NOTES: Yaoi - B/M, M/R. Story relocated to Tokyo because it makes more sense as a target than a town called Domino.

Ryou Bakura passed through the slums, remaining completely unnoticed and unseen by other people, making his way to one of the stalls on one of the many markets. Since the destruction of Tokyo, the first target of the Pharaoh's rage, the people here had been reduced to living in makeshift buildings made of scrap metal, rotting wood, and crumbling concrete and stone, with only sheets of plastic or corrugated iron keeping out the rain. Any markets around were merely a group of these small living spaces, each with a stall, made of little more than a plank balanced on stacked bricks.
 

One of these stalls was a simple food stall, and that was where Ryou was headed. It was owned by one of his friends, Katsuya Jounouchi. Food was increasingly difficult to obtain, and Jounouchi was lucky in that he was able to bake bread - despite needing some repairing, the oven was still functional. But it was still hard making a profit, since the ingredients for the bread were also scarce. Travelling outside of the city was the only way to get such things, and with no transport available, it took days at a time, and so they were usually bought at other stalls - at quite a high price. 
 

When Ryou reached the small stall, the pleasant smell of fresh bread reached him, almost blocking out the polluted air. Ryou noticed Anzu Mazaki, another of his friends, selling a small bread roll to a particularly weary-looking customer. He patiently waited for the customer to leave, before approaching her.
 

"Anzu," he stated, simply. Without even looking to see him, Anzu nodded.
 

"Go in."
 

"Thank you."
 

Ryou walked through the heavy, burned material that hid the area behind the stall from view, where he found Jounouchi and Ryuuji Otogi preparing another batch. "Hi, Jounouchi," he said, calmly. Despite how low his voice was, the two jumped.
 

"Bakura? Where are you?" the blond demanded. Ryou sighed, and allowed himself to become visible.
 

"You need to stop doing that, Bakura, you scared the shit out of me!" Otogi commented.
 

"Sorry."
 

"So whaddaya doin' here, anyway, Bakura?" Jounouchi asked, shoving the bread tin into the oven. "Make sure that fire doesn't go out, alright, Otogi?" Sitting down on a worn, charred pink cushion on the ground, and motioning for Ryou to do the same, Jounouchi leaned forwards and sighed, quickly removing the white headscarf that prevented his now fairly long hair from getting into the dough.
 

"Same as always," Ryou replied, accepting Jounouchi's invitation to sit down. "I have nothing else to do, and I'm worried. Are you alright?"
 

"I'm fine. Anzu's doin' okay, but even she's starting ta get depressed. At least 'er cheerfulness helps us sell stuff. Otogi's doin' quite well too. He usually gambles for extra cash, with Dungeon Dice Monsters." Dungeon Dice Monsters was a game that Otogi had invented only four years ago. It was the most popular game in the slums, since the true nature of Duel Monsters was revealed. "Nearly always wins, too."
 

"That barely comes as a surprise," Ryou responded, with a knowing smile. His expression turned serious for a moment. "And Yuugi..."
 

"Still alive, thank God... Shizuka's lookin' after 'im, there's not enough room in here..."
 

"I'm still looking for a way to restore his soul... Malik and I, I mean."
 

"Just don' get on the Pharaoh's bad side," Jounouchi advised. "Yer lucky enough to not have been banished yourself."
 

"I know that, you don't have to remind me every time I come here."
 

The curtain guarding the entrance was lifted and Anzu entered, carrying the small bag that held the money she had earned.
 

"We're all out, Jounouchi," the girl said.
 

"What?!" Otogi exclaimed, from next to the oven. "You must be joking, we only got that out about what? Half an hour ago?"
 

"People need bread, Otogi, I'm personally not surprised."
 

"Then we're just gonna hafta wait a couple of hours for the next batch," Jounouchi sighed, leaning forward again and pinching the bridge of his nose. "How much?"
 

"I think we're going to need about eighty percent of it for more ingredients, and another eighty from the next batch," Anzu replied, sitting down without invitation.
 

"Right... hey, Bakura you hungry?" Ryou raised an eyebrow at the question. Anzu quickly moved to grip Jounouchi's ear tightly between her fingers, which immediately made him see his mistake.
 

"That's a STUPID question, Jounouchi!"
 

"AGH! I'M SORRY! I FORGOT, OKAY?! NOW LET GO!"
 

"It's alright, I suppose it's easy enough to forget that I can't... touch anything..." Ryou said, shaking his head. Anzu released Jounouchi's ear, and he held his hand up to it, trying to ease the pain.
 

