Enjoy the update.

Warnings: M and hinted Yaoi, some bad language… I own nothing!!

Chapter 8: Uncertainty

Yugi worriedly followed Yami into the house and closed the door, glancing at his Grandpa that now watched Yami take off up the stairs in a hurry. "Something happen?" The old man inquired, then in a curious note asked. "Where's Ryou?"

"He had to go… everything's fine." Yugi brushed him off as he walked into the living room to clean up the mess.

Upstairs Yami walked cautiously into the bathroom, glancing about at all the room's corners and found it empty, he knew better then that and didn't trust his eyes to see what the small room truly hid. "Show yourself!"

'The lights hurt my eyes and it takes up to much energy.' Came an angry hiss of a deep smooth voice, it came from everywhere in the room, making it hard for Yami to locate where the source was coming from.

"Do you think these games are going to work?" Yami said keeping his voice down as he closed the door making sure the hallway was empty as he did.

'I'm only playing them with the best of them, huh Pharaoh?' Bakura appeared like a heatwave and leant on the basin with his arms crossed to his bare chest. Still his body was lined with bruises and cuts, his white hair was blood stained as well as his pale skin and loose blue jeans that were torn up and stained and still bare foot. His voice became more solid. "You can dish it out but can't take it." Bakura snapped.

"Get out and leave me alone." Yami hissed at him, knowing now that it had been Bakura that had scared Ryou out of the house. Suddenly Yami found himself pinned to the bathroom door and a harsh-mocking kiss Bakura forced upon his lips, then slapped him across the face.

"You're stuck with me." Bakura pushed Yami against the door and then straightened him up as Yami rubbed his cheek. Bakura gripped the other's chin tightly and ran his other hand through Yami's hair and pulled on it so tight that it pulled his head back. "You try a sealing ritual on me again and I'll rip your fucking eyes out in your sleep. I'm going to be here forever." Bakura moaned as he pressed himself against Yami as he continued to talk. "Turn your perfect little life upside down and let you watch when I take Yugi from you as you did..."

"Touch him and I'll…"

Bakura laughed darkly cutting Yami off. "You'll do what? Stop me? I'd like to see that… remember Yami. You did this to yourself." Bakura placed his hand behind Yami's head. "An eye for an eye." Bakura pulled him forward away from the door with such force that Yami stumbled and hit the floor hard on his hands and knees. Bakura chuckled and like a mist, he slowly vanished as if he had been blown away by the wind.

Yami shakily stood up then sat down on the edge of the bathtub trying to calm his nerves. To get rid of Bakura he needed Ryou to seal the Dark soul away, whatever happened had turned Bakura more violent than before… and since he had once held an item, it made it possible for Bakura to touch him… maybe the Ishtar siblings could help him with his small problem, Ishizu had always been nice and helpful in the past.

A soft knock came and a hesitant voice. "Yami, are you okay?" Yugi asked through the door.

"Coming." Yami stood up and took a few moments before he opened the door and gave Yugi a soft smile.

Marik dropped the keys onto the counter; the old man glanced up rubbing his head. "I did what?" The old man said turning about looking confused.

Marik not waiting to reply pulled Ryou up the stairs to his floor and down the hallway to his apartment door. Ryou huffed out of breath and found it hard to keep up with him as his injuries were still noticeable on his body and ached.

Once inside Marik walked Ryou over to the couch and shoved him down onto it, Ryou squeaked and sat up properly watching as Marik turned to lock his front door. Marik stormed back into the living room taking off his jacket. "If you're not going to listen to me, then pack your shit and get out!"

"What?" Ryou not sure what he had done wrong or why Marik seemed so angry with him now. "Why? What did I do?"

"I told you to stay away from him!" Marik angrily threw his jacket at the couch and it hit the empty space next to Ryou, who had jumped out of fright and moved to the other end. Marik couldn't recall if he had told Ryou or not, but now he knew. "And the first place I find you is at their house!" Marik raged as old memorises flooded his mind that weren't welcome and he had spent a good few years burying them somewhere in the depths of his mind. "Now he knows I'm here! Something I managed to keep a secret for four years!"

