At the sight of Yugi standing in his doorway, Marik was stunned speechless. For a moment, it was just the look of Yugi that shocked him- like Ryou, he had grown taller, but unlike Ryou, his muscles had filled out impressively. He no longer looked like the sweet, innocent kid that Marik remembered. Even his voice was different, more deep and commanding now.

But it was far more than that which caused Marik to feel so unnerved. Why was Yugi showing up unannounced at his apartment? What did he want?

Marik tried to find his voice. "Hello, Yugi. It's good to see you." Marik's palms had begun to sweat, and he placed his hands behind his back, trying to seem casual.

"It's good to see you too, Marik," Yugi replied. "I'm sorry I haven't been keeping in touch."

"That's alright," said Marik. "I know you've been really busy."

"I'd been meaning to stop by and catch up with you, since I'm sticking around Egypt until they're finished with the dig."

Marik forced a smile. "Yes, Ryou mentioned to me that you were still in town. Is that why you're here? To visit? Because I think Ryou is still asleep, so we should probably go-"

But Yugi shook his head. "I really did want to come see you and say hi, but unfortunately, that's not why I'm here."

Yugi looked genuinely apologetic, but his words froze Marik; it felt as if the blood in his veins had been turned to ice.

Finally, Marik managed to say, "Then why-"

"I need to talk to Ryou," said Yugi, looking regretful. "It's- it's kind of urgent."

"I'll go get him," Marik said, trying his hardest to remain calm. "Come on into the kitchen."

As Yugi entered, Marik headed back to the bedroom, trying not to hurry too much so that he didn't look suspicious. He tapped on the door.

"Ryou? Are you up? Yugi is here, and he needs to talk to you."

Ryou came out of the door, and Marik led him back into the kitchen where Yugi was waiting.

"Marik-" said Yugi. "This is kind of a private matter. Do you mind...?"

"Oh, of course," Marik said, trying keep his expression neutral. "But I need to get dressed for work. Just let me go change, and then I'll be out of here."

Yugi nodded, and Marik went back to the bedroom once more.

Bakura was standing silently in the bedroom, a look of worry and distress on his face. Without thinking, Marik grabbed his hand and squeezed it. Bakura didn't pull away.

Marik leaned over and whispered as quietly as he could, "I'm sorry, I couldn't get rid of him. I have to go to work. It's going to be torture waiting until I get home to find out what this is about..."

Bakura stood stiffly and said nothing, and before he could stop himself, Marik dropped a kiss on Bakura's neck. Then he abruptly pulled away from Bakura, turning and quickly changing into his work clothes.

When Marik got back into the kitchen, Ryou gave him a shaky smile. "Have a good day at work, Marik."

Marik tried to keep himself from wincing. Ryou already looked guilty. If Yugi was here about any kind of serious problem, this would not go well.

Marik forced a smile. "Thanks, Ryou. I'll see you tonight. Just remember to lock the door after Yugi when he leaves. Oh, and Yugi, it was nice to see you again."

"You too, Marik," said Yugi.

Marik nodded and headed out the door. As soon as he was gone, Yugi said, "Why don't we sit down, Ryou?"

Ryou tried to smile as he sat down at the kitchen table. Yugi took a seat across from him.

"You'll excuse me if I seem a little worried," said Ryou. "Wanting to talk to me alone...it sounds serious."

"Unfortunately, it is serious," said Yugi. "But I'm really here to help you, Ryou."

"Help me?"

"Yes. I wanted to come to you first. Before I bring this up to any...higher authorities," Yugi said. "I wanted to give you a chance to explain. And I hope it's not what I think."

Ryou was already starting to sweat. "And what do you think?"

"Well, first of all, Ryou, I know the ring you gave the museum officials isn't the real one," said Yugi. "I have a connection to all the items. Not enough to find any but the Puzzle myself, but enough to tell the difference between a real item and a fake one. I can feel that it isn't real. And if I can feel it, I know you can. The museum officials don't know about it...they can't feel the power of the items like you and I...but I can't keep this quiet, Ryou. I can't withhold what I know from them."

