A/N:Thanks for all the reviews. So many complaints about the cliffhanger... I guess I am evil that way, aren't I? It was fun for me, anyway. I tried to describe Samira as best I could in this chapter, but for anyone who can't figure it out/wants a better look, it should be relatively easy to figure out who she is. For those who can't, more specific details will be given in the next chapter. There will be more of Malik and Mariku, too. In the meantime, as always, I encourage you all to enjoy.
For several tense minutes, Ryou simply stared at Samira and the wicked-looking spear she was holding, too shocked to respond and too confused to know what to do. She had made it clear that she was not leaving without the Millennium Ring, but even though he had claimed that he was prepared to give the Ring up in exchange for his father, that was turning out to be much easier said than done. His fingers trembled as he lifted his hand and lightly touched the Ring. The thought of allowing someone to take it away was nearly unbearable, but he couldn't just sit there and let her hurt Bakura. It wasn't like he really cared about Bakura (because he didn't, damn it), but that didn't change the fact that Bakura was the other half of his soul, and he honestly didn't know what he would do without him.
"Go away," he said at last, trying to sound more composed than he really was. He chanced a look down at the unconscious form of Bakura. If he stalled long enough, would Bakura wake up and help him? "I'm not giving you what you want."
"Then I'll kill both of you and simply take what I want," she said with a smirk, lifting the spear over her head and taking a step forward. She brought it down in a sharp motion as Ryou cried out and scrambled in front of Bakura, shielding him with his body. The end of the spear stopped less than an inch from the top of his head and he flinched backwards as she laughed, clearly enjoying his terror. "Give me the Ring, Rabbit, or my next attack won't miss."
"No! Don't! Please. I... I'll give it to you." His hands were shaking when he reached up to grasp the Millennium Ring, and in spite of his claim, he couldn't quite bring himself to remove it. "Why are you doing this?"
"My master desires all of the Millennium items," Samira said coldly, looking annoyed by his question. "My assignment was to get the Millennium Ring, and I was told that you were the hikari." She shrugged. "The easiest way to get the Ring was to find a way into your life so that I would be able to monitor you. If I'd known that your father already had it, I wouldn't have even bothered to return here with him." Gritting her teeth, she made a strange hissing sound. "That foolish human... He kept the Ring a secret from me, and you were too stupid to give it to me when I told you to in the first place. Now you will all suffer for your decision." As she spoke, she hefted the spear and came at the two of them again.
Instinctively, Ryou closed his eyes and cringed, waiting for the pain, but much to his surprise, it never came. Instead, cold fingers wrapped around his ankle, and he gasped softly as a strange, pulsing feeling rushed through his body. A bight began to flicker, and he opened his eyes to see that the Millennium Ring was flashing in tune to the pulses still going through him. Samira was backing away from the two of them, holding her spear up for defence, as a bug-like creature formed in the corner of the room. It was tall and green, with horns, a mouth full of gleaming teeth, and vicious claws on its hands and feet. Ryou gulped and scrambled backwards as best he could when Bakura's hand was still holding onto his ankle.
"What... what is that?" he stammered, looking down at Bakura. The older boy's eyes were just barely open, and he could see that Bakura's lips were moving, softly chanting words in a language he didn't understand.
The creature leapt at Samira, who instinctively thrust her spear up to block the attack. A blinding flash lit up the room, and when it vanished, Samira was completely unrecognizable to the young woman who had once cuddled up to Osamu. She was now garbed in a short, tight yellow dress and had turquoise wings. Her hair had turned a soft purple and she had horns, but what really disturbed Ryou was that her eyes were a deep well of darkness – a pupil-less void of black. Without hesitating, 'Samira' rammed the spear she was holding deep into the bug's side, causing it let out a voiceless shriek of pain. 'Samira' backed off a safe distance, holding her spear at the ready.
"Give it up, bug," she hissed. "You can't win. Shining Scepter Blast!"
