A/N: Apparently everyone likes season zero Yami. Well, that's okay, who wouldn't? Hehe. Surprisingly, there is no Yami or Yuugi in this chapter (seriously, I don't know how this happened again) but I guess it was needed to move the plot along. This chapter turned out longer than I had intended it to be, but I like how it was more than I thought I would. I was able to end on a cute note which made me happy. Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays, everyone. Please enjoy!
The small, frail body rested beneath the pristine white sheets, tucked neatly into the bed. His chest rose and fell slowly, the slight movement the only indication that Sugoroku Mutou was still alive aside from the mildly annoying beeping sounds of the machines monitoring his health. Isis Ishtar stood in front of the viewing window and gazed inside of the private room, watching over the elderly man with a sorrowful expression on her young face. For once, she didn't need the power of the Millennium Tawk to see the future. This had been coming for some time, and she had dreaded it from the day that she had first visited the Game Shop and seen the role that Sugoroku played in the lives of three very innocent boys. He was going to die, and their world was going to fall apart.
One of the day nurses pushed by Isis and entered the room, performing her hourly check to make sure that everything was still functioning properly. She picked up the clipboard attached to the end of his bed and began making notes. Sugoroku hadn't awoken since he'd been brought to the hospital, and in fact, his condition had only steadily grown worse. He'd started out in a regular hospital room, but had ended up being moved to one much closer to the nurse's station so that help wouldn't be so far away if something went wrong. Many of the nurses took every opportunity to walk by his room on a regular basis, generally with an expression on their faces that made it clear they were just waiting for the moment when they would have to sprint into the room and do everything humanely possible to save the man when his heart failed again.
Isis sighed and closed her eyes briefly, feeling the beginnings of a headache. "I expect the doctor gave you the same answer he told me?" she said, knowing on an instinctual level that Kaiba Seto had come up right behind her.
"He told me that there is little they can do to help. The medication isn't having the kind of effect that it's supposed to. It's up to him now," Seto reported, blue eyes even colder than normal. It was clear that he was not pleased by what he'd been told, but for once, no amount of money was going to change things. A million dollar donation to the hospital would not help Sugoroku's condition. There was simply nothing anyone could do if the man's body chose to fail, and that possibility was looking more likely by the minute.
"I thought so," she murmured, shoulders slumped. She had hoped that there would be some better news, but... When she spoke again, she made an effort to sound detached. "I can feel the presence of a spell on his body. His heart was already weakened, but the spell is causing even more damage. Can you reverse it?"
Seto blinked, the only sign that he was surprised, and stepped around her, pushing into the room. The nurse jumped, startled by his sudden appearance, and began to scold him for entering the room without permission. Her words went ignored, and she cut herself off abruptly when she found herself the recipient of an icy blue glare. Swallowing hard, the woman quickly vacated the room, leaving Seto alone. Unphased by the brief encounter, he stepped over to the bed and leaned over Sugoroku, one hand stretched out over the man's chest. His eyes closed and he took a deep breath, automatically syncing his breathing to that of Sugoroku's as he dove inside for his magic. A flickering ball of shadows, paler than normal, began to grow in his hand as Isis watched and held her breath.
Magic was not something that Seto was a huge fan of, and overall, he much preferred logical science to the often inexplicable ways of the shadows. But sometimes, there was no choice, and this happened to be one of those times. A frown crossed his face as he began guiding the magic into Sugoroku's body, treading carefully, fully expecting the backlash of spell and prepared when it came. His hand jerked back instinctively at the sharp burn, but he calmed himself before he could lose control and began again. The magic of the duel monster was oozing through Sugoroku's veins, polluting his heart, organs and brain, and there was no way for him to get rid of it. He simply wasn't strong enough. Seto opened his eyes, feeling sick and faint. A lesser man might have collapsed on the spot, but he managed to fumble his way over to the only chair in the room before his legs gave out on him. Isis was in the room and at his side in seconds.
"I can't get rid of it," he gasped before she could speak. "It's too strong, and it's had a chance to grow and fester. Maybe if I had Jou here with me, our combined strengths might be enough, but..."
She reached out and placed a hand to his forehead, wincing at the clammy feel of his skin. "It will kill you if you try again," she murmured, her heart sinking. Her one hope had been that Seto's magic would be strong enough, but it appeared that Maiden of the Moonlight had poured everything she had into the spells, and Sugoroku's already weakened heart wasn't helping matters. "I think you should go home, Kaiba-san. You don't look very well, and if you collapse here, they'll want to keep you overnight."
