SEQUEL! OHMIGOD SEQUEL!

Okay, you're going to have no idea what's going on unless you read the two fics that come ahead of this one. Go on over to my library and read True Loyalties and Bad Religion before you read this one. Those are both one-shots, so they won't take too long.

...

"Useless! You let him take what's mine! What good are you if you can not even manage such a small thing as protecting what I give you?"

Ryou's back slammed up against the wall, which looked like paper and wood but felt like it was braced from behind by the same steel that now made up the locked door of his soul-room. The Thief's left hand was around his throat, squeezing, choking him as Ryou stared back helplessly. The right hand was drawn back and fisted. All Ryou could focus on were the burning, red eyes glaring into his.

The blow came and then Ryou was released to crumple to the floor, coughing and bringing his hands to his face. "Worthless!" the Theif's voice yelled at him again.

"I-I'm sorry," Ryou whispered, tears easily coming to his eyes. He'd really screwed up. He must have. The Thief had never been this mad at him before. "I-I-I'll get it b-back."

"Of course you will!" the Thief shouted and then kicked him.

Ryou yelped and curled in on himself. "I'm sorry!" he sobbed.

...

"Yuugi! Yuugi, aren't you ready yet? Your friend is here!" Yuugi's mother called, knocking sharply on his door.

Friend? Yuugi blinked, pulling a clean shirt out of the dresser. He didn't think he'd arranged to walk to school with anyone today...

"Anzu-chan?" he asked, opening the closet and pulling out his jacket.

"No, it's Bakura-kun, Yuugi! Hurry up! You have to eat before you leave!" his mother's voice got a bit quieter, as she turned, spoke to someone else outside of the door. "Have you eaten yet, Bakura-kun? Please, let me make you some breakfast." Bakura's muffled voice responded too quietly to hear through the door, but Yuugi's mother laughed happily and said, "Oh nonsense! It's no trouble at all! There's plenty of food for both of you!"

Yuugi hopped over to the door, pulling on a sock, and opened it. "Bakura-kun! I- I guess I forgot... were we walking to school together today?" he asked, feeling a bit awkward, but he really couldn't remember any plans.

"Ah, no, I'm sorry for the confusion, Yuugi-kun. I- I just needed to talk to you," Bakura said quietly, his face lowered demurely as Yuugi's mother disappeared back down the hall.

"Oh, I... Is there something wrong?" Yuugi asked, studying Bakura's face. There were dark smudges under his eyes and his face was paler than usual. He was wearing the blank smile that he always used around adults and strangers, and it stayed there until Yuugi's mother's footsteps could no longer be heard on the stairs, then it suddenly shifted, looking desperate, anxious.

"I need it back," he said quietly.

"W-what?" Yuugi stared, feeling shocked by the straight-forward tone from a boy who was usually beyond polite.

"My Ring. It's mine. Not yours. Malik had no right to give it to you and I want it back," Bakura said, walking into the room without announcement and stepping so close Yuugi could feel his breath. "Where is it?"

"I- I- Bakura-kun, I can't-" Yuugi started.

"It's not yours!" Bakura almost shouted, grabbing Yuugi's arms and shaking him.

The next moment Yuugi felt himself being pulled back and suddenly he was watching passively as his other self took control. "No, it's mine, Bakura, and I'm not giving it to you."

"Shut up!" Bakura was hysterical now and he looked about ready to cry. "Shut up! You're a liar! It belongs to me! It's mine and you have to give it back! I need it!"

"Get a hold of yourself!" the Pharaoh snapped. "It's for your own good that I can't let you near it again!"

"No! You don't get it! You don't understand!" Bakura wailed. He was crying now. "It's all wrong and I have to fix it!"

"No, Bakura, you have to calm down!" the Pharaoh insisted, putting a hand on Bakura's shoulder, as though to steady him. "I cannot let you become involved again!"