Dodging the blast of power easily, the creature leapt at 'Samira' with a roar. The two of them collided with enough force to send them both through the front window and out onto the lawn. 'Samira' saw her chance and quickly jumped to her feet while the bug was still trying to pick itself up. She started limping down the street, moving as fast as she could when there was a deep gash in her left leg. Squealing and clicking its horns together, the bug scuttled after her. Dazed, Ryou watched until he could no longer see them before he looked down at Bakura, feeling like he was caught in some weird nightmare. His yami's eyes had closed, and Bakura's breathing was slow and deep, though the grip around Ryou's ankle had not lessened in the slightest. That touch was almost... comforting, in a way.
"Did I really just see what I think I saw?" he whispered to Bakura, blinking slowly as an exhaustion so profound and deep that it was a struggle not to simply fall over into sleep settled over him. He forced himself to reach for his cell phone and had to try three times to dial Yuugi's number. Seeing that there was no answer, he called Malik instead. After the fifth try, the call actually connected, and fortunately his friend picked up quickly.
"Hello, Malik speaking," Malik said cautiously, clearly worried that it would be Isis.
"It's me," Ryou said, rubbing his eyes with his free hand. He was so tired that it was hard to think. The Millennium Ring was still flashing around his neck, though the seconds between each flash grew longer each time. "Can you come to my house?"
"What's wrong?" said Malik, instantly on alert. "Ryou?"
"I just... need you to come." Without waiting for an answer, he flipped his phone shut and dropped it on the floor. He knew that Malik and probably Mariku would come as soon as they could, but there was no way that he would be able to stay awake for the time that it would take them to arrive. Moving slowly and with great effort, he pried Bakura's hand off of his ankle and then lay down beside the older boy, not protesting when Bakura's arm found its way around his waist and yanked him closer. Noticing that Amane's bunny was still on the ground where he'd dropped it, Ryou picked it up and cuddled the toy against his chest as he rested his forehead against Bakura's shoulder. Sleep swept over him almost instantly.
GMA
Not long after Ryou and Bakura departed, Yuugi pulled Jou aside and spoke to him quietly for a moment before the two of them slipped out of the room. He was feeling worried about his grandfather, and as much as he would have liked to stick around and make sure that Malik didn't try to murder Mariku, he knew that he needed to be getting home so that he could help out a little more in the shop before going back to school the next day. It wasn't good for Sugoroku to be doing so much work around the shop all by himself, which was why Yuugi tried to do as much as possible during the weekends. After all, his grandfather was already in his sixties, and he had a heart condition that had been causing him some trouble recently. When he'd spoken to the man the night before, Sugoroku had admitted that he'd felt "a bit funny" after closing up the shop, and the only reason Yuugi hadn't rushed home immediately was because Arthur and Rebecca had come for another visit. Just the thought of going home to see Rebecca there was enough to make him drag his feet.
"Sucks you have to leave already, Yuugi," Jou said, leaning against the wall with his hands in his pockets. "You'll have to come back and play some games with us again. It was nice having someone around who could give Yami an honest fight. He trounces me every time we play."
Yuugi flashed his friend a quick smile as he pulled his sneakers on. "Keep practicing, Jou. You're better than you were when we used to play. I bet you'll be able to beat Tenno at some point."
Jou snorted, his lips curling in a slow, familiar grin. "Not likely. You sure you don't wanna take Malik with you? I caught him giving Mariku the evil eye a few minutes ago. I'm a little worried about leaving the two of them alone. I think that he might try to push Mariku out the window and claim that it was an accident."
"I'm pretty sure no one would believe him," Yuugi muttered, unable to bite back a smile. Malik was nothing short of stubborn, but it appeared that Mariku had a determination to match. He wasn't sure who was going to ultimately win, but the battle was going to be fun to watch. "Sorry, Jou. I hate to leave you with those two, but Jii-chan said that he'd like to go out with Hawkins-san tonight, which means I've got to be home to mind the shop." He also wanted to tackle all of the heavy lifting and shelving of merchandise while his grandfather wasn't around, but if Jou knew that, he'd want to help, and Yuugi didn't like asking his friends to help around the shop when he and Sugoroku couldn't afford to pay them. Or anyone, for that matter.