Ryou sat, staring down at the table, his hands twisting in his lap. "You've told me what you know," he said quietly. "Now tell me what you think."

"I'm really, really sorry to accuse you, Ryou," said Yugi. And he did genuinely look sorry. "But I think you stole the real Ring."

Ryou looked up in genuine shock. After all, he hadn't stolen the Ring, so he hadn't at all expected to be accused of that. "Me? Steal the Ring?"

"Well, frankly, Ryou, you've stolen it before. From me. And I just can't think of any other reason why you'd hand over a fake."

"I- I-"

Yugi shook his head. "Ryou, if you can't give me an explanation, I'm really going to have to report this to the proper authorities. The items are important to me. And the Ring isn't yours. I know your father gave it to you, and that it has sentimental value to you because of that, and that's why you stole it from me years ago. But you can't just steal a priceless artifact. It doesn't belong to you- it belongs to the people of Egypt and the museum."

Ryou didn't even hear him. He was trying to think faster than he'd ever thought in his life. He had to come up with some kind of explanation. He needed to stall.

"I have an explanation," Ryou said quietly.

Yugi raised his eyebrows and waited.

Ryou had gone back to staring down at his hands. Finally, he whispered, "I'm embarrassed to tell you."

Yugi quickly reached across the table and grabbed one of Ryou's hands out of his lap, holding it gently. He looked Ryou in the eyes. "Whatever it is, you can tell me."

"I- I can't-"

"Ryou," said Yugi gently, "you know the alternative."

Ryou took a deep breath, detaching his hand from Yugi's. "Alright. But please...don't judge me."

"Go on, Ryou."

"Well," Ryou started, "I don't know if you know, but when the museum officials first contacted me and asked me to find the Ring, I said I couldn't do it because it would be too upsetting for me. But then I started to feel guilty. Without me, they'd never be able to find the Ring. Why should I be so selfish? So I called them back and told them I'd do it. They gave me a couple days to settle in before I had to go to the dig site. And just being here...in this part of Egypt, so close to the Millennium Items...I mean, at least in Domino, I had a life before all the horror, but this place means nothing to me but bad memories, it's nothing but the resting place of the items...it just reminds me of all the people I hurt...including you..."

"That wasn't you, Ryou," Yugi cut in. "That was the Spirit of the Ring. You couldn't control it."

"I know," said Ryou, staring down again and looking ashamed. "But it feels like it was me."

Yugi reached out and patted Ryou's hand. "I know you've been through a lot. I'm sorry. But still...why give the museum a fake?"

"Well, once I was here, I realized I couldn't stand to find the Ring. I couldn't stand to see it again. I couldn't stand to touch it again. I just couldn't. And after talking to Marik, I found out that he could have found the Ring...they were actually going to ask him to do it if I couldn't...so I know I should have just told Marik to do it...but I was ashamed. I didn't want him to think I was weak. I'm tired of people thinking I'm weak! And I didn't want to shove my responsibilities off onto him."

"So you created a false ring and pretended to find it."

Ryou nodded sadly. "I know it was a stupid plan. But I just panicked. I couldn't find the real Ring, and I couldn't admit to anyone why I couldn't, so I just...did something stupid."

"You should have just told someone, Ryou."

"I don't know why you think I'd steal that Ring!" Ryou burst out. "I wouldn't want to be anywhere near it! I can barely even stand the sight of the fake!"

"Alright, I believe you, Ryou," said Yugi. "You did look really surprised when I asked if you'd stolen it...and I can understand why you wouldn't want to find it."

"I'm really, really sorry, Yugi."

"Look, Ryou, it will be alright," said Yugi. "I'm just going to head over the museum now and explain the situation. I'm sure they'll be understanding. And they can have Marik find the real Ring. So no harm, no foul, right?"

Ryou smiled at him. "Thanks, Yugi. Thanks for coming to me first. And thanks for offering to explain things to them for me. I...I don't think I could face them."

"It's alright, Ryou. You're my friend." Yugi paused and then stood up. "I'm sorry this visit couldn't be more pleasant. But I really should get to the museum."