"Shut up!" Bakura slapped the hand away. "Murderer! I won't let you keep what was never yours!" Bakura's right hand flew up in the air and tensed, his fingers curling like claws.

Less than a second later, there was a clank, of bronze thumping against wood, and the Pharaoh turned his head to see the dresser drawer where Yuugi had stored the other three Millenium Items starting to shake loose and slide out. Bakura's eyes shot to the drawer as well and he lunged toward it.

"Stop!" the Pharaoh yelled and reached out, grabbing a handful of Bakura's hair and then slapping his other hand against the boy's forehead. Power surged through the connection and a moment later, Bakura went limp, falling forward as the Pharaoh struggled to catch him.

Yuugi was frozen with shock for a moment as he watched the Pharaoh ease Bakura down to the floor before he shouted in panic, What did you do to him?

"H-he- I- he surprised me..." the Pharaoh said lamely. "The spirit in the Millenium Ring must have taught him to use magic..."

Yuugi could hear his mother's hurried footsteps in the hall and then her voice. "Yuugi? Is everything all right? I heard a commotion!"

"It's Bakura-kun," the Pharaoh called, imitating Yuugi's pitch cadence as Yuugi's mother reached the door and saw him crouched over Bakura's unconscious form. "He collapsed. I think he's sick."

"Oh my goodness! That's terrible! Oh, he looked under the weather when he came over! It's just terrible! A boy his age shouldn't be living alone!" Yuugi's mother exclaimed, rushing over while Pharaoh avoided eye-contact. "Oh, we should get him to a hospital! No, you'll go to school Yuugi, I'll take care of Bakura-kun."

"... Yes, ma'am."

What are you doing? You're lying to my mother!

You need to calm down. I don't want to upset her and you're too hysterical to explain this in a way she could understand.

You haven't explained it to me! What did you do to him?

I... I think I might have erased his memory of the Millenium Ring...

... That's not fair! You can't just do something like that to a person!

It's already done. I didn't have a choice. There wasn't time. The demon-parasite was controlling him.

The Pharaoh moved their body mechanically as he spoke to Yuugi, barely aware of what Yuugi's mother was still saying as he helped her carry Bakura downstairs and out to the car. She yelled into the house at Grandpa, said a somewhat frantic goodbye, patted the Pharaoh on the head and drove off for the hospital without once noticing that he wasn't Yuugi.

... What's going to happen to him? Yuugi asked quietly.

He'll wake up and be a normal boy, the Pharaoh said, shaking his head. Are you calmed down now? You need to go to school.

... You're sure he'll be okay?

He won't remember any of the terrible things that happened to him, the Pharaoh assured him, sinking back and nudging Yuugi forward, back into control of his body.

...

The snake was throwing a tantrum. It howled with fury, threw its body against the walls and kicked sand into the air. Bakhura held still and just watched it, knowing that if he did anything to remind the demon of his presence, it would most likely turn its wrath on him. As it moved through its fit of rage, it kept switching its shape, sometimes appearing as an enormous snake, slamming its length into the stone walls of the cell, sometimes as a perfect copy of Bakhura, punching at the ground and screaming.

Bakhura crouched halfway up the steps, out of its way. He knew what had set the creature off. For just a moment, he had felt Ryou. He'd felt Ryou's presence and the particular signature of his magic flooding the cell. And then it had cut off abruptly. Something had blocked Ryou from taking back the Millenium Ring this time. The Pharaoh, perhaps? Who else could have been strong enough to thwart Ryou and the snake at the same time?

Bakhura couldn't care less about the horrible thing tantruming below him, but his skin crawled to wonder what had happened to his Ryou. What would a sadistic bastard like the Pharaoh do to his innocent host? Bakhura closed his eyes and shook his head. Ryou was still alive. He had to be. Bakhura would find him again and he would cut out a pound of the Pharaoh's flesh for every displaced hair on Ryou's head.