"It's no problem. See you later." Jou tossed him a wave.
"Yup, bye." Turning, he left the house quickly and felt a sense of relief when he closed the door, even though that damnable ache was back. He rubbed his chest absently as he walked down the steps and across the grass, heading for the gate that would let him out of the Kaiba mansion grounds. There was another reason he didn't want to take Malik home, though he didn't want to say as much to Jou. Malik and Ryou didn't know about Sugoroku's heart condition, as his grandfather had asked him to keep it to himself. It was hard enough keeping a secret from his friends without flaunting it right in front of them.
His cell phone rang when he was about halfway home. Yuugi pulled his phone out of his pocket and saw that it was Ryou, but by the time he went to answer it, the phone had stopped ringing. Frowning, he made an attempt to call his friend back, but the phone went straight to voicemail. He paused, wondering whether he should made a quick stop by Ryou's. What if something was wrong? But then again, if everything was okay, it would be a wasted trip, and he was anxious to get home and make sure that Sugoroku was alright. He settled on sending Ryou a text message asking him to call back and eventually continued on, periodically checking his phone to see if he'd gotten a response. However, Ryou was totally blown out of his mind when he turned onto his street and spotted that damned car still parked in their driveway. Shoving his phone back in his pocket, he sighed.
"Shit, I hate this," he said out loud, steeling himself against the urge to turn and run back to Kaiba's. He was sure that Jou would let him in! But no... he had promised Sugoroku. Pushing his lower lip out in a full-fledged pout and wondering why his grandfather couldn't get less annoying friends, Yuugi reluctantly crossed the street. Even though it was the last thing he felt like doing, he pushed the door to the Kame Game Shop open, hoping that he would be meant by the sight of his grandfather. No such luck.
"Darling!" Rebecca squealed loudly, her eyes lighting up at the sight of him. She was still wearing the jacket she'd stolen from him, only this time it was over a lavender blouse that was paired with a pale pink skirt. Her hair was down around her shoulders, and she was beaming brightly. With a sound that could only be interpreted as a squeal, she hopped off of the stool and hurried around the counter. "I've been waiting for you."
"Hello, Rebecca-san," Yuugi said, bracing himself to be glomped. Surprisingly, it never came. Instead, an arm settled around his shoulders, instantly putting an end to the throbbing ache in his chest and leaving no doubt in Yuugi's mind as to who it was. Annoyed, he chanced a peek over his shoulder. Sure enough, Tenno was standing right behind him, looking at Rebecca with an almost amused expression. His grip, however, was entirely possessive.
"Who are you?" demanded Rebecca, stopping short at the sight of someone else laying claim to what she clearly considered to be her property. Her eyes darted from Yuugi to Tenno, taking note of the way that Yuugi stiffened slightly but failed to push the older boy away, and narrowed. Competition. "Yuugi-chan?"
A slow smirk made its way across Tenno's face at the sound of the nickname and he shifted, standing behind the younger boy. "Yuugi is my aibou," he said, clearly taking delight in the way Yuugi and Rebecca choked at both the extremely familiar term and the emphasis on "my". Slow fury spread across Rebecca's face, while Yuugi just closed his eyes in utter mortification. He hadn't responded when Tenno had called him by that name once before, and now he was beginning to realize that he probably should have put a stop to it.
"I see," Rebecca said, her voice sounding strangled. "Is that true, Darling? Do you actually know this man? Is he your..." Her jaw tightened. "Boyfriend?"
