[LurkingReader/Guest: Thanks for taking the time to review! As for the Isis/Mariku stuff, I have decided to purely devote one chapter to that, when it's time, and I will add a disclaimer at the beginning so if you don't want to read that part of the story, you can skip over it without missing any developments among other characters. I personally feel like he's a different entity. If they were still sharing bodies, yeah, that's a little uncomfortable and not okay, and I know he's technically a manifestation of Malik, but in canon, Isis tells him "You're not my brother.". He calls her sister and everything, probably to get to her, but I think it's a little more complicated than it seems on the surface especially if he has his own body and mind. I mean honestly, there are a lot of twisted ships in this fandom, including yami/hikari ships if you really think about it. But out of consideration for everyone, again, it will only be slightly hinted at aside from the standalone chapter that I will clearly mark as the fearshipping chapter.

Also, Bakura's body is the way he was presented in the show/manga—Ryou's body when he was in 'Yami Mode'. Sorry if that wasn't necessarily clear!]

As soon as he returned home from school, Yugi decided to give Ryou a call.

It had been bugging him all day that Ryou wasn't in class, and he needed to know if he was okay—and if he was going to have to worry about not one, but two evil spirits.

"Hello?"

"Ryou! Oh, I'm so glad you're okay! Listen-"

"Don't call here again."

Bakura pressed the end call button and dropped the phone on the couch, where he and Ryou had been sitting, watching the television all day.

"Bakura! Why would you do that?!" Ryou exclaimed, picking the phone back up and preparing to call Yugi again. Bakura snatched the phone from his hand and ignored the question.

"Who was on the other end?" Bakura raised an eyebrow.

"It doesn't matter, give me my phone back!"

"Are you hiding something from me, hikari?" He smirked. Bakura didn't have a mind link with Ryou anymore, so he had to rely on the old-fashioned way of gathering information.

"No! It doesn't matter who called me, okay!" Ryou reached over and snatched his phone back. His face suddenly became incredibly serious and he made eye contact with Bakura. "Listen…if you want to be friends, you can't do this anymore. I'm going back to school. I'm talking to whoever I want, and YOU can't control me." Ryou stopped for a second, scolding himself for speaking so harshly with Bakura, who was still very dangerous.

Bakura's eyes widened for a moment, then he began to laugh maniacally. Ryou gave Bakura an incredulous look. "Oh my RA, hikari, your face is PRICELESS when you're angry." He grinned at Ryou and crossed his arms. "You are incapable of being threatening."

A relieved look spread across Ryou's face, but he was still upset. "You know what, fine, I don't care, but I meant e-" Ryou paused when his phone began to ring again. "I'm going to take this outside." He stood up and walked out the door of his apartment. Of course, Bakura was going to follow him, he just didn't want Ryou to know he was being followed.

"Hello?"

"Hey Yugi. I am so, SO sorry about that…"

"Ryou, are you okay?" Yugi sounded very concerned.

"Yes, I'm fine. He's actually acting really different…I don't quite well understand it…but I don't think he'll hurt me…"

"Are you sure? I guess I should tell you that he's not the only one that's back. The same thing happened with me and Malik."

Ryou gasped. "Really? There must be a reason that this happened, then, right?"

"Yeah, but I'm not going to question it…I just want to make sure everyone's safe. Are you SURE you have it under control?"

"Yeah, I'm sure. I didn't go to school today because we were hanging out. It's actually really nice, honestly." He made sure to omit the part where Bakura forced him not to go.

"Huh. Okay. Well you know where to find me if you need anything…will you be at school tomorrow?"

"Yeah, I'll see you there."

"Alright. Have a good day, Ryou."

"Bye, Yugi!"

Bakura quickly returned back to the apartment, grinning to himself. He'd win over his cute little Ryou in time.

Yugi hung up and looked at Yami. "I guess he's okay."

Yami nodded. "But if he doesn't show up to class tomorrow, let me know and I will pay them a visit."

Yugi smiled, but was still concerned. "All right…what did you do today, Yami?"

"I got some rest after our long night, and when I woke up, I explained everything to your grandfather and let him know. He seemed pleased…" A little too pleased, honestly. Solomon was overjoyed and forced Yami to play cards with him all day, so he didn't have much time to consider what to do when the Ishtars arrived. It took a lot of convincing, but Yami got the old man to spend the night elsewhere just in case the meeting went awry.

The pair ate an early meal in anticipation of their guests, and soon the ragtag group of Tombkeepers were at the door of the game shop. Isis and Rishid bowed slightly, while Yami Malik folded his arms and Malik gave a small wave.