It was a testament to how Seto was truly feeling that he didn't argue, merely nodded and stood up, swaying just a bit. Isis hovered by his side, ready to steady him if he fell, and ended up escorting him down to the lobby. The trip was made in silence, with neither of them being quite sure of what to say. Seto was scowling, his blue eyes stormy. He didn't like being defeated by a spell, especially one cast by a duel monster. Never mind that there were other factors in place. It was still immensely frustrating! And it didn't help that he kept thinking of his pup and the worried look that had been on Jou's face when he left the house.
"I will try again," he said clearly, looking straight ahead to the limo waiting outside as the two of them approached the entrance/exit to the hospital. His voice was forceful, with a clear warning for her not to protest.
A faint smile spread across Isis's face, and she rested a hand briefly on his arm. "I would expect nothing less from our Pharaoh's Advisor," she observed. Sheer habit kept Seto from turning to her with a startled look. With effort, he pretended to ignore the comment as his chauffer leapt out of the limo and pulled the door open for him. He climbed in and shut the door, and the chauffer scurried around the driver's side and hurriedly got in. Isis stood back at the car drove away, the smile slowly slipping off of her face.
Seto was a surprisingly strong and talented mage, considering that his soul had been reincarnated, and that, in this life, he had not been exposed to magic until his teens. If he couldn't remove the spell on Sugoroku... Isis grimaced and turned to walk back into the hospital, her mind spinning. Yami, Bakura, and Mariku would need all of their strength to protect their hikaris, and truth be told, she didn't have a whole lot of magic available to her. Most of what she possessed came from the Millennium Tawk in the form of visions, so she knew there was no use in her even trying to break the spell. Any attempt on her part would likely only aggravate the spell and cause Sugoroku's death that much faster. All she could do was pray.
After a quick stop at the cafeteria for a bottle of water, she wearily walked to the elevator, planning to take up her position as guard again, just in case someone returned to finish the job. As it was getting late in the day, she was able to get back up to Sugoroku's room fairly quickly. In retrospect, she realized that was what saved the man's life, because as she came around the corner, her senses tingled, alerting her to the fact that magic that was being cast somewhere nearby – and she had a sneaking suspicion that she knew exactly where it was. Isis immediately picked up the pace, ignoring the nurse who called out to her, and practically sprinted down the hall to Sugoroku's room. A gasp escaped her when she saw what was going on.
A woman and a boy were standing on either side of Sugoroku's bed. The woman had blonde hair, blue eyes, and was wearing a toga-style white dress - the Maiden of the Moonlight in her human form. Tsuki was standing over Sugoroku with a smirk on her face and two fingers pressed against the elderly man's forehead. A gleaming crescent moon bloomed under her fingers, imprinting onto his skin as a muffled groan escaped him. The boy, who didn't look a day older than twelve or thirteen, had his hands above Sugoroku's chest. His eyes were closed and his concentration was fixed on the ball of white magic forming above his palm. Magic leeched into Sugoroku's body, stealing energy from him. When Isis gasped, both duel monsters turned to face her with startled looks, and then the boy scowled deeply as he pulled his hands back, clearly unimpressed at having his mission disturbed.
"Get away from him!" Isis commanded, snapping out of her shock and throwing open the door. She glanced quickly at Sugoroku, noting that he was still breathing, before she glared at the invaders. "Leave this place at once!"
"Back off, girl," the boy warned, looking angry. "You're dealing with things that you don't understand. Let us do our work and be done with it, and we'll get out of your way, yeah?"
Isis schooled her face into a calm mask, hiding the fear that was pounding through her veins. What if the damage to Sugoroku was already irreversible? What if they turned on her next? She pushed away those questions and squared her shoulders, pinning them with a fierce look. "I will not. You have no right to torment that man. He is innocent. Take your spell off of him and leave."
"Think you can order us around?" he growled, eyes flashing. His hand came up, and pure instinct drove Isis to jump out of the way. As a result, the bolt of white light passed neatly through the door and struck the opposite wall, causing an explosion that rocked the whole floor and nearly sent Isis to her knees. Immediately, people outside started screaming, and after a moment's pause, she heard running footsteps heading their way. Isis hesitated only a moment before she reached out and slammed the door shut. That might have trapped her in the room with them, but at least no more innocent people would be able to get caught up in this whole mess. The boy glared at her, teeth bared in warning, and spoke to the girl behind him.