"Yeah, it is," Jounouchi acknowledged, glancing sideways at Anzu. Ryou had been banished from his body by the spirit of the Millennium Ring, and was now left in a spirit form, wandering around. He didn't even honestly know why he hadn't been banished to the Shadow Realm, but he suspected it was so that his Yami could derive some sadistic pleasure from his suffering.
 

"Understandable," Ryou concluded, with a finalising tone. "Now, remind me, how many people is Shizuka taking care of? I'm worried the number may have increased, but I'm never sure anymore. I can't pry into my yami's mind."
 

"It has," was Jounouchi's response. "Not sure if it's a good thing or a bad thing, but Kaiba's soul got banished an' all. We found 'im near where KaibaCorp used to be. Mokuba keeps tryin' to wake him, poor guy... he's started to go a bit nutso. The stress got to his head. Shizuka's lookin' after him too... he hasn't got the sanity to feed himself anymore, all he will even think about is his brother..."
 

Ryou did nothing more than nod in response.
 

"Other 'n Kaiba, there's just Yuugi an' Isis."
 

"What happened to Honda?" Ryou wondered. Jounouchi bit his lip, clearly reluctant to say it.
 

"He got into a fight with Malik..." Anzu supplied. "He didn't survive."
 

"Yeah, that bastard!" Jounouchi shouted, making even Ryou jump. "He says 'e's on our side and what does he do? He goes and fuckin' kills us!"
 

Ryou contemplated this piece of news. "Malik killed Honda?"
 

"You bet he fuckin' did!"
 

"I'm sure he has reasons," Ryou sighed. "I'll have to talk to him about it."
 

"The Hell? Bakura, the guy killed one of your BEST FRIENDS!"
 

"Honda and I were never that close," Ryou responed, a cold edge in his voice that was never usually present. "Malik never does anything without a motive. Sure, he might overreact, and his actions might be impulsive, and half the time seriously - "
 

"Fucked up," Jounouchi interrupted.
 

"Twisted," Ryou continued, ignoring Jounouchi, "but with his background, what do you expect?"
 

"What is it with you, Bakura? You always try to excuse Malik for EVERYTHING he does!"
 

Ryou didn't respond, but prodded a stone on the ground, seemingly amused by the way his finger sank into it as though either the stone or he was made of nothingness.
 

"He's my friend," he eventually replied.
 

"Yeah, well, Bakura, sometimes I wonder about your choice in friends!" Jounouchi yelled. Ryou, hating being yelled at, was now visibly shaking. "I mean, he possessed me to destroy Yuugi at one point! Ever since we met him, he tried to kill us, and just 'cause that psychotic Yami of his is banished doesn't necessarily mean we can TRUST 'im!"
 

"But he's helping..." Ryou replied, his voice trembling. 
 

"He's WORKING with the PHARAOH!" Jounouchi shouted, even louder, rising to his feet. Ryou remained sitting. "How the HELL is him killing on the Pharaoh's orders supposed to HELP us?!"
 

"He... he... he's staying close to him... it's the only way he can, you know, find out that... anything that can help Yuugi..."
 

"Oh, so NOW you're trying to tell me, after ALL the times he's tried to kill Yuugi, he's trying to save him?"
 

"You're not the only one who's suffered a loss!" Ryou yelled, still remaining sitting on the floor. "Rishid's been killed, and Isis' soul was banished to the Shadow Realm! How do you think HE feels? At least you still have friends to support you! All Malik has is me and... and..."
 

"The Pharaoh?" Otogi suggested, completing the sentence.
 

"The Pharaoh," Ryou conceded. "But my yami, well, he... nobody does anything without a motive... and I WILL find out what his is..."
 

"You're too good hearted, Bakura," Jounouchi snorted. "You ask me, I wouldn't hesitate to kill either of them the first chance I got!"
 

"My yami is immortal, you can't kill him."
 

"Maybe not, but I sure as hell can hurt 'im!"
 

"Guys, please, calm down!" Anzu cried. "We're in a terrible situation, and fighting's not going to help! I know you're probably sick of hearing it, I've said it so much since our city was destroyed, but we really need to keep a hold on our friendship. It's just about the only thing we have left!"
 

"It's alright, Anzu," Ryou responded, getting to his feet with little difficulty. "I think I'll leave now, anyway."
 

"Oh, Bakura, you're not leaving because of Jounouchi, are you?" 
 

"No, of course not... well, okay, partially..." Ryou shook his head. "I mean, Jounouchi, I'll give you some time to settle down. You've got a lot to deal with, and I don't want you to get too stressed." Jounouchi snorted, clearly still angry at Ryou. "I'll be visiting Shizuka," Ryou added.
 

"Fine."
 