Interesting question. Yuugi took a minute to consider his answer. Rebecca was a blonde-haired menace who had been trying to get into his pants for as long as he'd known her, even though he'd made it clear that nothing was going to happen between them. She refused to take 'no' for an answer and seemed utterly convinced that Yuugi was just fooling himself. On the other hand, there was already an annoying bond between he and Tenno, and he did not like the idea of admitting to anything when it came to the rather possessive stalker standing behind him, much less claiming that they were in an intimate relationship. The seconds ticked by as Yuugi struggled to decide who was the lesser of two evils, and a muscle began to twitch in Rebecca's cheek as Tenno's smirk broadened.
"In case you couldn't tell, he's making an attempt not to hurt your feelings," Tenno told her smugly, running his fingers down Yuugi's chest. The younger boy shivered and then inwardly cursed himself when Tenno's other arm curled around his waist, drawing him back against the older boy's body. Good lord, why did it have to feel so damn good?
"He is right here and doesn't like it when people talk about him like he's not," Yuugi mumbled, annoyed that he couldn't control his body's reaction to Tenno. Yet he still made no move to squirm free. Rebecca was definitely the more evil one, he'd decided, recognizing the predatory glint in her eyes. She'd be on him so fast he wouldn't have time to blink if she got the chance. If Tenno was willing to step between her and Yuugi, well, have at it. Yuugi certainly wasn't going to stop him.
"I thought I heard... Oh, Yuugi, you are home." Sugoroku pushed open the back door of the shop and stepped inside. His eyebrows shot up when he saw the situation, and Yuugi could practically feel the blood rushing to his cheeks as a grin crossed his grandfather's face. "And I see you brought your friend back with you. Hello, Tenno-san."
Tenno dipped his head in a nod. "Good afternoon, Mutou-san," he said politely, somehow managing to sound like he wasn't wrapped around Sugoroku's grandson.
"Rebecca-chan, I think your grandfather is looking for you," said Sugoroku, glancing at the girl. "He wanted to know if you had planned to come along with us. Perhaps you should. I don't think there will be much for you to do around here." There was an underlying note of firmness in his voice that left no question as to what Rebecca's decision would be. Hearing that, Rebecca pouted and shot a poisonous glare in Tenno's direction, her expression promising retribution.
"I guess I could get dropped off at the house," she grumbled, her attitude making it clear that it was the last thing she felt like doing. Keeping up a steady scowl, she backed up towards the door that Sugoroku had come through. Her expression became sickeningly sweet when she glanced at Yuugi. "Goodbye, my darling Yuugi-chan. The next time we see each other, we'll have to make sure that we're in a place where we don't be disturbed. Just know that I'll be waiting for you."
"Um, yeah, sure. Goodbye," Yuugi said awkwardly, breathing a sigh of relief as soon as she was gone. One evil down, one to go. Unfortunately, he didn't think that Tenno was going to be as easy to get rid of as Rebecca had been, considering that the older boy's grip had only become even more firm when he felt Yuugi trying to squirm away and Sugoroku was staring at them with a pleased look in his plum-coloured eyes. Even when he tried shooting his grandfather a desperate look, the man only chuckled and strolled over to the cash register, where he pressed a few buttons, read the results, and nodded in satisfaction.
"I'll leave things to you and your friend, Yuugi," he said cheerfully, glancing back at them. "You can close the shop a little earlier tonight if you two want the chance to watch a movie. We have some popcorn in the pantry. I probably won't be home until late, so don't wait up for me." He stepped away from the counter.
"Jii-chan..." Yuugi looked at him with concern, forgetting all about Tenno in his worry for his grandfather. Sugoroku was moving more slowly than usual, and his back was slightly stooped over, as though it pained him to straighten it. His face was pale and washed out under the lights of the shop. "Are you sure that you should be going out tonight? Maybe you should stay home and rest." Without thinking, he made to take a step forward. Much to his surprise, Tenno's arms slipped away from him easily, allowing him to cross the shop to his grandfather's side. "Did you take your medicine?"