Suddenly, a sound came from above him. Bakura lifted his head and looked up at the heavy prison door. It was shaking on its hinges. Below him, the creature finally quieted, the new disturbance catching its attention as well. The door thumped loudly against the frame as it shook, and the sandstone around it cracked in places.

"No," the creature growled and then, without even seeing it move, Bakhura found himself being dragged from his perch and thrown on the ground.

A moment later the door ripped out of the frame, dragging bricks and mortar with it, and then someone stepped through, a manic grin stretched across olive lips. Malik. Bakhura blinked, puzzled. The other Malik was standing in his cell when he should have been dead.

"MOT!" the snake shrieked, seething next to Bakhura. "How dare you come here!"

The other creature, Mot, laughed. "Pleased to see you too, my darling!" it said cheekily.

The snake was visibly shaking with rage as it glared up at the interloper. "I thought the Pharaoh destroyed you. I was very nearly ready to thank him for it!" the snake spat.

"So sorry to disappoint!" Mot jeered. "Our master saw fit to grant me another life. Of course, if you disagree, do feel free to take up your complaint with him." It started descending the steps to the floor.

"Get out!" the snake shouted.

"Come come now, Sek," Mot said in the most insincere voice Bakhura could imagine. "I heard that my dearest brother was having some difficulty and what could I do but lend a hand?"

"It's your meddling that created this mess!" the snake, Sek, protested. "Master cannot possibly blame me for your mistakes!"

"I think he should be quite interested to know that you are now the definer of what he is and isn't capable of," Mot replied, coming to the bottom of the steps and cocking his head to the side, a shit-eating grin on his face.

Sek screamed in wordless rage and launched himself forward. Suddenly the human facades were gone and Bakhura was watching two massive snakes snapping at each other and tangling in a vicious brawl on the sandy floor. He pressed himself against the wall, staring and trying not to shake at the sight. He couldn't tell the snakes apart, now that they were in the same space, he just watched them writhe and bite each other repeatedly, unsure what would be the lesser of two evils in which he should put his hope.

Quite abruptly, one of the heads broke away from the squirming mass and rocketed toward Bakhura. He gasped in shock and terror as huge fangs sank into his shoulder for just a moment before being ripped away, a voice screaming, NO!

And then Sek was back next to Bakhura, mimicking his human shape again and gripping Bakhura's arm, glaring down at the punctures for a moment before turning his furious gaze back on Mot.

Mot started laughing again, and the long, serpentine body dissolved away into a smaller human one. But it wasn't Malik's image this time. Bakhura stared, unable to keep from shivering. Mot sat up from where Sek had thrown him a moment earlier and leered, white hair framing another distorted copy of Bakhura's face.

"What are you playing at?" Sek demanded.

Mot shrugged, standing and examining his arms, taking stock of his newly copied body. "Well one has to wonder... It has been three millennia, after all, and you're still having discipline issues?" Mot flexed his fingers with a satisfied smile and pulled forward a lock of his hair to consider. "Did you ever think that perhaps you're simply not cut out for this sort of task?"

Sek hissed violently. "As if you did any better! You never once had control of that boy's mind!"

"Really, Sek, all this mothering and codling, it's not getting you anywhere," Mot sneered and pointed to Bakhura. "This boy doesn't even respect you! And who could blame him?"

"Shut up!"

Mot laughed again, "Oh touché! You are, as ever, the master of rhetoric, my dearest!" He put a hand on his hip and leaned a bit, looking casually around the cell. "Of course, the other reason I've come, is that there has been a development, a change in plans, if you will, and Master thought you ought to be made aware."

Sek was quiet, glaring suspiciously as Mot ventured over to them. He twitched when Mot clapped a hand on his shoulder, but didn't bother to push it away. Mot looked at him with half-lidded eyes and a wide smirk. Then he started speaking again. The words rolled past Bakhura, strange and meaningless, in a language far older than Egypt. Sek spoke, asked a question, in the same ancient tongue and Mot laughed. He responded in a lascivious tone and grinned so his teeth shown. Sek huffed and looked away.

