A/N: Thank you everyone for the amazing reviews! You truly make my days~

J. L. Lunar (Don't worry, Ryou will be rewarded for enduring so much~), Kuracakes (Yes, I'm German, sweety ;)), Elle-L (one of your questions will be answered in this chapter~), kitastrophe, immaperson and Tiikerikissa!

There's A LOT of stuff in this chapter even if it's a dateless one this time. I hope you'll enjoy~ (as always: If you find errors, please tell me)

(Almost forgot! Did anyone notice the epic fail in chapter 3? I wrote 'Ishizu' instead of 'Isis'. Sorry about that! Won't happen again.)

Chapter 4

Meet the Touzoku's

I sat in the darkness I was so familiar with. Yet I despised it. I was shaking as I stayed, motionless in fear, on the cold stone floor. I gazed at the sight before me, my eyes tearing up. My breath hitched with a silent sob.

"P...please...", I begged. My voice sounded foreign, even to me and I briefly wondered whether this was really me speaking.

The tall man I was begging approached me. Heavy footsteps. Merciless footsteps. My breathing became more and more frantic as control over my very own body seemed to slip from my grasp. He was standing in front of me now. A man with sandy blond hair and beard, violet eyes and tan skin like mine - my father. He was holding his beloved whip in one hand. A device that made me wince just thinking about it and the horrible memories I associated with it, the violence and the pain.

"Malik", he began in a deep, calm voice. At least it sounded calm but I knew exactly that he was raging inside and he would let me feel it soon enough. He came even closer and I could not surpress a scared gasp. "If you don't do as I say..." he raised his whip, ready to make a blow, "...I will have to punish you and those who were just as responsible for this as you."

"I..." He had not beaten me until then, in fact, he had stopped to listen to me. "It's... it's m-my fault. Only my f-fault... so, please..." I bowed down, so much my forehead was touching the cold stone floor beneath me. "D-don't punish him... please..." Sadness defeated shock and the tears fell. I whispered 'please' over and over again, hoping desperately that he would listen to me. For a few moments all I recognized was my own sobbing, shaking, the loud, thudding beats of my heart that rang in my ears and the horrible feeling of despair. Then I heard another sound. A chuckle. No. Laughter. Cruel, dirty laughter. I was filled with horror and dread as I heard my father laugh hysterically.

"P-p-please...!" I tried yet again, ignoring that he probably had not heard because he was laughing so loudly. And I could do nothing but sob and beg him not to do anything to... him. I glanced up from my spot on the floor and looked behind my father. Another wave of sadness washed over me as well as guilt as I took in the sight of the person crouching on the floor, obviously in pain. My eyes went wide. He was covered in blood, so much blood. I felt myself hyperventilate. It was my fault. It was all my fault!

Ignoring my dangerous father completely, I crawled over to the bleeding boy. I came to a halt in front of him. What should I do? He was bleeding so violently. What if he died? Another choking sob escaped my throat. I put a hand over his blood-coated one and squeezed it, not letting go. He covered his mouth with his free hand and coughed up a load of blood, and more blood. I watched him in horror and my other hand joined my already occupied one on his. I brought my face down, forehead touching our connected hands. I cried uselessly as if waiting for a miracle to happen. Although I had a feeling it would not.

"Malik...", I heard him say, voice gentle and calm, yet hoarse and suffering. I looked up at him. The hand that had previously been placed over his mouth came up to my face. He wiped his thumb over my cheek, smearing blood there but prevented a tear from falling nevertheless. He smirked. "Don't cry..."

The canteen was filling up with hungry students at noon time. In the far corner of the room, at a lonely table sat a young, blond student who did not at all seem to enjoy his meal. Malik constantly poked a tomato with the plastic fork in his hand. It was not like he did not like the food or was not hungry. He was deep in thought yet again and in his stand-by modus he could not focus on eating very well. It was a routine for him to sit alone at a table in the corner, torture his food and muse about a handful of things he needed to think about. And today the need to think was very urgent. He had been spacing out in class all day again. He really, really needed to clear his mind.

Bakura entered the canteen together with his twin brother Ryou. He looked around the room and his brother noticed him doing so. "Who are you looking for?"

He hesitated for a moment. "Mariku."

Ryou seemed to almost jump at the mention of his lover's name. "O-oh... I think he's not eating here today", he responded, voice trailing off when he remembered the previous day. Mariku had hardly spoken to him since then, had skipped a few classes too, and he kept blaming himself for it. 'I should probably apologize to him when I see him again...'

