether it was Malik or Marik. The worried smile gracing his lips suggested it was Malik but the way he played with the razor sharp dagger he always carried made Bakura more inclined to suppose it was Marik.

Marik, worried? Marik isn't the worrying type. Stab now, ask later is more him.

Bakura smirked at the thought that Marik was worried about him. It was a rare thing to have Marik so obviously in the palm of his hand. The idea of all that power spread a warm, glowing sensation through his body, more than any alcohol had ever done.

It would seem that Marik has lost this round.

Bakura stretched and climbing out of the alcove, made his way to Marik's side of the fire. He took his time to savour the warmth and excitement at the prospect of getting the reaction he wanted out of Marik, in spite of Marik's attitude to such reactions. If he played the beautifully dealt hand well, Marik didn't stand a chance.

Arguably the greatest thief in the world, and definitely the oldest, Bakura had learned the hard way that no victory was a victory unless it was complete. Tomorrow, a new round would begin, but today was going to be his.

F L A S H B A C K

Yugi Moto hurried to the bridge in the park, the group having chosen that meeting place for this Saturday despite the cold September wind.

Yugi's leather warmed up quickly as he ran; he was late.

The ancient door handles on the door to his room had finally given way this morning, locking Yugi in. The window, seldom used anyway, and certainly not in autumn, was stuck and it had taken Yugi's grandfather a while to break down the door with the emergency fireman's axe.

It was very much like a takeoff of 'The Shining' except the axe head had fallen off, and Yugi was still repressing the memory of what his grandfather had used next. Suffice to say, they needed a new door, and perhaps a new door frame.

Everybody was already there, when Yugi arrived at the bridge, as well as a girl Yugi had never seen before, dressed in a pink dress and warm dark pink, furry coat. She had long brown hair and bandages over her eyes.

This must be Serenity.

Serenity had gone home after the operation though she still had her bandages on and couldn't go to school. Jounochi had decided to take her out with his friends because he thought she would be bored cooped up at home all week.

Yugi waved to his friends as he approached. They were all wearing jeans save Malik, even Anzu, who preferred skirts. Honda wore a black sports jacket over a white t-shirt, braving the cold, Jounochi seemed immune to it in his white t-shirt. Anzu had on a blue warm coat over a sleeveless blue shirt. Malik was wearing black leather pants that looked like a second skin, with a golden belt. His t-shirt was deep blue, and said 'Angel' on it in gold lettering, he also seemed immune to the cold.

"Hey, Yugi!" shouted Jounochi, "I wanna interduce you to my baby sister, Serenity."

He looked over at the new girl. "Serenity, this is Yugi, one of my bestest buddies."

Yugi smiled at the introduction. "Pleased to meet you, Serenity."

Serenity bowed politely, saying in a sweet voice, "My brother has told me a lot about you Yugi. He said you are one of the greatest duellists in the world."

Yugi sweatdropped. "I'm sure he's exaggerating." He turned to all his friends. "I'm sorry I made you guys wait."

Anzu smiled. "It's fine Yugi, I was just asking Jounochi what made him want to become a duellist, what he duelled for."

Jounochi grinned. "That's easy. There's only one reason to duel. Heart of the cards, right Yugi?"

Yugi smiled, nodding. "Right."

Malik shook his head. "There are many reasons people duel. They should be free to choose their own, There is no right or wrong reason."

Yugi found it strange to see Malik so serious, and evidently, he was not alone.

Honda raised an eyebrow. "Why do you duel, Malik?"

Malik smiled, looking into the distance. "Freedom. When you duel, you're free to do whatever you want. Any monster, any move. You can truly be yourself and it's perfectly acceptable."

Yugi cocked his head to the side. "As long you don't cheat."

Then, suddenly, just like that, Malik was back and joking. He nodded, sagely, a smile playing at the corners of his lips. "Naturally if someone catches you, it is very bad." The smile broke out. "But sometimes it's just too tempting."

Yugi wasn't as surprised as he should have been. He looked with concern at his friend. "You mean, you…"

Malik laughed. "Me? Never."

Honda shook his head, smiling. "Innocent until caught, eh?"

Serenity smiled. "What about you, Honda?"

Honda raised an eyebrow.

"Why do you duel?" Malik clarified.

Honda smiled, looking at Serenity. "I'd have to go with heart of the cards, same as Yugi, Jounochi and Anzu."

Serenity nodded.

Malik cocked his head to the side. "Anzu, what made you ask?"