"Just bare in mind that you have until October," Mot said, shaking his head to get the hair out of his eyes.

"... That's not much time," Sek said quietly, his brow pinching a bit.

"That's the difference between you and me, Sek. I think it's far too long! I don't know how I shall manage to pass the time, I've simply not enough to do!" Mot shrugged and gave a bored look.

"Your overconfidence is your downfall, Mot. You've never the patience to do a job properly!" Sek snapped and then looked down at Bakhura, clenching his jaw nervously.

"Work smarter, not harder, love!" Mot waved a hand dismissively. "Would you like me to show you how to break a human more... efficiently?"

"No."

"Well that's too bad, isn't it? Because I've come prepared and ready to make your life so much easier," Mot said and then he lunged down and caught Bakhura's wrist, wrenching his arm up painfully and dragging him to his feet.

"No! Damn you, Mot, this is my task!" Sek shrieked, grabbing a handful of Mot's shirt.

Mot smirked at him and said something in that old language again. Sek growled and snapped a reply. Mot laughed and spoke again, longer, several sentences. Sek reluctantly let go of Mot's shirt, shaking minutely with rage as he turned his head, looking away sharply and snorting.

"Don't interfere then," Mot said, landing a hand against Sek's chest and shoving him back so he stumbled. Sek hissed but Mot ignored him, turning his attention on Bakhura. "Now... Bakhura, isn't it? How very appropriate. I like that name. And I like you." He smirked and patted a hand against Bakhura's cheek. His eyes were blue, Bakhura noticed, not just the iris but the entire eye had a bluish glow, the same way that Sek's glowed red. Mot chuckled softly and continued, "And your sweet Ryou, of course. Malik was rather taken with him... such a soft, pretty creature."

Bakhura finally snapped, no longer caring what manner of being he was facing; he wasn't about to let anyone or anything speak of his Ryou in such a suggestive, wicked voice. He swung at the demon's face but his fist never got there, stopped mid-air by Mot's hand before being twisted painfully.

Mot laughed out loud. "Ah, there it is! That oh so human defiance of the proper order of things!" His knee slammed into Bakhura's gut, making him double over, which earned him a kick in the face. "You should be cautious, little Bakhura, I am not as kind as Sek."

Bakhura lost track of the blows as he was slammed into the walls and floor, pummeled with fists and feet, squeezed by massive coils and injected with burning, searing venom through multiple bites. Sek just sat on the steps, passively watching as Mot brutalized him and laughed all the while.

When Bakhura could barely move, not that he had ever been able to fight back properly, he curled into a defensive ball on the ground. "Look how the human wilts, Sek!" Mot announced, standing over him and laughing. "You could have done this at any time!"

"Don't presume to imply that I have not used discipline," Sek snapped. "He will easily rebound and be only more contemptuous for your efforts."

"But of course! A beating is only effective to the body! If it is the spirit you wish to shatter, one has to know how their primitive little minds work. One has to know what really scares them!" Mot kicked Bakhura in the side and Bakhura bit his tongue to stop himself from making a sound. "You see? Look at him trying to protect himself even now! Look how he guards his ribs!"

Mot dove down and grabbed Bakhura's arms, prying them back away from his body and pushing his back into the ground. "What you have to show them, Sek, is that they are incapable of protecting anything, least of all themselves! Prove to them that there is nothing you can not take from them, no part of their body or mind you can not scar!"

Bakhura's already torn shirt was ripped away, as he was pressed down, forced to uncurl, and then when his belt was pulled off Bakhura's eyes widened, realizing belatedly that he was being stripped. "No!" he struggled, trying desperately to kick the demon away. "No!" This was not happening.

"There's still fight in him yet!" Mot called up to Sek, laughing maniacally.

...