"Are you finished, Tsuki?" he inquired. "I don't want to waste all of my energy on that old hag."
"I'm almost done, Shizu, keep your pants on," Tsuki said lightly. She laughed, her eyes glittering, and looked directly into Isis's face. Isis quickly averted her gaze, knowing better than to look into the bewitching eyes of Maiden of the Moonlight. "You'll never get this spell off of him now," she taunted, flipping her hair over her shoulder. "Imagine my surprise when I felt someone strong enough to test my wards! If I hadn't been so close, you might have actually been able to remove it. We had to hurry right over so that I could reinforce my spell. It was so easy to put on him, you know. Humans are so gullible..."
"Witch," Isis bit out, wishing she had that she had enough command of the shadows to lash out at the creatures. Her hand rose unconsciously and she fingered the Millennium Tawk. Its power hummed under her skin like a dull ache, but she didn't know what to do with it, or even if it could be used for any purpose besides visions. "I said get away from him!"
Her voice jumped in fury as the power stopped fizzing and blazed into true pain. Isis cried out as her legs grew weak and she slumped to her knees. A high, soft chanting filled the air and the two duel monsters cringed, their hands flying to cover their ears as the sound of the singing grew louder. Tsuki reverted to her Maiden of the Moonlight form, and Shizu became a duel monster with red and black armour... someone vaguely familiar. He lashed out, his hand stretching towards Isis and then drawing back sharply. She gasped dully as something pulled, and then a misty white substance was flowing out of her skin, making her whole body go limp and the chanting grow softer and more distant. Both of the duel monsters took the opportunity to retreat, leaping out the window as Isis collapsed onto the ground; the last thing she saw was blue skin, long brown hair, and a flowing green dress vanishing before she passed out.
GMA
For most of Malik's life, even since their mother had died when he was very young, Isis had been both a sister and a mother to him. She had always done what it took to act in what she felt were his best interests, making choices and decisions for him based on what she thought was best, often without consulting him, all in the name of trying to make his life a better one. When he was younger, he hadn't minded that much, because that had made her feel that much more like his mother. Now that he was older, however, he found himself cursing the attitude that he had once thoroughly enjoyed. Isis's habit of sticking her nose into his business, of trying to protect and help him beyond her means, was going to get her killed. It had already gotten her wounded to the point where he'd received one of the worst phone calls he could ever remember getting.
He couldn't recall hanging up the phone or arriving at the hospital. The nurse's words were still echoing in his mind when he became aware of the fact that Mariku was steering him into the hospital, one hand wrapped protectively around Malik's shoulders, the other buried deeply in Mariku's pocket. No doubt he was holding onto the knife he'd brought from his kitchen, ready to whip it out at the slightest hint that a duel monster might attack them. Every person in the waiting room was subjected to the yami's ruthless, scruntizing stare as Malik stumbled towards the Information Desk on legs that didn't quite want to work properly.
"How can I help you?" The rather bored looking girl behind the desk looked up at him. Her jaws moved rhythmically before her lips pursed and she blew a small pink bubble.
Malik just stared at her, unable to speak. Mariku stepped up beside him, cast one last suspicious glare around the room, and then leaned forward. "We're looking for Ishtar Isis."
The girl typed the information into her computer and popped her bubble before she spoke. "Second floor, room 204."
Gently but firmly, Mariku pulled his hikari away from the desk and led him towards the elevators. He was concerned, though he was doing an excellent job of hiding it, since he didn't want to risk alarming Malik anymore. Malik had just... shut down after the phone call about Isis, and he hadn't even reacted to the motorcycle ride like he normally did. Mariku had been forced to place his hikari in front of him, since Malik seemed incapable of doing something as simple as holding on so that he wouldn't fall off. The boy was almost catatonic in his fear that something might have happened to his sister. It was making Mariku re-think his approach to the annoying girl who held such a position of reverence in Malik's life.
The elevator was crowded, but most people gave the two boys a wide berth after seeing the deadly look that Mariku aimed in their direction. They got off on the second floor and followed the signs towards Isis's room, but Malik stopped walking just before he got to the door. He stared straight ahead, feeling his heart performing a series of twists that made him feel ill. How could he face his sister when it was his fault that something had happened to her? Isis was perfectly healthy and there was no reason for her to just collapse. That, combined with the attacks on Ryou's father and Yuugi's grandfather, left him with the sickening feeling that she had been attacked because of her relation to him. Something was trying to get to him through her. Unconsciously, he grabbed onto the Millennium Rod, twisting it in his fingers, thinking about what would happen if Isis died...
