Chapter 17 - Everyone Has Secrets

"So the bitch attacked you on the freeway?" asked Malik once the albino twins had completed their story.

Bakura rolled his eyes. "Not like she could have done any real damage to us," he scoffed. "But I didn't feel like taking my chances with Ryou's safety."

"But what are you going to do know?" Marik inquires of him. "Did she tail you back here?"

"I doubt it," Ryou answered from the stairs where he was reading Yami's journal. He didn't remove his eyes from the pages as he elaborated his claim. "Someone crashed into her car. Chances are the guy was drunk. At the speed Bakura was going, there's practically no chance that she could of, especially considering the fact that she stopped only to screech at him." Seconds later, his brown eyes widened and he leapt to his feet.

"What is it, Ryou?" Marik asked him, slightly surprised at his sudden jump.

Ryou turned to face his yami. "Bakura, there's more back there."

"What are you talking about, kid?" answered the thief. "More as in another journal?" The smaller albino nodded. "Well then, does it say where it's kept?"

"Afraid not," sighed Ryou. "Most of this involves his time with Valencia. The last entry within this is basically about how she had tried to kill him." He looked back down at the pages. "By the looks of it, it must have been quite an adventure."

"After our last encounter with the bitch, I think that's the understatement of the month," Bakura scoffed.

"So what, we wait here for her to find us?" Malik growled. "She comes anywhere near here and I'll rip her heart out." The smaller blonde walked over to Ryou and read the pages. "Wait, according to these pages, there's a mention of Yami having some sort of mental problem. It says here that he's seen things that aren't even there as well as voices in his head."

Ryou exchanged glances with his friend. "What could this mean? Is Yami in danger?"

"We have to go back," said the thief. "I want to know what the hell is going on with our 'beloved pharaoh' myself." He rises to his feet and grabs the keys, walking towards the front door and unlocking. "You coming, Ryou?"

"Yeah, right behind you," he replied as he closes the book and grabs his jacket. "Hopefully, we won't be gone for too long."

Upon arrival, Bakura climbed out the car and headed straight for the front door. Ryou stayed in the car for a moment to grab the journal before exiting, following after his determined yami to the house. The albino thief picked the lock on the door and shoved it open, walking up the stairs as he did so. "So, what are we looking for, Ryou?"

"According to the journal," he said, opening the book again to relocate the entry. "It says that there is another notebook like this one, but it doesn't say where. But it might be in his room. At least, I think that's what it's saying."

"'You think?' How about a little more certainty on that one?" Bakura scoffed as he opens the door to Yami's bedroom. "Where is that blasted pharaoh anyhow? He hasn't been home for days, which is suspicious all on its own."

Ryou walked in and past his yami, who was standing in the doorway, towards the bookshelf. "Ryou, what are you doing now?"

"Logic says that the usual place to place something like a journal or diary would be either in a secret location or in plain sight in an obvious spot," he stated as he perused the books on the fourth shelf. "Best to check the obvious spots first so we don't miss anything."

Bakura frowned. "You can check the obvious spots. I'll check for tricks and such."

"Probably a good idea."

With that, the thief started checking the desk drawers near the window. "Where is it?" Bakura growled quietly. "How do I get a false bottom to come up, Ryou?"

"False bottom?" he called as he drew a lime green journal from the shelf with the initials R.S. written on the spine. "Usually, you can just pull it up. Try taking the drawer out and turning it upside down." Ryou opens the notebook in his hands and starts reading the pages.

Bakura nearly breaks the drawer as he rips it out and flips it over. As expected, the false bottom drops to the ground with a crimson colored notebook following suit. Tossing the drawer aside, he picked up the notebook and looked at the spine. "Who's A.E.?" he asked, flipping through the pages for a name.

"I don't know, but someone initialed R.S. wrote this one," Ryou replied. "Perhaps Aedrian?"

"Who's Aedrian?" the other albino dared to ask.

"Right here, it mentions that Aedrian Étoile is someone with experience in reading tarot cards as well as a card player because of this person."

He thought about it. "Well, the initials fit the ones on the spine, but that still doesn't answer one of my questions."

"Which is…?" Ryou inquired, turning his gentle gaze on him.

"If Aedrian wrote this one and someone else wrote that one, which one of them gives us more information about our insane pharaoh?" said Bakura as he snaps the crimson journal shut.

"Why don't we look around for more of these journals and take them with us?" Ryou suggested. "I'll have them copied and then we can have them returned."

"The only problem is that if he comes home before we can return them, he might find out that we took them and Ra knows how that'll turn out," Bakura grumbled.

Ryou held out his hand for the journal Bakura held in his grasp. "For right now, let's worry more about what these can tell us and we'll worry about Yami when he gets back."

"Wait a minute," Bakura says as he hands over the notebook. "Isn't it supposed to be the other way around?"

"What are you talking about?" he asked as the book was handed over without resistance.

"You're supposed to be telling me that stealing is wrong and that we put these back where we found them and I should be ignoring you and taking them anyway?" Bakura elaborated for him.

Ryou laughs, "That's why I said we just take them and return them later. I know you better than you think I do. Now come on, let's find any more before we head back to the house."

~A/N: Sorry that this is short, but I haven't been able to get this down right when I wrote it the first time. In any case, Chapter 18 might not be up for a while because the computer over here has been acting up. I recently got a DA account, so I am posting a Homestuck story under request of my friend Scarlet Ishtar. If you are interested, look for QueenValentineChild to find it. It'll be listed as "Carnival of Darkness." I'll update my profile page later. With that, Please Review! X3

Next Chapter: Vengeful Valentine

"I swear, the next time I get my hands on him or anyone he knows," Valencia growled under her breath. "I'll tear them apart limb from fucking limb!"