His brother seemed to have found something interesting though, for he went straight to a table in the corner. Ryou was torn out of his thoughts and followed the other Touzoku to wherever he was going. Bakura's lips curved up in a smile as he came to a halt in front of his destination, Ryou right behind him. The younger one of the twins looked over his brother's shoulders and made a confused noise before he jumped in front of his brother.

"Malik-san!" he exclaimed cheerfully upon recognizing the other teen. However, Malik was so deep in his own confusing thoughts that he had even overheard the non too quiet greeting. Ryou looked at his brother in confusion when he received no response. Bakura merely chuckled at the blond before he leaned over the table, one forearm resting on its surface. His pale fingers grabbed the tanned teen's chin and forced him to look up from his plate. He heard Ryou gasp at the bold action but could not care less.

Malik was forcefully torn out of his day dreaming when he felt someone grab his chin and, without too much force, tilt his head to look up into mahogany eyes. Realization dawned on him immediately. He backed off with a start and almost fell out of his chair.

"B-Bakura! What-! What did you do that for?" he blurted out, his cheeks tinted a violent red that not even Ryou was oblivious to.

The addressed teen only smirked and straightened up again, sitting down opposite the flushing blond. "You just wouldn't look up, so I made you do it, simple as that."

Malik growled and cursed something in Arabic under his breath, which neither of the twins were able to catch or understand, before he made himself comfortable in his seat once more. Ryou followed their example and sat down beside his brother, uneasy. He felt a little uncomfortable around the two after what had just happened. He mused about how they knew each other so well. Bakura was bold, sure, but he would not get so close to a person he hardly knew. That led Ryou to the assumption that they had to know each other a bit better than he had always thought. He narrowed his eyes, watching them argue.

"You're damn jumpy, you know. And all alone at the table in the corner. Have you always been so emo?"

"What? Do I look like an emo to you?"

Bakura shrugged. "They don't always look the same. Do you have cuts on your arms?"

"No!"

"Prove it."

"I don't have to prove anything."

"Then you admit you have cuts on your arms?"

"No! I don't have any freaking cuts on my arms!" Ryou watched them incredulously. He noticed that, by now, he was not the only one anymore who was watching the little fight. Quite a few students had stopped what they were doing to turn into their general direction and see what was going on. Like Ryou himself, most were confused and shocked to see Thief King Touzoku and Malik Ishtar converse in such a familiar way. Not too far away from them sat a group of girls, among them was a girl with purple hair, Miho. One of the girls leaned closer to Miho, whispering, "Miho-chan, what did you say happened yesterday?"

Miho averted her eyes from the trio and to her friends, an excited glint in her eyes. "They showed up together at the movie theatre."

"Who did?" another girl questioned curiously.

"Bakura-kun and Malik-san."

"What were they doing there?"

A brunette gave a snort. "They watched a movie, what else would you do there?"

"Yes, but", Miho interrupted and all girls looked back at her, "that is exactly the point. I mean, they went there together and do you know what Bakura-kun said?"

"No, what?"

"He said that he wouldn't mind dating Malik-san." The girls all gasped in unison.

"What?"

"Really?"

"And what did Malik-san say?"

"Hmm..." Miho had to search her memory then. She did not remember what he said but he looked very upset about it. "I don't remember but he was like really flustered."

"Maybe they are dating already?"

"No", a redhead said, "If Malik-san was flustered then I think they aren's dating yet."

"And what if they're just friends?", another voice suddenly joined in. The girls looked up at the student who was about to sit down at their table.

"Hey, Anzu!" Miho greeted cheerfully.

"You're talking about yesterday again, right Miho?" the brunette named Anzu asked. The other girl rubbed the back of her head and giggled sheepishly.

"I just can't stop thinking about it. I mean, that's really something."

Anzu raised an eyebrow at that and began to eat meal. "Really? You've practically been stalking those two all morning."

"Uhm..." Miho flushed slightly from embarrassment, "L-like I said, it's nothing I would want to miss."

"Hmm...", the brunette mused, "To me it looks like you're afraid they get too close. Because you still li-" Before Anzu could finish Miho had already stood from her chair.

"I-I think I need to go to the rest room!" she quickled said and within seconds she had left the canteen leaving all the other girls confused. Except for Anzu. She knew that Miho still had a huge crush on Bakura and even if she liked Malik, she would never approve of their supposedly 'relationship'.

"You can tell me."

"I'm not fucking telling you something that is not fucking true!"

"But you do that all the time."

"I don't!"

"You do."

Malik seemed to finally lose his temper, or maybe he had already lost it long ago, and stood from his chair, making it fall down behind him and slammed his hands on the table. "Just shut the fuck up!"