"Don't fuss, Yuugi. I'm fine," Sugoroku admonished with a shake of his head. He'd never appreciated being fussed over, particularly when it was being done by his young grandson. "I told you, I was just a little tired from doing a bit too much in the shop. I felt perfectly fine as soon as I'd sat down and rested for a few minutes. I promise, if I wasn't feeling well, I would stay home, but it isn't like Arthur-san and I will be doing anything strenuous."
"Okay... If you're sure..." he said uncertainly, wishing that his grandfather would agree to remain home. But Sugoroku was incredibly stubborn, and if he wanted to go out, nothing would stop him. "Have fun."
Sugoroku softened and smiled broadly as he hugged Yuugi. "I will. Don't work in the shop too late, alright? Good night." He nodded to Tenno and then followed Rebecca through the back door.
Yuugi waited until he was certain that his grandfather had left before he walked over to the cash register and sat down on the little stool. Minding the shop was the last thing that he felt like doing, and he was incredibly aware of the weight of Tenno's gaze on his shoulders. Tenno hadn't made any move to leave, and it didn't look like he was going to. His crimson gaze hadn't left Yuugi since Rebecca had walked out of the shop, and he hated the fact that it didn't make him uncomfortable. Knowing that Tenno was around made him feel almost... warm. He firmly told himself that it was disturbing and hunched his shoulders.
"You don't have to stay, you know," he mumbled into the register. "I don't even know why you bothered to follow me home. I'm perfectly fine here by myself. So feel free to go back to Kaiba-san's and play video games with Jou and Mokuba-kun."
Tenno chuckled. The rich sound made Yuugi shiver. "Why would I want to do that, Aibou?" he asked. That damnable smirk was back, only this time it was directed at him instead of Rebecca, and it wasn't nearly so amusing. "You've got work to do here, and I'd like to get to know you better. You did promise to spend time with me, you know."
"That was when you were lying to me about wanting me to help you find your other half," Yuugi snapped in return. "I didn't appreciate that, by the way."
"Technically, I wasn't lying. You really were helping me to find my other half by letting yourself have time to get used to the idea," said Tenno. He shrugged. "If it really makes you feel better, I apologize for lying to you, but I'm not sorry that I did it."
"Just go home, would you?" he muttered, sliding off of the stool. He walked into the backroom, fervently hoping that by the time he came back out, Tenno would be gone... and judging by the amount of work he saw waiting for him, he wouldn't have to worry about that. Sugoroku had been having difficulty with the company that they purchased some of their rarer stock from, which meant that the shop had been low on certain items for a few weeks. Clearly things had been resolved, however, because there were at least a dozen large boxes of merchandise waiting to be unpacked and sorted. Just the thought of checking through the boxes and trying to get the store re-stocked made him exhausted. But if he didn't, his grandfather would try to do it all by himself the next day while Yuugi was at school, and he didn't like the thought of that, either.
Shoulders slumped, he picked up the master list that was lying on the counter and moved forward, knowing that putting it off would only make things worse. Sugoroku had left their knife on one of the boxes, and he picked it up, expertly pressed the knife to the top of the box, and slit the packing tape. Several boxes of a card game that had a small following stared up at him as he pulled the top of the box open. Smiling grimly, he began removing them from the box, counting silently. Once the larger box was empty, he checked off everything that had been inside on the master list. The one consolation was that he would no longer have to listen to pissed off teenagers bitching about the fact that their store was out of stock.
He moved on to the next box, which was full of smaller, loose toys that would take much longer to sort through, and began checking them off one by one. Yuugi was so focused on his task that he was unaware of just how much time had passed, or the fact that he had completely forgotten about Tenno. Or at least, he had until he became aware of the fact that someone was staring at him, and it didn't take much to guess who, since he hadn't heard the tell-tale jingle that meant the shop's door had opened. Twisting, he delivered a glare at the doorway, where Tenno was standing.
"Don't you know it's rude to stare?" he demanded.
Tenno smirked and folded his arms. Yuugi tried hard not to notice how cool the older boy looked. "I guess I just can't help myself. You're so cute when you're focused."