A warm, pleasant pressure against his mouth slowly pulled him out of his nightmarish thoughts, forcing him to concentrate on reality. Mariku was kissing him, he realized, staring with dazed eyes up into Mariku's face. It should have made him angry, and he knew that he should be pushing the older boy away and getting angry, but the feeling was actually... comforting. Even enjoyable. His yami was watching him closely and, when he saw that Malik was with him, pulled back. Malik couldn't stop the flash of disappointment that raced through him, and he frowned, confused. Wasn't he supposed to hate Mariku? When had that changed?
"Stop worrying, Kitten," Mariku said, his voice filled with unaccustomed gentleness. "Your sister will be fine. She's too strong to let a duel monster get the better of her."
Malik blinked. "Did you just compliment my sister?" he asked incredulously.
Mariku snorted. "If that's what you're focusing on, you must be more out of it than I thought," he remarked with a roll of his eyes, pushing the door open. Flushing, Malik haughtily stalked by him and stopped short when he saw his sister.
Isis was propped up in bed by several pillows. Her face was pale behind her tan, and for once, the usual ornaments adorning her hair were missing. The only jewellery she was wearing was the Millennium Tawk. At first, her eyes were closed, but when she heard the two of them, she tilted her head to the side and looked at them. "Little brother," she greeted, her voice heavy with exhaustion.
"Nee-chan." Malik would never have admitted it, but there just might have been a hint of tears in his lavender eyes as he flew to his sister's side and practically tackled her. Isis smiled wearily and managed to bring one of her arms up and around Malik's waist. The effort it cost her to move was obvious when her head fell back against the pillows.
"Don't worry, Malik," she whispered into his ear. "I'm fine, honestly. I wish they hadn't called you. I know that they made you worry for no reason."
"You being in the hospital is not no reason," Malik growled in response, blinking his eyes rapidly. He pulled back from the embrace, embarrassed that she'd nearly seen him cry, and sat down in the chair beside her bed. Mariku appeared behind him, hovering close enough to help if something should go wrong, but far enough away to give them the illusion of privacy. Isis glanced up at him, but for once, she didn't scowl. Instead, she actually offered him a little smile, which very nearly gave the yami heart failure. Her smile turned a touch more wicked and Malik rolled his eyes, convinced that his sister had to be doing well if she was able to take such joy in tormenting Mariku. "Nee-chan, what happened?"
"I was standing watch over Yuugi's grandfather," she said reluctantly, knowing that no amount of distraction would prevent Malik from learning the truth. "Kaiba stopped by and made an attempt to lift the spell, but it proved to be too strong for him to break. I escorted him downstairs and when I came back up, two duel monsters were attacking Sugoroku-san." Her face darkened at the memory. "I tried to stop them, but they were too powerful, and both of them ended up escaping after I was incapacitated."
"Did you recognize them?" Mariku asked.
"Yes. One of them was Maiden of the Moonlight, and although I only caught a glimpse of the other, I believe it was Silent Magician," she replied, recalling the black and red armour. "I'm not in any danger. I don't have a spell on me," she added, seeking to put Malik's fears to rest. "There wasn't enough time for that, since we'd attracted some attention by that point. I think he just stole my energy and that caused me to pass out. All I need is sleep and a good meal and I'll be back to normal."
Malik's shoulders slumped as a wave of relief shot through him. He'd been utterly terrified... Isis was the only family that he had left, aside from his father. Without her, he would have been completely lost. The thought that she might have died thinking that he was angry at her haunted him. His hand shaking slightly, he reached out and took hers. "Nee-chan... I'm sorry. This is all my fault."
"Malik, stop," Isis said sharply. "No, it's not. Don't you dare think that way. I was foolish for confronting the two of them on my own instead of calling for help. I don't have enough magic for that." Her free hand brushed the Millennium Tawk and she frowned deeply, staring straight into his eyes. "It's not your fault, understand? He was here for Yuugi's grandfather and I interrupted them. Besides, don't forget that I also have a Millennium Item, and so I'd be a target for Pegasus regardless of whether you had the Rod." She squeezed his hand tightly, hoping that her words were getting through his sometimes too-thick skull.