After school, they set out straight away for Bakura's house. Yuugi's mother had texted him two hours earlier to let him know that Bakura had been sent home from the hospital and wasn't seriously ill. Yuugi had been relieved and, though he didn't express it, he thought the Pharaoh was as well.

Anzu wanted to buy something for Bakura on the way, but Jounochi and Yuugi both insisted that they didn't want to take the time to shop, they just wanted to see if Bakura was all right. Anzu was miffed and prodded Honda for a while, wanting him to back her up on the need to arrive with a gift, but Honda steadfastly refused to take a side, and so they soon arrived at the apartment, empty-handed, and Yuugi knocked on the door.

The door opened to a slightly tired-looking but fully conscious Bakura Ryou, who lit up with a pleasant smile at the sight of his friends. "Oh, hello!" he said cheerfully. "Would you like to come in?"

"Ah, we don't want to trouble you, Bakura-kun, I'm sure you should be resting. We just wanted to make sure you were feeling better." Yuugi returned his smile a little awkwardly.

"I appreciate that," Bakura beamed, sincerity bleeding through his voice. "The doctor said that I was exhausted and my blood-sugar was low because I forgot to eat breakfast. He scolded me a lot and told me to take better care of myself." Bakura scratched his head, grinning sheepishly. "W-would you all like to come in for some tea?"

"That'd be great!" Jounochi started, but then Anzu stomped on his foot.

"No, Jounochi! We have to let Bakura-kun rest!" Anzu stated firmly. "We were only stopping by to see how you were, Bakura-kun. We're so glad that you're okay!"

"O-oh. Yes, I suppose you probably have things to do..." Bakura nodded, looking a little disappointed.

"That's not it, Bakura-kun!" Yuugi protested. "The doctor said that you need to rest and you- you really made yourself sick at Battle City, so- so you should try to sleep if you can!"

"Yeah..." Bakura nodded vaguely. "It's funny because I can barely remember anything that happened. I must have been really exhausted. I think maybe I should give up Duel Monsters and focus a bit more on my studys."

Yuugi bit his lip and nodded. "Y-yeah. Maybe that would be a good idea... I mean, you're really smart, and I'm sure you could get into a top university if you tried. Not a goof-off like me..."

"Ah, that's really unnecessary," Bakura said, shaking his head and flushing a little.

"But anyway!" Anzu cut in, as she was pushing Jounochi back in the direction of the stairs. "We really need to let you rest! I want you to be all fixed up so you can come to school tomorrow!"

Bakura nodded slowly. "Yes... Thank you for coming..."

"All right. I'll see you tomorrow," Yuugi said, offering him a little smile. "Don't push yourself though. If you're still not feeling well, you should take another day off. I can come over after class and bring you the homework you missed."

Bakura smiled at him, looking a little bit too grateful at the offer. "Thank you," he said warmly.

...

Bakhura shook, curled pathetically on the floor, sand clinging to his filthy, naked body. Tears were running unchecked, sideways, down his face as he lay there, trembling and silent except for the quiet, congested little whispers of sobs falling out of his mouth at random intervals.

Mot trailed his hand along the wall as he climbed the stairs, a self-satisfied smirk twisting his lips. When he reached the step Sek was sitting on he leaned down, bringing himself nose-to-nose with his fellow demon. "I believe this is what they call good-cop-bad-cop?" he said in the tongue of Sumer, before pecking Sek on the lips. Sek slapped at him and Mot laughed, hopping around past him and up to the top of the stairs. "I have other matters to attend to for now, dearest, so I'll leave this in your hands a while longer!" he declared and stepped out into nothingness, disappearing instantly.

Sek snorted irritably and glared down at Bakhura, crumpled up like a pathetic, broken thing. After a few moments, he pushed himself away from the stairs and dropped down to the floor below. He could see Bakhura flinch when he landed. His head lifted a little as Sek walked towards him and Bakhura pushed himself up to his hands and knees, scrambling backward away from Sek until he ran into the wall.