Anzu looked sad. "I don't know. Mai said she duelled for the money and the prizes, and I guess it got me thinking."

Jounochi walked over to Anzu and put a hand on her shoulder. "You miss her, huh?"

Anzu looked up at him, surprised. "What do you mean?"

"Come on." Jounochi smiled. "I'm not stupid ya know. All you do is hang around with us guys all the time. It's fine if you miss having another girl around for once."

Honda smirked. "Look at Jounochi. The sensitive, new age guy."

Jounochi looked back at Honda. "Yeah, so what?" Honda raised his hands defensively, as Jounochi looked back at Anzu. "Well, cheer up, coz now Serenity's gonna hang out with us and you two can do all the girly stuff you want."

This provoked quite a reaction: Anzu blushed, Yugi sweatdropped, and Malik burst out laughing.

Jounochi exchanged bewildered looks with Honda, as Anzu stepped away from him, to open her coat pocket.

Poor Jounochi, he can be so clueless sometimes, thought Yugi.

Seto Kaiba pushed away from the supercomputer, the keyboard sliding silently out of sight, his chair also soundless as it rolled backwards.

"Done."

His voice sounded foreign in his ears. Hm. It seems I am not as capable of pulling all-nighters as I used to be.

Seto frowned inwardly but soon he was reminded of the amount of stress that accompanied the laid back Otogi and the amount of work Seto had had to deal with this week alone. These were extremely important, probably mitigating factors.

Seto's frown disappeared and he relaxed. Naturally, none of this would have been noticed by a casual observer or even Mokuba for that matter. Seto would have made a truly proficient poker player.

His expression was the same now as it had been minutes before, when his source had finally exchanged the location of the last Blue Eyes White Dragon for the passwords to the defence ministry's database.

What a pity his computer will be out commission as soon as he opens the e-mail.

The source had been holding the card's location to ransom – a tactic Seto disapproved of. He had throughout the years, collected three of the four Blue Eyes in existence. They were his favourite card – extremely rare and powerful. Now, at last he could have them all, and no feeble old man was going to stand in his way!

I must keep in mind that going without sleep detracts from my executive faculties.

With that in mind, Seto stood up, walked over to and opened, the door of his secondary control room, coming face-to-face with Otogi.

The boy was longing against the nearby wall, and pounced when he noticed Seto.

"What are you doing today, Kaiba?"

He looks bored. Well, Mokuba is over at a friend's house for the weekend, and now he wants to take up my free time. Perhaps I should not have banned his cheerleaders. What am I thinking? I must be tired – I am never wrong.

"Something else." Seto walked past Otogi, heading for the hall. Here he instructed his butler to bring his trenchcoat and the briefcase he had laid aside.

"Come on, Kaiba, take some time off." Otogi persisted.

"I am." Duel monsters is my hobby for a reason.

"Great! You know, there's this…"but Seto didn't let him finish.

"Alone."

Otogi leaned back casually against a nearby pillar, crossing his arms. "Fine, Kaiba, if you don't want to socialize, then don't. But like it or not, I am your guest. What am I supposed to do?"

Seto looked at Otogi, considering the question.

This is the only advice I will ever give you, so you'd better listen.

"Do some work."

Otogi sighed, and uncrossed his arms. "Not everybody is like you, Kaiba."

Seto turned away, putting on the deep blue trenchcoat.

A fact I am very well aware of. There is no logical reason why they should not be. Seto analysed the implications. But better for business that they aren't. Not that I couldn't outsmart them regardless.

Otogi probably thought that his statement deserved expansion. That, or he didn't want to abandon the point of this exercise.

"There are places we have to go, sights we have to see."

Seto looked out into the front yard – the reporters were still at the gate.

Let's give them places to go.

"Take the car."

"Well it's no fun going by myself."

Seto turned, raising an eyebrow quizzically.

Otogi shrugged, unfazed. "Well, there are those girls from school, but that really isn't much fun. They crowd you, constantly talk about themselves…"

Seto had to agree that Otogi was right on that count.

"… Now that I think about it, there is this one guy I'm on speaking terms with. I sit next to him in class, Ryou Bakura, but I don't know his number or anything." Otogi looked thoughtful.

Looks like we'll be here for a while.

Ryou Bakura was lounging in bed, that was the only word for it, lounging.

He had had a horrible week. He'd been dumped, assaulted by an insane guy that decided to stalk him from inside his head and missed his… Bakura, like crazy.