Bakura chuckled in amusement. "You're making quite a show for the audience", he said and pointed a thumb over his shoulder behind him to draw the blond's attention to the other students that were watching. And that was about the whole canteen. Malik was frozen in his place at the table and hesitantly looked around. He flushed red and hastily sat back down. To Bakura's surprise he muttered a quick 'sorry' but did not dare to look up again.

"You're unusually tense today", the more mature Touzoku stated and this time Malik did not say anything back but remained perfectly silent. Bakura sighed at the lack of conversation and tried again. "What's wrong?"

Ryou was taken aback by how gently his brother had asked. It seemed to have the same effect on Malik but he seemed a bit less stressed after that. "It's just... I have a lot on my mind", he explained softly. And it was true. He had not had a nightmare about his father in ages and the fact that one had only come last night bothered him greatly. He had been trying to remember the details of said dream but everything was just a blurry memory as if it had happened a decade ago. The only thing he remembered clearly was that he had been scared, like he would be in reality, too, if his father ever return - which was impossible.

Bakura observed Malik as he spoke and went silent once more. He looked genuinly stressed and upset about something. He decided against pressing further. He was sure Malik would tell him when he felt the need to. Now he needed to lighten the mood again. "Hey", he said and successfully made the blond look up for the first time since the outburst. His lavender eyes held countless emotions. He was like an open book at the moment. And the word written all over his features was 'hurt'. "How about you come to our place after school?"

"What?" Malik asked, blinking a few times.

"Brother?" Ryou said uncertainly. Bakura only gave him a reassuring look and turned back to Malik.

"We've been at your place already. Now it's your turn."

"But..." He had to think back to their first dinner together, the day they met. Mariku had been present, too. Did that mean they would invite him as well? "...Mariku...", Malik said, telling him what he was concerned about without saying much.

"I guess he won't want to come. He seems pissed off about something-" Malik's eyebrow twitched visibly. Yes, about something. Whose fault might that be? "-so we'll just have to live without him for tonight."

Malik pondered that for a moment. 'Bakura's right. Mariku is pissed off, probably letting out his anger somewhere outside and they won't have a date for a while. Or at least not today. ...it's okay to accept, right?' Instead of saying anything, he simply nodded which made Bakura grin in satisfaction.

"Good. Then we'll meet up after school." Bakura did not specify where they would meet but he could imagine where he should go, so Malik nodded once more in agreement.

'Should I ask or not?' Ryou wondered for the umpteenth time that day. He glanced over to his brother who was walking beside him on their way through the long hallway. 'It would be safe to simply... not ask, I know, but...'

"Bakura?" he found himself saying without thinking. Said teen turned to eye his brother with mild curiousity, one eyebrow raised. 'Okay... now I have to ask.'

"Uhm...", he started uneasily. "You know... I was wondering..." Bakura saw the discomfort and stopped walking. He waited patiently and crossed his arms over his chest. Ryou had also come to a halt and was standing in front of his brother, unconsciously fiddling with a strand of white hair. "...uhm..."

"Just spit it out, Ryou," Bakura demanded when his patience left him.

Ryou jumped slightly but pulled himself together. "You... you and him, you seem to get along really well..."

"Him? You mean Malik?" His brother nodded. Bakura had to think for a moment. He had not really come up with something that would explain why they acted so amicably. But then he knew something he could say. "You see, since Mariku seems too busy with other things...", he paused for a moment to send a knowing glare towards his brother, "I kinda had to find someone else to hang out with." There, that should do, Bakura thought.

"You two hang out together?"

"That's what I said."

At first the Ryou looked a little confused and taken aback but then, the part which Bakura disliked, he smiled happily. "That's great! So you two are actually friends? I'm so happy for you, brother!"

"'The fuck? I never said anything about him being my... friend!" Ryou merely giggled at how embarrassed his brother seemed to be. It proved his theory of them being friends to be right, at least with his sense of logic.

Further down the hallway stood a small group of other high schoolers who were listening intently to the twin brothers' conversation. "He's not my friend!" they heard the furious twin yell. A boy with navy blue hair nudged another one in the side.

"Hey, did you hear that?" he asked the group, a vicious smirk on his face. "Sounds like Touzoku has a new friend. What do you think?" The gang chuckled darkly at that and turned their gazes back to the twins.

"I think it's the one from the cantene", a teen with brown hair said, "Y'know, that pansy that looked a lot like Ishtar?"

"Wasn't that Ishtar?"