Yuugi's mouth dropped open, and for a moment he just stared, completely shocked by the comment. "I... I am not c-cute!" he stuttered at last, feeling heat rush to his cheeks. It definitely wasn't the first time he had been called 'cute', but it was the first time that a surprisingly hot guy was the one saying it. As soon as the thought ran through his mind, he was tempted to pick up the pen and jab it through his eyes to end his misery. This could not be happening to him.
"I beg to differ," Tenno replied lightly. His eyes landed on one of the boxes that Yuugi had unpacked earlier. "Do you want me to start putting these out on the shelves?"
"I want you to go home!"
"I'm sorry, Aibou, I didn't quite catch that," he said, scooping up a couple of the boxes. He disappeared back out front before Yuugi had the chance to answer, leaving the smaller boy fuming to himself. Resolutely, he turned back to his work and settled on completely ignoring Tenno as the older boy continued to stock the shelves in between chatting with the occasional person who wandered into the shop. Between the two of them, nearly all of the boxes were unpacked and the items inside either stored or shelved, leaving only two boxes left for Sugoroku to handle by the time the shop was ready to be closed. Yuugi got up from the floor, his head aching from staring at rows and columns of numbers for too long, and stumbled back into the main part of the shop just in time to see Tenno close the cash register and hand a bag to a young girl. She beamed happily and bounced out of the store.
"Where did you learn to do that?" Yuugi asked sceptically, suddenly feeling badly for ignoring Tenno for most of the afternoon after all of the help that the older boy had given him. How was it that he could never stay angry at Tenno? It was incredibly frustrating, though he did his best to hide it as he walked over and locked the door before flipping the sign to closed.
"Do what? Use a cash register? Did you think I've never had a job before?" Tenno said, raising his eyebrows. "A couple of years ago, I had a part-time job. I didn't have it for very long before my parents found out and made me quit, but I learned a few things. Besides, most of the time they're pretty self explanatory."
"Oh." Uncertain of what to say or do, Yuugi stared at the floor and nervously twined his fingers together. He truly hated the thought of spending more time with Tenno. It never seemed to take him very long to get attached to people, and that was exactly what he was afraid was happening now. What would he do when the older boy decided that he'd had enough and just left? Why couldn't he just do that now, when it wouldn't hurt as much? Why did he have to keep pushing?
"Yuugi?"
The fact that Tenno had said his actual name was enough to make Yuugi snap to attention. His head rose, and he glanced at Tenno, chewing on his lip nervously. "Yes?"
"What's wrong?" asked Tenno gently. "I can tell you're upset." He seemed to understand that Yuugi would not have welcomed his approach and stayed by the counter.
"It's none of your business," Yuugi muttered. "How can you tell, anyway?"
Long, tanned fingers reached out and touched the Millennium Puzzle. Yuugi jumped, startled that Tenno had moved so quickly without any sound, and his owns hands rose anxiously, grabbing onto the Puzzle just in case Tenno was trying to take it from him. Their fingers met, and he felt that same soothing warmth spreading through him. It was stronger this time, just like it had been at the cafe. He closed his eyes, enjoying the sensation in spite of himself. A gentle hand cupped his cheek and tilted his head up, and when he finally opened his eyes, he saw that Tenno was leaning over him. Crimson and violet connected and Yuugi pulled in a sharp, shuddering breath.
"There's a bond between us that can never be broken, Little One," Tenno told him, his voice soft and intimate. "The Millennium Puzzle is merely a physical representation of that bond, and I will not take it from you, but I assure you that our bond will continue to exist whether or not you want to believe in it. Even once the Puzzle is gone, I will still be here, Aibou. There is no possible way to get rid of me." He released Yuugi's cheek and trailed his fingers through the younger boy's hair, prompting a shiver. A strange look passed over his face for just a moment before he smiled. "We belong together, my little hikari."
Strangely enough, Yuugi found that he was starting to believe it.
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