He groaned when the doorbell rang, climbed out of bed and opened the door in his silk green pyjamas.

It was a delivery man. "You Ryou Bakura?"

Ryou nodded.

"Home alone?"

Ryou nodded again.

"First thing, kid, always check who it is and second, never admit you're alone in the flat."

Ryou took the clipboard and signed, bowing with a thankyou and took the brown box.

The delivery man shook his head, smiling. "Might save your life someday, kid – your parents should've taught you that, along with all those manners." He turned and left.

Ryou took the box, and minding he locked the door, put it on the kitchen table. Just as he was about to open it, the phone rang.

He dropped the knife and went to answer it, wondering why he was suddenly so popular.

"Um, hello?"

"Can I speak to Ryou Bakura, please?" An unfamiliar boy's voice said politely.

"Speaking."

"Oh, sorry Ryou, I didn't recognise your voice over the phone. It's Otogi. I got your number from the class register, it took some hacking, but Kaiba's got great software. Listen. You're the only guy my age in town that I know besides Kaiba, and you know how he can be so… there's a museum exhibition in town this month all about Ancient Egypt. I wanted to check it out today. You up for it?"

Ryou nodded. "I had been planning to see it for a while. They say that the woman hosting it comes from an Ancient Egyptian bloodline and that some of the exhibits have been in her family's keeping for many a decade."

"So that's a yes?"

Ryou smiled. "That is a yes."

"Great. I've got Kaiba's car and driver for the day, so I'll come right over and we can head out."

"Do you need directions?"

"The register had your address. See you in a few."

"Until then."

Ryou replaced the receiver, glanced at his parcel and went to get changed. He picked out some very faded light blue jeans that were a bit snug, one of his school shirts and a never worn light blue coat with a furry collar, sleeves and borders. It had white wooden pegs for buttons, and he hadn't bought it.

Ryou felt a bit weird in the unfamiliar clothes, but it had been ages since the last time he was in such a good mood.

He walked over to the parcel and picked up the knife, proceeding to slash through the masking tape on the box.

Once he had it open, his heart rate increased as he faced little white foam balls.

He dipped his hands in and soon felt the familiar cold metal.

Knowing it was silly, he still closed his eyes as he pulled it out. The gold glinted on his eyelids, and opening them, he felt instant joy at beholding the Senn Ring!

Ryou slipped it around his neck, feeling uncomfortable as he remembered Malik reassuring him that the item was not lost forever.

I didn't notice then how much I missed my ring - it wasn't like me to snap at him. I wish he would leave me be; he makes things too complicated, but I really ought to apologise for being rude.

Ryou did not want to investigate why the word complicated elicited feelings, that while uncomfortable, were mostly fuzzy, so he picked up the phone, and then remembered that he didn't have Malik's number…

…Bakura grinned like the Cheshire cat at the phone, proceeding to give the same treatment to every object in plain sight. Nothing had changed but everything looked so much better!

He took a deep breath and felt familiar lungs, stretched, and felt familiar, specially trained, agile muscles.

Honey, I'm home!

His grin widened to as much as was humanly possible, straining to be wider still, as he looked at the phone handset in his hand and a thought occurred to him. It was warm and fuzzy and charged with static electricity.

Malik Ishtar yawned as he opened the door of his apartment at the crack of dawn, half asleep, wearing only a pair of soft, fluffy, light blue boxers with cute sheep on them, that Ryou had given him. They still smelt of Ryou.

Malik and Ryou were about the same size, so Malik guessed that Ryou's other self had tried them on in the shop. For some reason, Malik found that wearing them was comforting.

All remnants of sleep abruptly left him as he was confronted by a tall, muscular, stone faced man, his face the only thing showing he was dark skinned, the rest being covered in a dark blue hooded trench coat complete with black gloves and boots.

The man scrutinised Malik, while Malik waited for his brother to speak first, having learnt that the downside of having memory gaps was not knowing whether you upset people the last time you saw them.

Admittedly this mainly happened when that Namu guy angered Ishizu, then left me to face my Senn Necklace wielding, older sister. But better safe than sorry.

Even so, Malik couldn't help grinning with the pure joy of seeing someone from his childhood after being on his own in a foreign country.

His examination seemingly finished, Rashid's face relaxed into a smirk only Malik ever saw. "Cute shorts."

Malik laughed, stepped into the hallway and jumped up to hug Rashid, letting the man take all of his bodyweight. "Big brother! How did you find me?"