"No, Ishtar's a lot more creepy than the wuss he was sitting with." the blunette nodded in agreement. A red haired girl, the only female in the group, then added her information.

"I heard some rumors about Touzoku."

"What rumors?"

She smirked evilly. "Miho witnessed something quite interesting yesterday. She said that Touzoku and some other guy went to the movies together. Maybe it was the same guy."

"Let's find that guy then. Boss will be delighted to know we have something to use against Touzoku", he said with a smirk and the rest snickered as well.

Malik stared in awe at the house before him. 'No', he thought, his eyes never leaving the building, 'that's not a house. That's a freaking mansion!' In front of the young Egyptian stood a beautiful mansion in Victorian style. There was a high fence and a gate protecting the house from unwelcome intruders. The way to the front door went through a front garden, decorated with various trees, bushes and flowers he did not even know existed. The house itself had white walls and midnight blue tiles and was decorated wherever it was possible, yet it did not look bad as the decorations were put where needed. All Malik could think was 'Awesome...'

Bakura locked his, in comparison to the mansion, unimpressive car and turned to see Malik's expression. He chuckled, amused at how the Egyptian gawked at their house. "You like it?" Malik could only nod, still not taking his wide eyes off of the house.

"If this is your home...", he began and then finally turned and looked at Bakura. "Then why do you have such a shabby car?" Ryou could not surpress a giggle when he heard the comment, which gained him a glare from his brother.

"That's because I bought the car myself. Our dad is not stupid enough to entrust us with his money, credit card or account number", he replied as a matter of fact. "Besides, if I want my own car then I buy it with my own money and not with my old man's" With that Bakura hoped the subject would change. He was not exactly thrilled about talking about his father, not to Malik, and especially not with Ryou around, too. Nothing else was said and all three of them entered the house. Malik was once again in sheer awe as soon as he caught sight of the inner of the house, how huge it was and how expensive the furniture looked. Bakura went ahead into the living room and lazily threw his bag onto the floor and flopped down onto the couch. Ryou ascended the stairs, saying he would bring his bag into his room. Malik felt a bit lost in the huge house with no one near so he decided to join his host in the living room. He stood around uneasily, not sure whether he could simply sit down as if he was at home. The older teen raised one white eyebrow at him. "You're gonna sit down now or what?"

The Egyptian glared at him in response but sat down next to him nonetheless. 'It's so awkward...' Malik had never been to a friend's house before, mainly because he never had any friends to visit. And he and Bakura had met just a few days ago. He really did not know what he could talk about. The weather? No, that really was a bad idea, even Malik knew that. He raised his right hand to nibble on his thumbnail, something he did either when he was very nervous or just bored. In this case it was more nervousness than boredom. 'Come on, say something', he thought and had to debate whether he was referring to Bakura or himself. In the next moment the shrill sound of the ringing phone could be heard. Bakura sighed and went to pick up. Now Malik was all by himself again. He felt rather uncomfortable and hoped Ryou would come downstairs soon.

"Yeah?" was Bakura's only response upon picking up.

"Hm? Where are you?"

"...oh... 'kay... bye", with that the older twin hung up again. In the same moment Ryou came down again, now wearing some casual clothes instead of his uniform.

"Who was that?" he asked when he saw his twin hanging up. Bakura went back to the living room again, Ryou following.

"That was dad", he said, "He's in Tokyo right now. He's coming back today."

His twin brother gasped, putting a hand to his mouth. "Really? Then we have to cook something special today!" he exclaimed excitedly.

Bakura just gave a snort. "As if he'd deserve that", he muttered under his breath but Ryou had not heard it. Malik on the other hand had and began to wonder what their father might be like. 'Oh, wait', he thought, 'that means I get to know him, too.'

"You know", he said, drawing the twins' attention to him, "we can just do this another time. It's okay if it isn't today. I mean, if your father-"

"No, it's fine", the oldest teen interrupted, looking anything but amused for once. "You don't have to leave just because our old man randomly decides to show up. He'll have to deal with it." Malik gulped thickly. 'Deal with it'? What was he implying, that his father did not like visitors? Or maybe he just meant that he was hard to deal with.

"Fine", Malik huffed.

"Oh, I know what we'll make", Ryou said, ignoring their conversation completely, "But I'll need milk for that and we don't have any. Bakura, please go and buy some, alright?"

"Why me?"

The younger Touzoku put a hand on his hip, fixing his brother with a stern look. "Because you can't make your guest buy something."

"Then why don't you go?" his twin retorted.

"I have to start making dinner. You wouldn't do anything if I left the house."