Ryou nodded. "Thanks again, Yugi."

Ryou walked Yugi to the door, and they bid each other goodbye. Once Yugi was out of the apartment, Ryou locked the door behind him and then immediately collapsed into a chair. He felt like he was going to faint.

Moments later, Bakura rushed out into the kitchen. His eyebrows were knotted and his jaw clenched; his entire demeanor was a clear sign that he'd heard the entire conversation.

Ryou looked at him tiredly. "So. I guess I'll be missing my flight home tonight. I can't leave until all this is cleared up."

Bakura didn't seem to hear him, as he strode right past Ryou. "Well," he said, "I'm going to kill Yugi."

"Oh, Bakura, no!" Ryou cried. "Not this again!"

But Bakura was already grabbing his coat. "It will solve our problem, won't it? If he's dead, he can't tell the museum officials."

"No, Bakura, no." Ryou was shaking. "No, it really won't solve our problem...just listen to me for a second!"

Bakura paused. "What."

"It's broad daylight! And Yugi's in a car, I just heard it pull out. What are you going to do, steal a car and have a high speed chase? Murder him in the middle of the street if you catch him? Everyone would see! And then they'd either think I killed him, or they'd know you were back! And all of this leads right back to Marik! You'd be taking us all down with you! If you want to keep anything from looking suspicious, murdering someone in the street in broad daylight is not the best plan!"

Bakura seemed to consider this for a moment. "Well, I could wait and kill him under the cover of night when no one's around."

"It will be too late by then," Ryou pointed out. "He's going to tell the museum officials right now. In fact, he'll be there within minutes. It's probably already too late to catch him. For all we know, he's already called them."

"Damn it," said Bakura. "I guess you're right."

Bakura sat down heavily in a chair. "I really, really want to kill Yugi, though."

Ryou sighed. "I know you do."

"But what are we going to do about this, then? Now we're right back to them asking Marik to find the Ring, and it's obviously not there."

"We'll think of something," said Ryou.

"Yes, because our last plan worked out so well."

"Well, we'll just have to come up with something better," said Ryou. "Hey, I did pretty well with Yugi just now, didn't I? At least he doesn't know the truth about the Ring, and Marik looks totally innocent, and I bought us some time."

"Yeah, you did a pretty good job," Bakura conceded. "I didn't know you were such a good liar."

"Well, it was half true," admitted Ryou. "I really didn't like you hurting my friends, even if I understood your side of it. And I do have a lot of bad memories from that time."

"Well, I won't be hurting anyone anymore," said Bakura. "I like being a thief, but truth be told, I'm glad all the killing and fighting is behind me. When Marik first brought me back, I told him I just wanted to live my life instead of spending it fighting and struggling all the time. No matter how much I want to kill Yugi...I guess it wouldn't do anyone any good."

"That's right," said Ryou. "And you will be able to live a life without constant struggle and fighting. Once Marik gets home, we'll talk, and we'll come up with something. I swear."

"I guess that's the best we have right now," Bakura sighed. After a pause, he said, "By the way...Yugi thinks you stole the Ring from him three years ago because of your father?"

"What?"

"Didn't you hear him? He doesn't even know you took the Ring from him because of me. He thinks you took it because your father gave it to you and it has sentimental value to you. Your father?" Bakura scoffed. "Do you even see that guy?"

Ryou shrugged. "Not often."

"Yugi is such a fucking idiot," Bakura said. He paused again. "I really want to kill him."

Ryou just rolled his eyes.

Marik rushed to get home that evening. He'd been in a state of near panic since morning, when Yugi had shown up at his door unannounced, and was anxious to find out what Yugi had told Ryou. When Marik finally stepped through the front door, he saw a pair of grim faces glance up at him and immediately knew that it hadn't gone well.

"What happened?" Marik asked, dropping off his coat as he approached the two, who had been sitting on the living room couch. "Ryou, aren't you flying out tonight?"

Bakura pursed his lips, and Ryou gave Marik a pained expression.

"Marik, you'd better take a seat."

The tone sent a shiver up Marik's spine as he sat down on the couch.