Malik could feel Rashid chuckle as he stepped into the apartment and closed the door behind him. He proceeded to explain in his deep, voice. "I took an oath to be your protector; there is some magic in that. So, once the town was known, it was simply down to finding all the Ishtars in the phone book and going the way my feet wanted."

Getting set back down onto the floor by Rashid, who continued to inspect the apartment, Malik enquired, "But how did you…"

"Shadi found out the city, and we came with Ishizu." Rashid interrupted, suddenly serious, as he returned to face Malik…

…Marik's eyes narrowed and his grin had too many teeth. "How?"

Rashid bowed. "Master Marik, I think Malik should be told, Ishizu means to find a champion to fight you."

Marik cocked his head to the side, eyes amused. "And you think I will lose. Yes, I suppose dear sister is a seer, and she wouldn't do this without knowing for sure I will. But you know that apart from perhaps a bruised ego, this will not hurt me."

Rashid straightened, a worried frown on his face. "Master, if this way doesn't work, they will keep trying until one does."

Marik turned to look out of the window. "So sudden death by relatives." He laughed bitterly. "With a family like this Malik should have been born the pharaoh."

Just then the phone rang. Marik stared at it as his thoughts raced.

There are three issues to address. Should Malik be told why his sister has travelled so far to find him? Do I prepare for an imminent departure that Rashid seems to think necessary? Is there a way I can turn this to my advantage?

If Shadi decided to confiscate the Millenium Item from Malik, the answer to all three had to be yes. Malik needed to know, so he could deal with his sister's recriminations, without Rashid's prompting. Rashid had to stay on the sidelines so the Rare Hunters could still operate. He could be trusted with instructions on the running of things. There was the special case of Jounochi to hand over, and if Bakura did not return soon, he would not be able to keep his word about Ryou.

The ringing got too irritating to stand, and Marik snatched up the phone angrily.

"Yes?"

Yugi looked over at Anzu, who pulled out a pamphlet. "So where are we going?"

Anzu smiled, showing the pamphlet, which was covered with what looked like Ancient Egyptian hieroglyphs. "There is an exhibit on this month run by a woman from Egypt. It's all about Ancient Egypt. I've wanted to see it for a while."

Jounochi looked crestfallen. "Oh man! An excursion? It's like school on the weekend!"

Yugi smiled at him. "My grandpa says that Duel Monsters originated in Ancient Egypt."

Malik nodded. "It was a game played by the highest of nobility, for very big stakes. Their matches would go on for days."

Jounochi grinned. "Then what are we waitin' for? Last one to the museum's gotta buy lunch!" And he took off.

"Hey!" said Honda, following.

Yugi shook his head, as Anzu walked past him, holding Serenity by the arm, and telling her about the events of the past couple of weeks.

Malik followed, grinning, and Yugi fell in step with him.

"What is it?" Yugi enquired, curious.

Malik squinted into the distance, "I was just thinking that my sister has a lot of museum grade artefacts in her possession, that's all."

Yugi nodded, knowing that this was a tender subject, he looked at his feet. "You don't have to come."

He looked up just in time to catch Malik's surprise, as it was swallowed by a smile. "Life is mad Yugi, but sometimes it has a point. Ra knows I will have to face Ishizu sooner or later. I would rather have it on my terms, with the support of my friends"

Yugi returned the smile. "We're always behind you."

Malik grinned. "Jounochi behind me? What an unnerving thought."

Seto was watching Otogi, as the only mobile object in the room, so he didn't miss the moment of revelation.

"I know! Can I borrow that computer of yours?"

Seto smirked, crossing his arms. "No."

Otogi nodded, straightened and left.

Seto motioned for a servant to follow Otogi, while he checked the contents of the briefcase. He was not leaving anything up to fate today. Under the coat he was dressed all in black, matching his mood to a tee.

What a waste of time. But it is worth it if it gets the reporters off my back today. I sill have to go to the museum to meet with this mysterious Ishizu who said she knew something that would be to my advantage. It had better be important.

Seto had set the day aside for this. As it was, it would take all the time he had to get that Blue Eyes. Meeting with mysterious people who 'knew things' about him was getting old, but he made a point of doing it personally.

I shall not make the mistake of ignoring the trivialities. What I can control for, I will.

Prevention.

It was a word he liked for more than just its aesthetics. It had served him well in business although it was not normal business practice, perhaps because it wasn't.