Annoyed, Bakura let out a low growl but stood up to get his jacket regardless. As soon as said teen had left the house Ryou turned to the young Egyptian with a warm smile. Malik felt less uncomfortable, accepting the welcome gesture and returning it as best as he could. "So... what exactly are we cooking?"

"We?" the albino repeated, looking perplexed. He shook his head then and pointed to the living room, "The guest won't be the one to cook. You just make yourself comfortable. You can watch TV if you want to."

Malik held a hand up, both to silence the other boy and to signale that he was fine. "No, it's alright, I would actually feel better to help than to just sit around and have no idea of what to do." He laughed uncertainly and hoped the other would grant him his wish and let him help. He would feel even more awkward if he simply let the hosts do the work while he did absolutely nothing productive. Ryou hesitated for a moment but nodded and motioned for the other to follow him into the kitchen. Even a room as simple as the kitchen, a room to prepare food and wash dishes, took the blond's breath away. The first thing that caught his eye were the counters that all had the same elegant color - mahogany. The rest of the furniture was in suiting colors, mostly black and white though with some crimson. Every surface shone as if it had been polished just a minute ago, as if dust did not ever settle anywhere in the room. Malik began to wonder whether they also had maids and other staff. He would not be surprised, not after what he had seen already.

Ryou went straight to the tall refrigerator to gather the necessary ingredients. "Hey," Malik said as Ryou bent over to grab some eggs. He turned to the other teen with a questioning look. "You still have milk in your fridge", the blond stated, pointing to the cardboard box on one of the shelves.

The other's brown eyes followed his finger and he began to laugh. "Yes, I know."

"Then why did you..."

"I," the albino teen began, closing the fridge with an elbow, "I wanted him out for a while so I could talk to you."

Malik was rather surprised to hear so, but all the more curious now. "What do you want to talk about?"

Ryou set the ingredients down onto a counter and fully turned to his guest with a happy grin. "You're Mariku's brother. Of course I want to get to know you better. Besides..." he trailed off and took a knife out of the top drawer to hand it to the other boy. "My brother's friend is my friend, too." Malik's eyes widened, Ryou assumed he was just taken off guard but in truth the Egyptian was horrified how Ryou knew about them - about them? That sounded a bit wrong, Malik thought. He could not possibly know they were friends, or so, unless he had seen them together which was only when they were out to ruin their dates, so far. 'Wait', he told himself, 'he was in the canteen, too. He probably just assumed we're friends because of the way we talk.' He wanted to sigh in relief but that would have raised suspicion so he refrained from doing so and simply smiled.

"Well then", he said, now more confident again, and looked at the knife in his hand, pausing for a moment. "Uhm... what exactly am I supposed to cut?"

"Oh!" Ryou yelped, he had obviously forgotten about making dinner for a minute. He reached out and grabbed two peppers to hand them to his guest. "Please cut these in small stripes - Bakura hates them so I always cut them into extra small pieces so he can just swallow them."

'Oh? Not fond of peppers?' Malik thought, smirking in satisfaction at his newest discovery about the other Touzoku twin. "Alright." Ryou went to turn the oven on while the other busied himself with his new task.

"You know", Ryou began with a gentle voice. It never ceased to amaze Malik how completely and utterly different the identical twins could be. Ryou was so kind, considerate, gentle and many other sugar-coated adjectives that he could not name at the moment. Bakura, on the other hand, was ruthless, irritable and selfish. 'It's no wonder Ryou has a lover while he doesn't. If he doesn't stop being such a douchebag he'll never find himself someone who endures his screwed up personality. And his good looks won't help him that much either', Malik ended his train of thought with a vicious smirk before it faltered and he frowned, 'Uhmm... okay, pretend you never thought that.' "You're a very nice person, Malik."

Said teen smiled gratefully. "Thank you." He was not used to such praise, being the antisocial student he was.

"I've been thinking this the whole time that it is kind of strange for you to be friends with my brother."

"Hm?"

"Because you two are so different. I know my brother very well, we're twins after all so naturally I do, and he is anything but the friends-with-everyone-type. The only friend he has ever had is Mariku." Ryou stopped, a bittersweet smile on his lips. "Actually Mariku was the first friend for both of us. Bakura and I only ever had each other. He always protected me from other boys who didn't like me and therefore beat me up. He said he was fine with being only around me but I always wished we both would befriend someone." The whole story sounded very familiar to Malik. It had been the same with Mariku and him. His brother had always been the one to look after him and spend time with him. Neither of them ever made friends and Malik only found out that his brother had made friends when he had started to go out more often. He was happy for his brother, of course he was. That was what he had told himself but he knew he just denied the truth and lied to himself. The truth was that he felt very lonely when not even Mariku was there for him anymore. With his siblings either at work or out with friends Malik was always alone at home. He did not leave the house very often. What for? He only did so to go shopping or go for a walk to clear his head. But he was very much, undeniably lonely. That is until his life took this grave turn and his and Bakura's worlds were unvoluntarily thrown together.