Finally, he repeated, "What happened? What did Yugi want?"

"Yugi knows that we gave them a fake," Bakura snapped, which didn't help the tension in the room at all. "He can sense all the Millennium Items, so when he came across the fake one, he knew right away that it wasn't real. He came here to tell Ryou that he's going to report it to the museum officials, and wanted to see if Ryou had an explanation before he went."

Marik visibly paled. "Oh, fuck. What did you tell him?"

"I told him a lie," Ryou said, staring at his hands. "I said that being here, so near to the Millennium Items, gave me too many bad memories and that's why I couldn't find the Ring. I said I was too ashamed to tell anyone because it would make me seem weak, and just created a fake one out of panic."

"So you took the blame for it?" Marik asked, incredulous. He had to admit that he was impressed with Ryou, especially now, when he'd flown halfway around the world to help them out and was still sticking up for them.

Ryou nodded. "I didn't want either of you to get in trouble."

"Did Yugi say he's going to turn you in?"

"No," Ryou said, smiling. "I think I convinced him that I was just being stupid, and he said he'd explain the whole thing to the officials so I wouldn't be taken in."

Marik gave him a small smile, but Bakura was watching them both coldly.

"That's great and all, but I think it's worth pointing out that we still have a problem. I'm sure the museum officials know by now that the Ring they have is fake, and they're going to come to you-" he glanced at Marik, "-to find the real one."

"We need a new plan, then," Marik said.

"Right. So what are our options?" Bakura asked.

Marik could see that Bakura was clearly stressed, perhaps more so than either he or Ryou. His eyes were dark and feral, as if at any moment he might flare up, and he was drumming his fingers against the couch arm.

"Can we get a better fake?" Ryou asked. "I know we've already tried a fake, but maybe if we tried another spell, or did it in a different way..."

Marik shook his head. "I don't know any other spells. If I tried anything new, it probably wouldn't be any better than the one we gave them."

"I see," Ryou nodded, looking deep in thought. "And Yugi already knows that the real Ring is somewhere close by, so he'd probably know if we gave them another fake."

"Plus, Yugi's already suspicious," Marik continued. "If we pull another trick on him, he's not going to be so forgiving this time."

"Right," Ryou said.

They sat in silence for a few minutes, each trying to come up with a plan. Somewhere far off, the clock on Marik's wall was ticking and he realized that he hadn't had dinner yet. The hunger in his stomach was replaced by another ache, a realization that if they didn't find a solution, this could jeopardize everything he'd been working toward.

"Bakura," Marik suddenly said. "Do you have any ideas?"

Bakura glanced at him. The ferocity in his eyes had deepened. It was moments like this that reminded Marik of Bakura's origins, the darkness that had shaped his past.

"Well, we can't give Yugi a fake, and we sure as hell can't give him the real one, so no. I have no other ideas."

Suddenly, Ryou piped up. "Why can't we give him the real one?"

Bakura glanced at Ryou sharply, as if the boy had slapped him across the face. "What the hell kind of a question is that?"

"Well, hear me out," Ryou said, unaffected by Bakura's glare. "If we gave him the real one for now, they would have no reason to suspect anything. We would be giving them exactly what they want-"

"Which is exactly why we shouldn't give it to them!" Bakura snapped.

"-but you can just take it back from them later!" Ryou finished.

Bakura didn't seem to have even heard Ryou. He was staring at him indignantly. "There's no fucking way I'm giving them the Ring. I've fought too long to give it up like this. Those bastards don't even deserve to lay their hands on it."

Marik's eyes lit up. "Wait, Bakura. I think Ryou has a point. If we give them the Ring now, it can always be stolen again later. You said yourself that you're going to leave at the end of the tournament, so you can just steal it back before you go."

At that, Bakura looked as if he'd been drenched in a bucket of ice water. Every muscle in his face was tensed, his eyes wild, his fists clenched. He glowered at Marik before he slowly stood up from the couch, and Marik instantly knew that he'd struck a nerve.

"This is getting ridiculous," Bakura said. "I'm surprised that you're even suggesting this."