He just nodded, his lips pressed into a thin line, and she sighed. "I know you don't believe me, but it's the truth. I wouldn't lie to you about something so important. Now, listen. I want you to go with Mariku to Kaiba's house and stay there tonight."
"What?" Malik looked at her incredulously. "I'm not leaving you!"
"Oh yes you are," she said grimly. This was one thing that she was not willing to back down on. "I doubt those two are going to come back now, but if they do, I don't want you here. You'll only get caught in the crossfire. It will be safer for you at Kaiba's house. I know the Pharaoh and Kaiba are both there and they will be able to help protect you if something happens. Plus Kaiba has barriers on his house that would deter anyone from trying to break in. It will be safer there."
"I'm not going unless you come with me," he said.
"Stop being so stubborn." Isis shook her head. "I can't leave. Not with Sugoroku here, defenceless." Not to mention that it was taking all of her strength just to speak, never mind getting out of bed.
"But - "
"I can put wards up," Mariku broke in before Malik could say something he might regret. Both siblings looked at him, but he kept his eyes on Malik. "Shadow wards. They'll offer additional protection and will alert us if anything has gone wrong. Is that okay?"
Lavender eyes blinked with surprise. "Y-yeah. I guess."
"That would be very helpful," said Isis, concealing her surprise. She cast a quick glance at Mariku, who met her eyes and nodded silently. It made her relax, to think that she could entrust the safety of her brother to his yami. Mariku was a pain, and she didn't like the way he looked at Malik sometimes, but she knew that nothing would ever hurt Malik as long as he was around. A wave of exhaustion engulfed her, and she sighed sleepily, finally feeling like she would be able to rest now that she knew Malik would be alright. "Be careful tonight," she whispered, squeezing his hand gently. "Take no risks. Stay near Mariku, and remember that I will always love you."
"I love you too," he mumbled, allowing Mariku to hook an arm around his waist and pull him to his feet. He suddenly felt very tired, so he didn't protest when Mariku laced their fingers together so that both of them were holding onto the Rod. A soft gasp escaped him when he felt the strange pull from somewhere deep inside of him. Energy rushed out of his body and into the Rod so quickly that his knees gave out and he would have fallen had Mariku not been holding onto him. Visible only to those with shadow magic, fine tendrils of darkness oozed out of the end of the Rod and crept across the ground, eventually forming a solid box around the room.
"Thank you," Isis said quietly. "Would you do the same around Sugoroku's room? He's just down the hall."
Mariku just nodded and led Malik out of the room. There appeared to be no change in Sugoroku's health, though the sight of a couple of doctors in the room holding the man's medical records and speaking quietly with worried looks did cause Malik some alarm. The doctors left as soon as he and Mariku entered the room, giving him no chance to ask either of them what was going on. All thoughts of going after them to find out if new problems had developed fled when Mariku repeated the procedure that he'd done in Isis's room. That time, Malik really did fall. One minute he was leaning against Mariku, watching the shadows climb up the walls, and the next he was on the ground, with Mariku kneeling next to him, looking as tired as Malik felt. Only the warmth pulsing up his arm from the Rod kept him from passing out entirely.
"Did it work?" he mumbled. It seemed to take a lot of effort to talk.
"Yes. If anyone with magic enters either of these two rooms, Yami, Bakura, Seto and I will all be instantly aware," Mariku answered, drawing a hand across the back of his forehead. He glanced over at Malik and studied the hikari for a moment. Malik blinked back at him and wondered why he didn't pull away when Mariku leaned forward. Surprisingly, the yami gave him plenty of time to do so, but he didn't. Instead, he accepted the kiss, and even found the strength to kiss back. It actually felt good, he noticed distantly, tilting his head slightly when Mariku shifted closer. Then the Millennium Rod fizzled and he jumped, jerking away when the warmth running up his hand turned painfully hot for a split second.
"W-what was that?" he stammered, staring down at the Rod. Somehow, in the past few hours, his world had totally turned upside down. Isis was in the hospital and he had started thinking that maybe Mariku wasn't so bad after all, and now he was willingly kissing the older boy? Malik hastily pulled his hand back and looked away, embarrassed and discomfited, and realized that he no longer felt quite as exhausted as he had.