"Opposites attract, I guess", he commented with a shrug that said he did not think it was a big deal. On the inside, however, Malik felt very warm and was rather thankful that Bakura was not around to read between the lines and turn his words to his advantage again.

"Yeah, I guess", the other agreed with a giggle.

"Speaking of which", Malik began and stopped cutting the pepper for a moment to turn to the other boy. "What brought you and Mariku together? You're as different as day and night, too."

The whitette laughed. "You're right. This is a weird story actually."

"Everything that includes my brother is weird", the blond commented, urging the other to continue.

"Well, we first met in middle school. Mariku and some other students were picking on me. A lot of students used to do so when I was younger so it's no wonder, really." The blond grimaced. Ryou had meant to make Mariku seem less like an ass by saying it used to be routine for people to bully him. To Malik it was still no excuse. Mariku of all people should know better than to pick on the weak as he had always been the protector for his own younger brother. "And", he stopped, giggling, "well, Bakura got really mad at him and they got into a fight."

"Who won?"

"Neither of them. They tied. And that's how they befriended actually. Because the fight had been so much fun to them. I don't understand how that can be fun but I'm really thankful that they stopped. Mariku was never mean to me ever again after that. It was rather... the exact opposite...," Ryou trailed off, sinking into his own thoughts and memories. Malik could not help but grin when he saw the other's face grow redder by the second.

"Then what did he do?" he asked, genuinely curious.

Ryou cleared his throat and tried to hide his face by turning away. "Well, most of the time he hung out with Bakura but when he didn't he talked to me and... we spent quite a lot of time. I began to realize that, unlike the others who bullied me, Mariku was not a bad person at all. He has an interesting personality and is hard to read. That's probably why I always wanted to know more about him." The story sounded a bit too normal for Malik's taste. The way Ryou was still hiding his eyes from him, he could feel that he was leaving something out. "And that's about how we got closer to each other and... well..."

Malik was about to press further but Bakura seemed to have already returned. He slammed the front door shut, stomped into the kitchen and placed five milk cartons on the counter in front of his brother.

"There you go. Don't you dare send me to get anything else. That fucking store was crowded with idiots!" Bakura lamented with a furious glare directed at his brother. Malik could only grin at the whole scene. They had not even run out of milk in the first place. "And why are you grinning?" Bakura asked, looking between the two who had knowing smirks on their faces.

"Oh, no reason...", Malik responded with a chuckle.

All three of them then busied themselves with whatever task needed to be fulfilled to make a good meal for Mr. Touzoku. At least that was what Ryou wanted, Bakura could not care less if his father liked the food or not - he was just pissed off by the fact that they were making something without meat but Ryou reminded him that the Ishtars were vegetarians and that they could not cook something with meat when they had Malik as their guest . And Malik, well, Malik wanted to do a good job simply because he wanted to please the host that was yet to come. Since he was allowed to stay for dinner, he thought, he should at least show that he was no useless guest. He also wanted to make a good impression, not because this was Bakura's and Ryou's father, no, it was because Malik liked to make a good impression, nothing else. Ryou gazed at the clock on the wall. Dinner was ready now and their father still had not shown up. As if reading his twin's thoughts, Bakura said "If he can't get his ass here in time, we'll just start without him."

The sentence was hardly finished when the door bell rang and Ryou stormed to answer the door immediately. His brother just rolled his eyes and remained on his spot leaned against the kitchen counter beside his Egyptian partner. Seconds later a man with blue hair entered the room, Ryou following close behind. His hair was long, tied back into a low ponytail, he wore glasses over his emerald green eyes and unexpectadly casual clothes - khaki pants and a light brown, short-sleeved shirt. He smiled upon seeing his other son. "Bakura, it's good to see you doing well, too." The man advanced on his son to give him a hug which he was denied when Bakura held a hand between the two.

"Yeah, whatever", he snarled. His father went a step back again with a hurt expression. "I thought you'd said that you'd be gone for much longer this time."

"I was but actually I'm just stopping by. I'll leave again in a few days."