The servant returned to say that Otogi was using Mokuba's computer; something he had permission for.

Seto nodded, then picked up his briefcase and went to his room, with the parting words, "Tell me when he leaves."

A powernap, then coffee.

It was seven a.m., a fact that had made him, in retrospect, surprised to find Otogi awake. The boy radiated an aura of someone who never got up before ten. But then he didn't seem like the sort of person to design a computer program, taking off a card game, however popular.

Just goes to show people are never exactly who they seem to be.

Bakura turned the phone on and pressed speed dial 1.

It took a while for anyone to pick up. When they did, the familiar voice did not sound happy.

"Yes?"

Bakura listened to the boy on the other end breathe for a bit, then not trying to stop the happiness bubbling up inside from bursting out, laughed, loud and long, saturated by the moment.

The boy on the other end didn't speak until he'd finished.

"I haven't heard you laugh like that in a while." Marik whispered.

Bakura was a little put off by the reply, as he rarely knew Marik to miss the opportunity to laugh like a madman. It was personal – a plus – but it was not emotional enough, and he felt cheated, especially remembering the circumstances and content of their last conversation.

Then practicality moved in. He didn't say my name, he must have company.

Practicality was forcibly evicted. "Thankyou, Marik, yes, I'm happy I'm not dead too." He said, words dripping with derision.

The effect was a little spoilt on his end by the fact that he couldn't make himself believe he was angry. He was hearing Marik's voice, having successfully performed a tricky, dangerous operation, beyond all expectations, thanks only to his skill. This was enough to make him unable to stop grinning, besides he was home alone, with nobody to see it, and he did not have Marik's happy knack of switching a happy grin into an angry one at will.

"Anubis! I don't need this right now. You wouldn't believe…" Marik responded with frustration, cut off by somebody in the room with him. "…No, Rashid, just the motorbike shop…" He said, by way of explanation both for Bakura and Rashid.

Rashid, eh? Then that Shadi must be close to Malik's family.

This added to Bakura's sense of injured pride, and made his grin fade. Most pertinent of all, he felt a rare stab of guilt at giving up Malik's whereabouts.

I'd brought this homecoming on myself really, well myself, and Marik.

"… Make it short." Marik's voice finished, in a softer tone than that which normally accompanied these words.

Bakura smirked, and thought of a viable reason for his call. "How much do I owe you for babysitting?" he asked casually.

There was a pause.

Marik sounded surprised as he replied, "Forget about it."

This reply was so unexpected, it sent Bakura reeling. It was like stepping into the shallow end of a cold pool, only to find out it was the deep end instead.

Wow. He's in really deep if he let me slide without a hefty fee.

He said as much. "I always thought I would only hear you refuse a debt when you reached Amenti."

Marik's laughter sounded acidic. "I'm there."

It was painful to hear. "Well, if things are that bad, I'll pay you back in kind." said Bakura lightly, a worried light in his red eyes.

"I hadn't thought of that." Came the surprised reply. "Ta."

The doorbell rang. "Well… I'll see you when I see you if I see you." He said, turning to look quizzically at the door.

"Thanks for your concern. It's kind of you to wish me well." Marik laughed and hung up.

Bakura put the handset back absently and went to answer the door, rifling through Ryou's memories as he did so. He didn't feel like leaving the body for a while.

Bakura opened the door and experienced the indescribable sensation of coming face to face with a person he had never actually seen before, but who he had memories of going to school with.

"Hi Ryou."

"Otogi." Ryou's memory supplied as his senses rebelled at the impossibility of it all.

The boy's long black hair was tied back in a ponytail as usual, matching his worn black jeans. He wore a green sleeveless t-shirt which was covered in delicate black Chinese characters. The only allowance he head made for the weather was a light black denim jacket he held in one hand.

Bakura remembered his eyes. "Hang on." He said, and grabbing the box the Senn Ring had come in, disappeared into the bedroom.

"Do come in." he said loudly to Otogi, remembering Ryou's politeness. "I'll just be a moment."

Bakura heard the door close, footsteps, and a cupboard in the kitchen open, as he rifled through the box.

He felt what he needed at the bottom and pulled out several sets of contact lenses.

Ah, the wonders of modern technology.

He looked down at his clothes, nodded appreciatively, surprised at Ryou's taste and picked out a blue pair.

Bakura went to the bathroom to put them in and heard the teapot boiling in the kitchen.

"You've got good coffee." Came Otogi's relaxed voice.