Ryou shook his head and mumbled out. "Marik, it wasn't as if…" The boy gasped out of fright as he found Marik almost on him. His eyes seemed even darker with his anger with those black lines under his eyes and part way down his cheeks. They were inches from his own wide fearful ones.

"Go on, say, it wasn't like that!" Marik dared him; Ryou shook his head completely pinned under the other. Ryou's head held firmly by the chin and against the armrest, his hands gripped the back of the couch and the side below him; neither helped him in getting away. Marik had his knee between Ryou's thighs, his arm overlapped Ryou's on the back of the couch, and his other hand held Ryou's chin and said angrily. "If you're going to leave, then at least have the decency to not act as if you care."

"I do care!" Ryou shot back.

The words that came from Ryou almost winded him, left him speechless. How? How can Ryou so easily say he cared when so many hadn't before? No one gave a shit about him… "Get out!" Marik hissed angrily, closing his eyes briefly as he got up and headed down the small hallway towards the bathroom. "Pack your things and get out! I don't need you." Ryou was defiantly frightened and confused about Marik's words, his behaviour was so erratic at times and his anger boiled up from nowhere, to just explode… but it still felt familiar that Ryou had dealt with it once before.

"Marik, please listen to me!" Ryou was up on his feet and rushed after the older male and managed to snag the end of his shirt and pulled a little. "Yugi followed me. I passed out and he took me back to his place… it had been raining and the cell phone got wet and it wasn't working. I would have called you."

"I'm not a fool!" Marik turned around and batted Ryou's hand off him. "If you prefer it with the Righteous Bastard, then go ahead and leave!"

Ryou shook his head frowning in a scolding look that almost matched Marik's own. "I didn't want to be there at Yugi's; I was frightened without you… I wanted to come back here to be with you." Ryou was all agitated and hit Marik in the chest and gave him a little shove as payback for being forced and pinned down on the couch. "Fuck you Marik and your raging emotions of a two year old!" Ryou turned about and stormed towards the front door, stopping briefly to pick up Marik's jacket and pulled it on. "I'm going home." Ryou threw over his shoulder.

Marik not wanting Ryou to leave rushed after him and stopped the boy before he could reach the doorhandle. He wrapped his arms about Ryou and held him in a hug, bending his head down to rest on top of boy's head. Ryou tensed up, though he stood still and let Marik hug him.

Here he was being a complete bastard to Ryou when he had done nothing wrong, but made him only worry if Ryou had been attacked and left for dead again. Marik for one didn't want to see Ryou like that again if it could be helped. Marik strangely felt calmer the longer he held Ryou, not surprised as Ryou was still an embodiment of light; even if he wasn't Marik's own.

They stood like that for a while, until Marik spoke up. "I have to go to work." His voice was a little muffled by Ryou's hair. "You still have my wallet?"

"Yes." Ryou nodded his head and patted down his pockets and found the wallet. He felt reassured that Marik was no long so angry, a little irritated maybe, but more manageable.

"Good." Marik pulled back, all the anger from their fight was completely gone. "Order what you want to eat." He may have over reacted and should have let Ryou explain before he blew up, which was hard as this was almost the same situation that had happened to him before when he had been naïve and first new to having contact with someone. Only to be used and thrown away. Now, Marik guarded everything about himself and kept everyone at arms length... Ryou, though, in only a short time had wormed himself into Marik's thoughts.

Marik pulled away and walked to the bedroom to change his Jeans for snug black leather pants, long sleeved dark red shirt, a necklace that wrapped twice about his neck and he placed the small hanging part under his shirt and lastly his black boots. Marik was sure to keep an ear out in case Ryou just walked out on him, but relieved to find Ryou still in the apartment and holding his jacket and keys. "I'll take you shopping tomorrow." Marik pulled on his jacket and took his keys. "You know where my movies are if you get bored?" Ryou nodded his head and moved closer to lean up on his toes to kiss Marik's cheek.

Marik claimed Ryou's lips in a kiss instead, something he had wanted to do for a little while now. At first, Ryou was surprised and almost immediately relaxed, submitting to the kiss and encouraging it a little by the small moan that escaped him.