"What?" the younger twin asked, looking even more hurt than his father just seconds ago. "You won't stay longer this time?" To his dismay, his father shook his head. He then finally noticed the fourth person in the room. He shifted his attention to the tanned teen with a confused look.

"And who is this?"

Bakura was the first to answer before Malik could even open his mouth to speak, "Malik Ishtar. He also goes to Domino High." His father seemed confused with that piece of information, not the name, but the fact that he was from the same school and obiously an invited guest. He gave Malik a polite smile regardless.

"Pleased to meet you. You must be Ryou's friend then."

"No, he's not", Bakura interfered once more which earned him another strange look from his father. It made the older twin even more furious because he knew what was going through that man's head. He did not believe his rude son was capable of making friends which is exactly why he had asked whether Malik was Ryou's friend. Bakura gritted his teeth with anger. "He's my friend", he finally said. He had not meant to say that but his rage had gotten the better of him as it did so often when his father was around.

Mr. Touzoku stared at his oldest son incredulously and Ryou acted quickly, sensing the tension. "Y-you know, you were just in time because dinner is ready. It's better if we eat now and leave the rest for later, right?" No one protested and they had dinner. It was mostly silent safe for the few noises that came with the cutlery hitting against plates. It reminded Malik of his first dinner with the Touzoku boys. The same awkward silence, the thick air and tension and the lack of conversation. Malik really did not want to interfere since he was only a guest but the pressure weighing everyone down was getting too much and he decided to do something against it.

"Mr. Touzoku, sir?" he said uncertainly. The man looked up at him, startled by the sudden, unexpected sound.

"Yes? Malik, right? Please call me Hideaki." Malik nodded, feeling less awkward now that he knew at least the man's first name.

"Hideaki-san. I heard you're on uhm... business trips most of the time. What exactly do you do?" Bakura wanted to slap his palm against his face at the boy's forced interest in his father's occupation. Then again, he thought, maybe Malik would be interested after all.

The oldest Touzoku smiled at the boy. "I'm an archeologist. That's why I'm often not at home for several months."

'Oh yeah, just defend yourself', Bakura commented inwardly. 'That won't make up for leaving your only family either.'

"I just returned from Egypt actually", the man went on, oblivious to his son's thoughts. Malik's eyes lit up with excitement.

"Egypt? Really?"

"Yes, we discovered the tomb of an until now unknown Pharaoh. And the museum here in Domino possesses some artifacts that resemble inscriptions we found, which is why we needed to come back here. By the way, Malik, you don't look very Japanese to me."

"Oh, actually-"

"That's because he's Egyptian, duh", Bakura finished for his friend, ignoring how rudely he had interrupted him. His father only seemed thrilled though.

"I knew it!" he said excitedly and Bakura rolled his eyes once more. "You speak Japanese without an accent. Were you born here?"

The boy shook his head. "No, my family and I moved here eight years ago."

"I see", the man said, eager to know more about the young Egyptian. "Then why did you move here?"

Malik shifted uncomfortably in his chair, fidgeting with his fork. "Well..." His eyes darted from one corner to another, not sure where they should settle. Bakura noticed his discomfort and promptly stood from his chair, plate and cutlery in his hands.

"Leave that for another time. You have to go now anyway", he said. His previously stoic expression was replaced by one of mischiev when he added, "Wouldn't want to make the rest of the family worry, right kiddo?"

"Very funny", Malik spat but was thankful for what his friend had done. He knew that changing the subject had been on purpose. He, too, rose from his seat and both went to the kitchen to put the dishes in the dishwasher. A minute later, Ryou joined them.

"Bakura? Could you bring Malik home? It's already dark outside."

"What, is he a baby or something? He can get home by himself."

His twin shook his head disapprovingly. "But he doesn't know the way. Please, brother", he pleaded with huge brown eyes. Bakura flinched at the sight 'Damn those fucking puppy-dog-eyes!'

"Fine. Come, brat, let's go before he starts crying." Dragging his friend along by the arm, he grabbed said teen's bag and his black trench coat and car keys and made his way to the front door. Malik was barely able to say goodbye to Ryou and his father and they had left already. They went up to Bakura's car, Malik now free from the other's grip. He noticed how unusually angry his partner seemed. His feet were practically kicking the ground with every heavy step and his back looked so tense.

They were on their sides of the car when Malik asked, "You don't like your father a lot, do you?"

"Just get in."

Malik obeyed but did not intend to drop the subject just now. "Is there a reason?"

Bakura ignored him this time and simply started the engine.

"Ryou really likes him."

Again he was ignored.

"And he seems like a really nice person."