Bakura smirked as he looked at his now forget-me-not blue eyes. It would normally be extremely annoying to have anyone go through his things, but today, Bakura felt reckless.

This guy may prove to be an interesting test of my abilities.

As he walked back into the kitchen, Bakura smelt the unmistakeable aroma of hot coffee. "Help yourself." He said quietly, walking in as Otogi turned.

"Thanks." The boy leaned back against the cupboard, mug in hand, perfectly at ease.

He gestured at another steaming mug standing near the electric teapot.

Bakura took the offered cup. "You are going to get very cold." He blew on the black liquid.

Otogi shrugged, sipping coffee. "I didn't know if you wanted anything in it."

Bakura topped the cup with cold water from the sink near Otogi, and then gracefully drank half of its contents.

"Black is just fine." He said to the cup, Otogi, unfazed standing close enough to his left that if he turned to look at the boy, he'd be invading personal space.

Bakura finished his coffee and rinsed his cup in the sink, then walked over to the front door. He looked back at Otogi.

The other boy finished his coffee, rinsed his cup following Bakura's example and smiling, strolled up to the door.

"Nice place, is it yours?"

Bakura smiled, imitating Ryou. "Most of the time. My father is on a dig in Egypt." He then opened the door and walked out.

Otogi followed, waiting as Bakura locked the door. "Cool. Is he an archaeologist?"

After searching Ryou's memory for a moment, "Yes."

They talked as they walked down the stairs to the front entrance of the building, voices echoing.

"Have you ever gone on a dig with him?"

Pause.

"Yes. He only let me come if my mother could be there to 'look after' me."

"So where is she now?"

Pause.

"She died when I was nine."

Pause.

"Oh… I'm sorry."

Pause.

"So what was the dig like, if you don't mind talking about it?"

"I do not mind. Which one?"

"Did you ever go to Egypt?"

Pause.

"Yes, once. That was the last one I went on. It was then that my father became obsessed with Egyptology."

"What was it like?"

Pause.

"Well, the first thing that makes a strong impression on you is the dust…"

Marik heard the caller breathe, then laugh.

In sudden recognition, one of the many items on today's to do list fell away. More relief than could be accounted for flowed through Marik, so much in fact that he had to turn his back on Rashid, so the man wouldn't see the contagious smile spreading on his lips.

"I haven't heard you laugh like that in a while." Marik whispered as soon as the boy had finished.

"Thankyou, Marik, yes, I'm happy I'm not dead too." Bakura replied with derision.

Oh great, now he's angry at me because I could not greet him properly!

"Anubis! I don't need this right now. You wouldn't believe…" Marik automatically responded, cut off by Rashid.

"Is everything all right Master? Has Ishizu located you?"

"…No, Rashid, just the motorbike shop…" Marik replied into the phone, trying to convey to Bakura, the impossibility of having an in depth conversation just at the moment.

"May I suggest that that can wait?"

Marik shook his head, smiling as he covered the phone. "If I am going away for a while, I must set my affairs in order."

Rashid nodded, but it looked like he did not think motorbikes were as important as running a secret organization to take over the world.

"… Make it short." Marik said softly to Bakura, to show that he really could not talk right now.

"How much do I owe you for babysitting?" Bakura asked casually.

Marik was surprised by the change in mood and seemingly random question, and a thought occurred to him.

There is a way to use this. Sister thinks that by beating me, I will leave, so making Shadi take away the Senn Item at the same time will give me a good smokescreen.

They wouldn't be able to tell exactly what made me go away.

The combined effect of Malik's belief in his destined ownership of the item and Ishizu's persuading Shadi that she was right and beating me had destroyed me forever, should pave the way nicely for my return.

"Forget about it." Was all he could think to reply.

Bakura, as always did not let detail pass. "I always thought I would only hear you refuse a debt when you reached Amenti."

Marik's laughter was acidic. Between dear sister and the look Rashid is giving me, "I'm there."

"Well, if things are that bad, I'll pay you back in kind." said Bakura lightly.

"I hadn't thought of that." Marik said, surprised at his own lack of attention to their usual dance when Ishizu loomed on the horizon. "Ta."

He could hear a doorbell ring on the other end. "Well… I'll see you when I see you if I see you." Came the offhand goodbye.

"Thanks for your concern. It's kind of you to wish me well." Marik laughed at Bakura's hypocrisy and hung up.

He turned to Rashid, a plan decided. "Tell him."…