"Hello, Yugi and Pharaoh. It's good to see you again. Thank you for meeting with us on such short notice," Isis said, smiling softly at the two boys.

"Not a problem!" Yugi motioned for the four to come inside, looking a little suspiciously at the tall, spiky-haired blonde. They followed him upstairs to the living quarters and they all took a seat on the floor.

"No one told me the pharaoh was back as well." Yami Malik hissed quietly, almost pouting and keeping his arms crossed.

Yami heard the remark and looked at everyone. "It is not only the two of us-" He motioned to himself and Yami Malik. "-that have returned, but the spirit of the millennium ring also lives outside of a host."

Isis gasped. "What could this mean, pharaoh?"

"I don't know. We were told that he also means no harm, but we must be cautious." Yami glanced at Yami Malik.

Yami Malik cleared his throat to get attention and snarled. "I did not agree to come here so that you can discuss me as if I'm an animal. I've been more than cooperative with you all and I don't appreciate being treated like this. I've already made it clear that I'll do what you ask, so I don't know why we're even here."

"We're here because you can't be trusted," replied Malik with a glare. "After what you did you should be grateful you're here at all."

"I told you, it's different now."

"Is it? IS it different? What makes you so sure you won't-"

"STOP IT." Isis hissed, interrupting the arguing. "We won't get anywhere if this continues on."

"She's right." Rishid nodded in agreement.

Yami looked pointedly at Yami Malik. "If you have truly changed, what is it you want now? What kind of life are you interested in leading if it's not one of evil and destruction?"

Yami Malik looked at the floor. He never really considered what he wanted, he just knew that he didn't want the same things as before.

"I don't know. A chance at life, I suppose? I could ask the same of you, pharaoh."

Yami's eyes widened. He hadn't really given it much thought, he just accepted that he'd live with Yugi and…that's what mattered to him…a light blush crept across his face, but he pushed those thoughts away for an inner battle later tonight. Right now he had to deal with this situation.

He cleared his throat. "Can you see why we're having a hard time with believing this, ah…?" Yami paused and realized that he didn't have a name. He couldn't refer to him as Malik… "What is your name?"

Yami Malik looked shocked and stared at Yami for a moment. "Marik…u. Mariku."

The entire room looked at him, some skeptical, some confused. It certainly diffused the tension.

Yugi cautiously smiled. "That's nice."

"I think…it suits him." Isis looked away, at the door, uncomfortable saying something positive about him.

A few seconds later, the silence was broken by uncontrollable laughter. Malik was rolling on the floor, clutching his stomach. "DEAR RA. MARIKU! HAHAHAHA!" When he finally stopped laughing, he looked around the room, questioning with his eyes. "Are you serious? That name is so CUTE. Does no one else find it funny?"

Mariku's face, red with embarrassment, was a mix of anger and shame. "Everyone else seems to like it." His eyes narrowed at Malik.

"If you picked out a name like that, maybe you have changed." Malik grinned at Mariku and wiped a tear from his eye.

"I have."

Malik gave him a serious look. "If you make one mistake, you are gone. I will personally make sure you can't hurt anyone ever again."

"I agree to those terms."

"You don't have a choice but to agree to them." Isis chimed in, making fleeting eye contact.

Rishid crossed his arms. "If Isis and Malik believe it is acceptable…I will not fight their judgement."

"Thank you." Mariku replied, looking seriously at all 3 of the Ishtars. "I appreciate the chance."

For another hour or two, the tomb keeper crew, Yami, and Yugi, discussed plans. They were going to permanently move to Domino, for safety and convenience. After all, if the spirit of the ring wasn't cooperative, Yugi and the gang would need all the help they could get. Once it was all said and done, the four made their way to a nearby hotel and parted ways with Yami and Yugi.

After the door was shut, Yami put a hand on Yugi's shoulder. "Aibou, great work today."

"You too, Yami." Yugi yawned. "I really need to get to bed, though, I didn't get to sleep last night, if you remember."

"Ah, yes." Yami smiled at the shorter boy. "Get some rest and I'll see you tomorrow, Yugi."

Yugi beamed at Yami. "I will see you tomorrow. And the next day, and the next day! Now that we're separate, we can take on anything even easier than before. I'm so glad you're back."

Yami blushed slightly and gave Yugi a genuine, bright smile. "I'm glad too, Aibou."

As Yugi walked into his bedroom and Yami was getting ready to sleep on the couch, the smile faded from Yami's face. He had a lot of things to work out in his head before he could let himself rest. It was going to be a long night…