That did it. The white haired teen promptly stepped on the brake and turned to the other boy, glaring daggers. "Listen, and listen carefully, because I'll only say this once." Malik, pressed into the front passenger seat, swallowed hard. He did not know Bakura very well, he admitted, but he had never seen him this enraged. "I won't talk about my old man. Especially not to you."

Malik felt like this was not only a touchy subject but also very important to the other teen. He was dying to know. "And...", he began, voice slightly shaky, "...what if I tell you something in exchange? Will you tell me then?"

This, no matter how angry he was, caught Bakura's attention. "Eager, aren't we? And what would you tell me?"

"Anything you want to know", Malik responded without thinking and immediately regretted his decision.

Bakura grinned. "Anything? Okay, deal. Then tell me what you were so worked up about this morning."

The Egyptian teen felt like he was shrinking in his seat. "Oh... uhm... you'll laugh."

"Can't be that embarrassing."

He sighed. "I had a nightmare last night... about my father. I don't remember much. All I do remember is... that I was scared and that... he..." Malik did not want to talk about it but he knew if he did not finish he would never know why Bakura hates his father. "He wanted to punish me for something I did wrong..."

"Problems with daddy, something we have in common then", Bakura commented.

"Had problems", Malik corrected.

"What kinds of problems did you have?"

"Hey, I already told you what you wanted to know! Now you have to tell me why you hate your father."

The older teen only smirked. "You never said that I could ask only once. You said I could ask 'anything' though."

"But that's not fair!" Malik protest, not caring whether he sounded like a child right now.

"That's life. Grow up."

"Bite me."

"Where exactly?" the older teen asked with a flirtatious wink. He laughed when the other boy's face went from a glorious bronze to a dark shade of red.

"J-jerk!" He then turned away and crossed his arms over his chest. He heard the other chuckle before finally taking off.

"When our mom and sister died", he heard him say. His lavender eyes widened a bit when he realized 'He's telling me?'. He immediately turned back to look at the other teen from the corner of his eye. "he was there for their funeral but one day after that he left for another one of his excavations. He left Ryou and me back with some idiot to look after us while he was gone. We were ten years old back then. It had been the worst year of Ryou's whole life..." He grabbed the steering wheel tighter, "and that bastard didn't even feel the need to come back for his only children's birthdays. And when he came back for the first time after their deaths, all he did was apologize for how long he'd taken. And Ryou forgave him on the spot but I didn't. He never stayed long, didn't contact us for months and suddenly came back, acting as if everything was fine. But nothing was." They had to stop because of a red light and Bakura used that chance to see the other's expression, his own dark with fury. "We don't need a father who doesn't care about us, not Ryou and I even less."

All Malik could do was watch his friend helplessly as he sunk into the pit of bitterness and hatred. "Bakura...", he said barely above a whisper. The other only returned his attention to the road ahead of them and drove on.

"That's what you wanted to know", he stated, not adding the 'now leave me alone' he said in his head. Malik found no words that would suit the situation. Saying 'sorry' would probably make Bakura angrier, telling him about his own 'daddy problems' was not an option either. In that case he did not care if it would be helpful to Bakura because that was something he generally never talked about, not even to his own family. It had been enough to tell the teen about the nightmare. He could and would not talk about his father.

They soon arrived at Malik's home and the boy got out of the vehicle wordlessly. He was about to walk to the front door when he stopped. 'No, I can't leave like that.' With that in mind he went back to the car and opened the door again. The other gave him a look of 'What do you want now?' and Malik decided he wanted to keep it brief.

"Thank you."

"For?" Malik was relieved when he saw that familiar grin again. He crossed his arms and smirked playfully.

"Decide for yourself."

"Bitch."

"Yeah, yeah. See you tomorrow." With that Malik closed the door again, never hearing what the other said the moment he did so.

"Bye, Malik", Bakura repeated as he watched the Egyptian teen walk to the front door. He had thought it would sound weird to call the teen by his actual name. However, it did not. He even found himself liking the sound of it. He grinned again, this time to the closed front door through which his friend had just vanished.

A/N: I didn't come up with their dad's appearance, I took it from the only time when you saw (the back of) him in the anime. I invented the name and green eyes though (because in Season 0 Ryou had green eyes).

So the rumors are spreading, we've learned a bit about the twins' past and got very little Deathshipping background information... almost nothing at all xD (And I have no idea what they cooked :'D And no offense to anyone about the emo-part!).

And what's this? A gang who doesn't like Bakura, huh? Chapter 5 will have a date again, hooray! Hope you liked it! See you next time (hopefully with a cover to this story~)