Dark purple, almost black, eyes just stared at him, their owner more than a little stunned. It took Mariku a couple of minutes to recover from the shock enough to reach out and pull Malik to his feet. He silently led his hikari out of the room, inwardly relieved that Malik didn't seem interested in talking. What had just happened between them was... well, suffice to say that he hadn't been expecting it at all, and he definitely wasn't ready to deal with it. He needed to talk to Yami immediately... and just to be sure that Malik didn't notice anything, he was careful to keep the barriers he'd erected around their bond high.
GMA
Ryou was distantly aware of the world around him, though he kept his eyes closed and his breathing slow and steady. He could hear Bakura talking to someone, explaining what had happened at the house. Jou eventually responded, mentioning Yuugi's grandfather and Isis. Both of them sounded worried - well, as much as Bakura could be. Apparently there were three rogue Duel Monsters running around attacking people. Unconsciously, he tightened his grip on the Millennium Ring. It felt right to have the Ring back around his neck; he'd missed it, and he was glad that Yuugi and Malik had saved it from the river. He'd thrown it away in the heat of the moment and had regretted the impulsive action as soon as the Ring left his fingers.
Bakura must have noticed the movement, because when he spoke again, it was to Ryou. "I know you're awake, Rabbit."
"You're calling me 'Rabbit again," Ryou said, opening his eyes. There was no sign of Jou, but Bakura was sitting beside him on the couch, not close enough to touch, but within easy reach. He could feel the heat emanating from the body beside him and realized that it was very comforting. "Are Isis and Jii-chan alright?"
"They should be," Bakura said shortly. "The old man is sick, but the doctors believe he'll pull through."
"Thank god," he muttered to himself. It was bad enough that his own father had quite possibly lost his life during this whole mess. He didn't want the same thing to happen to Yuugi or Malik.
Sharp ruby brown eyes were watching every movement that he made, and Bakura must have caught the tiny shudder that went through him, because abruptly he pulled something out of his pocket and shoved it into Ryou's face. When he realized what it was, Ryou recoiled, falling back against the cushions as his face grew pale at the sight of that damned note. He hadn't even realized that it wasn't in his pocket anymore. Hesitantly, he looked up at Bakura, his eyes wide, uncertain of what to say. It had been his intention to show the note to Bakura, but he'd never gotten the chance.
"You believe your father is dead," said the older boy.
He flinched. "Yes," he whispered, biting his lip hard to stop it from quivering. Saying it out loud was so much harder than just thinking about it. Ryou blinked rapidly to keep tears from forming.
His yami sighed and didn't say anything else, just crumpled the note up into a ball. It disappeared in a flash of shadow magic, and Ryou was relieved to see it go. He glanced up at Bakura when the boy leaned back against the couch, but Bakura was staring straight ahead, his face set in a thoughtful frown. Cautiously, half-expecting to be pushed away, he inched closer and rested his weight against Bakura's arm. When the boy didn't react, he dared to lean his head against Bakura's shoulder and close his eyes. Not the most comfortable of positions, but he felt safer than he had in weeks.
"I thought you were angry with me," he mumbled into Bakura's shoulder. "I thought you hated me."
"You are my hikari," Bakura muttered, shifting uneasily. "There is a bond between us that makes it impossible for me to hate you."
"Is that the only reason that you came to help me?" Ryou asked, wondering why he was pushing the issue. Opening his eyes, he twisted, and realized that Bakura was staring down at him. For the briefest moment, there was a flash of something in those captivating eyes, but it disappeared before Ryou could pin down what it was. He realized that he was holding his breath.
"No," Bakura said at last. "It's not the only reason. She was hurting you."
Ryou let his breath out in a rush, a little amazed. Was Bakura implying that he had come to save him just because he didn't want Ryou to be hurt? He didn't want to dare hope that was the reason, but he couldn't stop a tiny smile from forming on his lips as he closed his eyes and cuddled closer. Bakura was a bastard; there was no doubt about that. He was cold, snappish, had a hell of a temper, and it was likely very foolish for Ryou to trust him or even want to be around him. But he couldn't help it, and it wasn't just because of the bond. Huh, he mused, squirming until he could let his body sag against Bakura's in a reasonably comfortable way. Curiously, Bakura did nothing to shove him away, and might have even leaned a bit closer. When had that happened?
"I was glad," he whispered. "That you came to help me."
Bakura said nothing. But for once, that was okay. He didn't have to. Ryou understood.
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