The kiss wasn't deep or highly passionate, simply the hard press of lips to lips and Marik was just about purring, pulling back enough to talk. "I'll see you in the morning, keep the door locked." Marik placed a brief kiss to Ryou's lips again and added. "Will you wait for me?" He really didn't want Ryou to leave.

"Yes." Ryou blushed and Marik gave him a smirk while he caressed the boy's cheek and then turned walking out the door, leaving Ryou's heart beating rather hard and blood rushing in his ears and heated his face.

Bodies moved in front of Marik to the loud pumping music. Tightly clothed, sweaty, dancers. Each dancing to find their own pick-me-up, be it drugs, another man, woman or something even kinkier.

Marik had been in the horde with them until a few minutes ago while making his way to the bar with a tray of empty glasses. He settled back to his post behind the bar and taking orders, making a drink for himself. He lifted the glass and slammed it back in a gulp.

Bodies had pressed against him, trying to get his attention. Hands had reached for him, trying to cop a feel. This happened every time he worked a shift.

He clutched the glass tightly in his hand as his dark eyes scanned the crowd about the bar. They remained him of zombies waiting to feast on the flesh of the living, but in this case, the alcohol. Everyone came here to sate one lust over another.

His nose twitched with the scents of sweat, cologne, alcohol all mingled together to create an overabundance of smells. Someone needed to learn what deodorant was. Possibly even soap. And someone else needed to lay off the cologne. They didn't need to bathe in the whole damn bottle.

Orders called out not giving time for the workers to fill them in time and hand them over, before someone else started. Marik snapped his attention back to his work handing out drinks, taking orders, rejecting offers of the sexual nature.

Between shoulders and heads at the bar and rolling bodies on the dance floor. Yami stood watching his every move. Marik narrowed his eyes, growled through gritted teeth and ditched what he was doing. Walking out from behind the bar and approached the Righteous Bastard. "I don't appreciate being stalked!" Marik snapped at him.

"I'm not stalking you." Yami merely arched a brow, ignoring Marik's venomous snap as it wasn't anything new, though he kept himself on the defensive side and ready for an attack. "But we need to talk about Ryou; he should be with me, someone who can look after him better."

"I'd sooner cut off my left arm and eat it then send Ryou packing to stay with you." Gods be damned, Yami could rile him up more then anyone else he'd ever known. "I'll be damned if I lose another to you." Marik said his dark eyes narrowed.

"All noble, and ready to stand up for them?" Yami snapped back. The people around them didn't seem to care what the two were fighting about or couldn't hear.

"I shouldn't have too!" Marik raged at him, not caring if he was over heard. "They aren't my problem to watch over." Even though he was a forma dark spirit he wasn't obligated to look after the Hosts.

"Damn right they aren't! You didn't deserve him to begin with and what happened wasn't my fault." Yami shot back. Marik grabbed him by his shirt and used what little reserved powers he had and threw the Righteous Bastard across the dance floor.

Yami hit the floor hard, rolled knocking a few people over and others leapt out of the way with startled cries. Everyone moved away in a large circle. Heads turned from Yami to Marik. The music instantly stopped and a hush of whispers filled the area. "It was your fault?!" Marik snapped viciously at him and all heads then turned towards Yami waiting for his come back. "You case me down after all these years to throw it back at him, that it had been all his doing, that you were innocent?" Marik watched as Yami picked himself up off the floor.

"I was." Yami managed to get out, all heads turned towards Marik, who stormed over and delivered one good kick to Yami's ribs, sending the shorter male to his side. "Ryou doesn't belong with someone like you?!" Yami gasped out before Marik could move.

"You say this as if you have a choice in the matter." Marik growled bending down and heaving Yami to his feet roughly.

"Listen!" Yami shoved him backwards panting hard and holding his now aching side.

"No you listen!" Marik snapped holding himself back in hitting Yami, again. "I gave Ryou the opportunity to leave me, I even told him to leave. But, you know what?" Marik lent in closely, "Ryou choose to stay, with me." Marik took a step backwards and glanced about at all the people that had surrounded them, and then turned his attention back to the other before him. "The next time we cross paths Pharaoh, I will for fill my wish and watch you die."