"Bakhura, listen to me," Sek said in a calm voice, crouching down in front of Bakhura. "If my master has sent Mot here, then it is because he believes that I am not competent to reason with you," Sek explained. Bakhura was just shaking and staring at him, accusing, terrified. Really, it was interesting how humans could continue to be traumatized over and over again. One would have thought the boy might build up a tolerance by now.

"Knowing Mot as long as I have, and I can assure you it's much longer than you are capable of comprehending, I can tell you that today's... display seemed rather uncharacteristically short-lived and gentle of him." Sek reached forward and caught Bakhura, pulling him into what he hoped was a tender embrace even as the human struggled and tried to fight him. "His preference usually leans more towards prolonged torture. Perhaps you don't think much of me, Bakhura, but I should very much hate to loose you to Mot, and I can not see a way that your interests would be better served in his care..."

Bakhura shuddered and stopped fighting against Sek. Sek smiled darkly and stroked the human's hair. "We used to get along quite well, you and I. Don't you remember? I suppose as a human, you will inevitably be drawn to other humans, and so it is difficult to fault you for forming an attachment to the boy, but you must understand that we are but tools in something much greater than ourselves."

Bakhura finally broke down into loud sobs that shook his entire body and Sek cradled the broken human against himself, whispering quietly in his ear. "Bear with me, Bakhura. I will do my best to keep Mot away from you, but I must have your cooperation."

...

He was tired. He probably hasn't slept properly in a week, the Pharaoh said firmly.

"But he just... He seemed kind of sad..." Yuugi mumbled, sinking lower in the hot bath water, his face pinched with worry.

He doesn't remember anything, how could he be sad?

I don't know... Yuugi thought. He just seemed... different.

Of course he did. He was being sincere. This is the first time he's spoken to you without pretence.

Then why was he sad?

He was just tired.

Yuugi sighed. He took a breath and then disappeared under the water, holding himself there and letting the heat sink into his body as long as he could before surfacing again for air. He shook his head and smoothed his hair back, squeezing out the excess water, before climbing out of the tub and fetching his towel.

You're worrying too much, Yuugi. Bakura is better off this way. Soon he'll adjust and be a perfectly normal, happy child.

Yuugi nodded slowly, drying himself off. "... What about the other Bakura? The one Mai-san talked about?"

Even if he is human, that doesn't make him good. He tried to kill you and your friends to get to me. I doubt there is very much left in him to be saved even if such a thing were possible.

Yuugi slid open the door and padded down the hall, wrapped in a towel, to his bedroom to get dressed away from the clinging humidity of the bathroom. ...It seems like Bakura-kun might have been saving him... he thought, pulling his door shut and walking over to his bed to fish out the pajamas he'd shoved under his pillow that morning.

That's wishful thinking, Yuugi. The spirit of the Millenium Ring might have been protective of Bakura, but he still attacked many innocent people.

"... So did Malik..." Yuugi said, pulling the loose-fitting shirt over his head.

Malik is a child who is still growing and developing. The spirit of the Millenium Ring is ancient.

"Well you can be kind of a jerk sometimes too, y'know," Yuugi mumbled, chewing on his lip. "You almost killed Kaiba."

That was his decision! I was merely attempting to call his bluff! the Pharaoh sounded sulky and defensive, as he usually did when Yuugi brought up that match. Yuugi glanced at his phone, tossed on his bed earlier with the other contents of his pockets. The outside screen announced that he'd missed a call while he was bathing.

He flipped the phone open and checked the record. "Bakura-kun called," he said, though it probably wasn't necessary, the Pharaoh could see what he saw. "I'm going to call him back now."

That's good.

The phone rang twice before Bakura's voice answered, sounding a little too pleased. "Yuugi?"

"Hi, you- you called a few minutes ago. Was there anything wrong, Bakura-kun?" Yuugi asked hesitantly.