"Bakura, look," Marik started, licking his dry lips. He didn't want to argue. They needed to stick together, especially now, but their camaraderie was unraveling so quickly that Marik hardly had a chance. "It's a definite possibility- and we don't really have many others now. You won't be giving up the Ring for that long, plus it's not like you need it right now anyway. You can get it back any time-"

But Bakura had already turned his back and strode toward the front door, grabbing the knob with brute force. "Save your breath, Marik. If you're even seriously considering that option, I don't want to be part of this discussion."

He slammed the door on his way out.

Ryou glanced at Marik, looking grim. "I'm sorry he's so stubborn," he said.

Marik ran his hands through his hair, heaving a deep breath. "Not your fault. It's Bakura we're talking to. He needs to be eased in to things, not have them thrown at him. He just needs time."

"Do you really think this is our best option?" Ryou asked.

"Yes, I really do," Marik said, standing up. "I didn't seriously consider it before, because this is the kind of reaction I got from him. But at this point, we've run out of other options. I think this is the best thing we've got. There's no way Yugi will suspect anything if we give him the real Ring."

Ryou nodded, still looking deep in thought.

"Anyway, let's clear our heads. I'm going to make some dinner, if you're hungry."

At that, Ryou smiled widely. "Starved, actually. Bakura's really horrible when it comes to doing anything around the house, so I've been cooking for us."

Marik laughed, happy to find something more frivolous to discuss. "Tell me about it."

They spent the next hour cooking and talking, trying to steer their conversation clear of the plans regarding the Ring. Still, their previous discussion nagged at Marik, and despite the easy conversation he had with Ryou, he kept thinking about their plan, trying to see how it could work from each angle.

After dinner, they sat down to watch TV, and had gotten through two shows before the front door suddenly opened, and Bakura walked in.

There was a clear change in his demeanor. He no longer looked enraged. Instead, he looked resigned.

"Hey," Marik said, watching him carefully.

Bakura wordlessly sat down on the couch beside them, and Marik caught Ryou's eye quickly, unsure of how to handle this calmer side of Bakura.

Finally, Bakura said, "Alright."

"Alright, what?" Marik asked.

"Let's give them the Ring."

"Just like that?"

Bakura gave Marik a searing look. "Do you not want me to agree to this stupid plan of yours, or what? Yes, just like that."

"What changed your mind?" Marik pressed, genuinely curious.

Bakura sighed. "It's like you said, we don't have many options now. Besides, I'll steal it back right at the end of the tournament. And the moment you win and get your damned reputation back, I'll be gone."

That statement struck Marik hard. His breath hitched momentarily as the realization hit him. Bakura really would be gone if they followed through with this plan. There was no way he could steal the Ring and still hang around Luxor with it in his possession. The officials would be immediately suspicious. Marik couldn't even imagine the uproar once they realized it was missing, and started doing a thorough search for the item.

Still. The way Bakura was looking at him as he stated mere facts was wrenching.

"Right," Marik said. "It would be too dangerous for you to stick around after that."

Bakura nodded. "I'll steal it during the finals while you're at a duel, so that way you'll have an alibi. If they even suspect you, everyone who watched the duel will know there's no way you could've stolen it."

"Right," Marik repeated, somehow feeling empty as he agreed. "And Ryou will be back in Japan by that time, so he won't be suspected."

Ryou sensed the suddenly dismal atmosphere, watching the exchange between the two. He opened his mouth to say something, to try to cut through the carefully built web the two had created between themselves. There was something both very clear yet clandestine about their interactions. Whether it was pride or a genuine lack of self-awareness, he wasn't sure, but it tugged at his heart to watch it.

After that short discussion, the three fell quiet, and the rest of the night passed by in silence.

They all had a lot to think about.

AN: If you're confused about the references to Ryou taking the Ring from Yugi 3 years ago, that's a thing that happened in the manga but not the anime. This chapter would have been out sooner, but there were various problems, like the fact that my cell phone got stolen so now I no longer have a phone, and Tae's Skype doesn't work. Anyways, thanks for reading, please review!