Marik turned away and went back to his work, silently watching as Yami glared at him and vanished among the dancers when the music struck up again.

Tonight wouldn't be the last time he would see the Righteous Bastard. Why did Yami so badly want Ryou away from him? And where was Bakura? His pop-ups were irritating at best.

The darn was slowly approaching when Marik had finished his shift and stopped by a bakery for some fresh croissants for Ryou and his breakfast, before heading home for some much needed sleep.

Marik was half way home when he the air about him grew heavy and a mist rose up from nowhere about his legs and obstructed his view of most of the buildings around him.

Marik wearily backed up a little looking about; only a few people he knew could conjure up the Shadow Realm. Three of them didn't live in the country. The second one just didn't believe, no matter how high the proof was… So that left Bakura, Yami and himself.

Marik wasn't going to attack himself and by no means was he stupid enough to waste a large amount of energy to call up the dark Realm. So that left Bakura and Yami. Since Bakura was something of a head case and had classed Marik at one point as an acquaintance only, and the gods only knew where Bakura was and what he was up to. The strange Spirit didn't have cause to attack him… unless he had tried to kill Ryou and now wanted him back to finish the job.

Why was he the poor bastard to get stuck with babysitting Hosts? Marik asked for nothing more then to be left alone. He didn't want to be dragged into everyone else's bullshit lives. Fucking hell, he has a life and didn't want to throw it away in a pointless battle over something he didn't care for. The mist grew thicker and he didn't see Bakura or Yami standing before him wanting to pick a fight. Suddenly he was covered in a bright light that swallowed him. "What the hell?" Marik shielded his eyes with his hands and arms and turned away from it.

A small golden light shone from Marik's pocket of his jacket, before he could really take notice Marik was tackled to the ground. "Are you trying to get yourself killed?!" Bakura snapped angrily at him and his voice had almost been drowned out by the blast of the truck's horn as it sped by them.

Marik glanced about confused as the Shadow Realm was gone, no more heavy fog and safely out of the way of the tuck, someone was trying to kill him? What twisted game of an amusement had he become? The morning sky was a range of colours and a few people heading to work, cars were filling the roads and shops were being opened. "Idiot!" Bakura mumbled as he got to his feet and started to walk off. He still looked the same, half dressed and covered in blood.

"Bakura wait!" Marik got to his feet and winched at the pain that shot through the side of his head. He placed his hand up against his right eyebrow and hissed as the area burned and was covered in blood. Marik didn't remember hitting his head…

"You were lucky this time!" Bakura shot over his shoulder.

"I want to talk to you!" Marik rushed after him wanting answers, he slid to a stop when Bakura turned around glaring at him as if Marik had been something he scrapped off his shoes.

"You?!" Bakura suddenly turned him on, "Where's Ryou?" Bakura demanded with a growl his eyes darkened and narrowed in anger as he slammed Marik against a brick all of some shop. "I've lost him and I know you had something to do with it."

"I had nothing to do with it!" Marik batted his hand off him and shoved Bakura away. "I didn't want to get involved with any of you!" Marik threw his hands up in frustration. "But you managed to rope me in!" Marik stopped talking as Bakura wavered on his feet and fell to his knees hard that Marik heard the crunching sound of bones hitting cement.

"I've lost him in the darkness and can't pull him out. It hurts too much to look for him… I'm so tired." Bakura lent forward wrapping his arms about himself. "I'm now so cold inside, I lost my Light." Bakura was panting heavily "… he isn't here anymore."

Marik frowned and took a step forward. "Ryou's fine I promise you."

"Can you promise me that I'll be fine?" Bakura bowed his head so much that his dirty hair covered his face and shoulders completely.

"Why don't you tell me what's going on?" It was so strange to see the other like this and Marik found Bakura's intentions weren't clear and highly suspicious, then again he found everyone suspicious. Bakura swiftly got to his feet and ran.

"Bakura!" Marik called out and chased after him for about two blocks and lost sight of him completely. Marik turned back and headed home, he was far to tired and he hoped that Bakura would show up soon with some kind of explanation to what was going on.

TBC

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