"Oh, no, nothing's wrong. I took a nap earlier and I'm feeling much better now," Bakura replied. "I was just calling to see what you were doing. I- I guess I could probably be studying or something, I think I'm behind in the history text, but, I just... wanted to talk, I guess..."

"Okay..." Yuugi said, frowning softly and arranging himself to sit cross-legged on his bed with his bare feet tucked under his knees for warmth. "Was there something particular you wanted to talk about?"

"N-no. Not really. Um," there was a nervous little laugh from the other end of the phone. "I guess it's pretty silly. I don't know, I was just feeling very lonely today for some reason. It sounds stupid, doesn't it? I mean, I've been on my own for almost three years..."

Yuugi felt his chest tighten guiltily. "... I'm sorry, Bakura-kun..."

"Ah, no, it's- please don't. I'm just being kind of weird today. It's probably just because of what happened. I guess getting sick makes people feel isolated. But, no, I think I'm fine now. I'll definitely be in school tomorrow."

"H-hey, my mom wanted me to see if you'd come over for dinner tomorrow," Yuugi asked, cradling the phone in two hands.

"Really? That- I mean, I don't want to impose or anything," Bakura murmured.

"It's no trouble, I mean, she likes you because she says you're a good influence. She thinks Jounochi-kun and Honda-kun are too loud," Yuugi forced a little laugh. "And she really likes having company over."

"In that case, I'd really like that," Bakura's voice came through eager and happy. How lonely was he?

"That's great! You can come over to my place after school and we'll study together, in case you have any questions about what you missed today," Yuugi suggested, smiling into the receiver.

"That sounds really nice," Bakura agreed. "Um, I, gosh, I just realized how late it is. I should really let you go. You need to, well, I need to sleep too, I guess. I don't want to miss my alarm and be late for school."

"Okay," Yuugi sad, nodding. "I- I guess I'll see you there then."

"Definitely. I'll see you."

Yuugi folded his phone shut and stared at it in his hand for a while. "... He's lonely," he whispered.

... Yes... but that doesn't mean the situation he was in before was better. He has to learn how to live and have normal friends.

Yuugi nodded slowly and set the phone on his night stand.

...

Saturday afternoon Anzu dragged everyone to the kareoke parlor near school. There were other students from Domino Senior-High there too and it was fairly lively but not so crowded as to be uncomfortable. When somebody picked a silly song from a popular TV show, everyone started clapping the rhythm and laughing.

Ryou smiled, eating a frozen yogurt and enjoying the feeling of being surrounded by people as he watched a girl who was a first-year at their school get up and sing. Jounochi and Honda were arguing over something happening on Jounochi's DS screen and Anzu had pulled Yuugi over to the selection monitor to pick out a duet.

He was slightly startled by the proximity when someone leaned down right next to him, an arm on the back of the booth just over Ryou's shoulder, and grinned at him. "You're cute," the stranger said, flashing white teeth. "What's your name?"

Ryou flushed and lowered his head a bit, stammering. "I, um, I'm a boy."

The man laughed. "I know," he said in a voice filled with amusement. "Is that a problem for you?"

Ryou looked up, flushing a bit darker, and considered the man briefly before looking back down. He looked to be in his early twenties, clean-shaven with stylish hair and clothes. Maybe a college student. "Mm, well, perhaps not," Ryou whispered, fidgeting. "B-but the mistake has been made before..."

"Well, you are very pretty," the man said with a chuckle. "I'm Nakamura Kisho," he gave Ryou another smile, tilting his head to the side a bit. "Do you have a name, or are you just called 'boy'?"

Ryou laughed nervously, his face on fire. "I, um, Bakura Ryou," he murmured.

"That's pretty." Nakamura smiled wider. "What are you doing after this, Ryou?" he asked.

Ryou curled his toes and bit his lip, reaching new levels of embarrassment at the familiarity with which the older man addressed him. "I- I- well- I didn't- I didn't have plans..." Ryou stammered awkwardly.

"No? It'd be a shame for someone as cute as you to just go home early on a Saturday night," Nakamura said softly. Ryou thought he could still here that charming smile, but he was too embarrassed to look up. "Let me buy you dinner?"

Ryou started to hyperventilate and he was sure his face must have been red as a tomato.

"Hey ass-hole! What's your problem?" Ryou jumped as Jounochi's loud voice cut through the hum of activity around them. He looked over to see Jounochi and Honda had forgotten the DS momentarily and were glaring suspiciously at Nakamura.

"Jounochi-kun, I- I- Please don't-" Ryou stuttered helplessly.

"Ah, I'm sorry I disturbed you!" Nakamura said cheerfully, giving Jounochi a friendly wave with one hand and pressing a napkin into Ryou's palm with the other. "I was just asking your friend what flavor that was," he explained, gesturing to Ryou's slightly melted frozen yogurt.

Jounochi turned around in the booth and glared after Nakamura as he disappeared back around to the front of the parlor. Honda leaned against the table and gave Ryou a serious, concerned look, "Hey, Bakura, did that guy say something to you?"

"N-no, Honda-kun! That's- It's all right!" Ryou protested.

"What's wrong?" Yuugi asked, finally returning to the table with Anzu trailing behind him.

"Aw, some creepy guy tried to mess with Bakura. I chased him off," Jounochi announced, still scanning the patrons closer to the front.

"Bakura-kun, are you all right?" Anzu asked, giving him a worried look.

"It- it's nothing!" Ryou blurted, his face burning. "I'm fine!"

"Yeah, he's not coming back," Jounochi agreed with a pleased nod, and plopped back down in his seat looking triumphant.

"Well, if you're okay..." Yuugi said, looking doubtful.

"I said I'm fine!" Ryou insisted, shaking his head. When the attention had finally diverted back to the activities of the karaoke parlor, Ryou glanced around to make sure his friends were occupied with subjects other than himself, and then held up the napkin Nakamura had given him. There was a phone number written in ball-point pen across it. Ryou bit his lip, fighting an excited little smile.

...

So I guess that puts us at- FOUR! FOUR BAKURAS! HAH HAH HAH HAH! But, no, I wasn't actually planning Mot, he kind of... came out of nowhere. I'd already assigned that as the name for Malik's yami and decided to link him to Bakhura's parasite like that, and, this of course doesn't make any sense out of context. I got Mot and Sek off of Wikipedia, listed as Apep's primary servants. Apep being the guy they stole Zork's resume from. Mot as a not-dead character only came to my head last night, when I should have been sleeping, and suddenly I was writing up a storm. I never expected him to be so camp though... That was a surprise...

So anyway, oh God, I've just committed myself to multiple chapters. Crap. But this was getting really long and I wanted some feedback to help me figure out stuff here. Don't worry, I promise the OC won't last long, he's a plot-device.

Some hesitance with this turn of plot, because #1, I hate using OCs in any parts bigger than 'Doorman A' or something (I just made him up last night and named him at random, so I assure you I don't have months of obsession devoted to this character and you can take him as you will) but I really didn't want to use any minor canon characters for the plot-device I've put him in.

The #2 thing that made me nervous is that rape has been getting pretty over-used as a plot-device in recent years (a friend says 'rape is the new dead-parents!') and I didn't want it to just feel like I was throwing rape in there as 'Instant-Trauma! Just add water!' or something, but I started pushing Mot around and I really got into a creepy incubus angle for him. Sek is more of a pissed-off, work-focused demon, while Mot is more carnal. I'm completely making this up, by the way, I seriously doubt either demon had much real character development in the old scriptures.

Well, in any event, that's the beginning of this... thing. Happy to answer questions and PLEASE, FOR THE LOVE OF GOD, REVIEW!