"Alright then," Anzu said, nodding at Ryou. "Seeya then, Bakura."
 

"Bye!" Otogi called. Ryou smiled, and left the tiny dwelling, straight through the heavy, charred curtain, again becoming invisible to the naked eye.
 

~~~~~
 

What the people referred to as the Dark Palace was not an impressive place. It existed merely to serve as a home to the Pharaoh. It was a large building, although it had once been several times larger, but it was crumbling to pieces, and could hardly be considered an architectural masterpiece. It had once been part of the KaibaCorp headquarters, but now KaibaCorp no longer existed. 
 

"WHERE THE FUCK IS HE?!" Yami no Bakura screeched, kicking an already collasing statuette so hard it flew into the wall, shattering into pieces. The slave was trembling with fear, but stood his ground. To retreat from Bakura meant death. "Where is Malik?!"
 

"I - I don't know, your Lordship, sir, I..." the slave stammered, unconsciously taking a step back. Fortunately for him, Bakura was too distracted to notice.
 

"If Malik has gone out WITHOUT MY PERMISSION, I will personally..."
 

"What's all the yelling about?"
 

Bakura whirled around to see Malik Ishtar stood in the doorway. "Where the fuck have you been?!" he demanded.
 

"I was..."
 

"Why are you trying to explain yourself to me?!"
 

"Uh, you just asked me..." Malik replied, under his breath.
 

"I don't care about your stupid excuses, just get out of my sight!" Malik didn't question, but left the room as commanded, his purple cloak flowing behind him as though he was constantly walking against a breeze of wind.
 

Yami no Bakura was the Pharaoh, and the possessor of all the seven Millennium Items. Having banished Yuugi Motou and his other self to the Shadow Realm, he was free to control the world as he pleased. He craved destruction, and loved nothing more than to cause fear among the people on this planet. Nearly everyone now knew he could destroy anyone he wished with merely a thought. His very presence was feared - the reason Ryou was so cautious to hide himself, due to the similarity in their appearance.
 

For Yami no Bakura was not of this time. His origins went back to Ancient Egypt, where he had lived as a tomb robber. Little was known about his past other than that he would not reveal it. But it was known that he had once raided the tomb of the current Pharaoh's father, and dragged the mummy by a rope tied around his neck into the High Court, in front of the Pharaoh himself. It was also known that some time later he was killed, and his soul sealed into the Millennium Ring. 
 

And three thousand years later, this ancient powerful item found itself in the hands of a young boy - a young boy who the spirit was able to control at will. And now, the spirit had Ryou's body. The spirit of the true Ryou had been banished from his own body.
 

Malik would always think about Yami no Bakura. When the spirit rose to power, Malik was at his side. He still was - but he was trying to help him. It had nothing to do with power. He was worried about him.
 

Although he himself would never admit it, Bakura dwelled on the past. Malik wished he knew what had happened. He knew from personal experience that nobody was born evil - it developed itself from a seed of negative emotion. That's what intrigued him so much about the Pharaoh - his own great curiosity as to what had happened to Bakura long ago in Ancient Egypt...
 

But even when the two of them would roll around in bed, in a breathless mess of sheets, tangled bodies, and their own bodily fluids, Malik could never bring the courage to ask. From what he had deduced, Bakura only wanted to use him for his own pleasure. He would never go to the modern Egyptian for help, or even just friendly advice. He somehow doubted that Bakura even considered him as a friend. At the first sign of Malik turning against him, he would destroy him. And then Malik would never be able to restore the banished soul of his sister, Isis.
 

Malik looked up as a recognisable, yet almost transparent figure came running towards him without his feet even touching the ground. "Ryou?" he greeted in surprise. "What are you doing here."
 

"I need to talk with you," Ryou replied, looking quite serious.
 

"We can talk here. Bakura's having a bit of a temper tantrum for some still unknown reason."
 

Ryou nodded. 
 

"But first, I'd appreciate it if you came down to MY ground level, it's a little unnerving." Ryou rolled his eyes and did so - since he'd been banished from his body only to remain in spirit form, he had been left to decide where his own ground level was, and he was often too distracted to notice. "Thanks. So what was it?"
 

"You killed Honda," Ryou stated flatly. Malik looked slightly taken aback, clearly surprised that Ryou had found out.
 

"Yes. I did."
 

"Why?" Ryou asked, in a forcefully calm tone.
 

"I can't tell you," Malik replied, staring at the ground.
 

"Why?" Ryou repeated.
 

"I'm sorry, Ryou, I can't say."
 

"WHY?" Ryou repeated again, this time his tone getting more desperate. "WHY, Malik? WHY DID YOU KILL HONDA?!" Forgetting his own disability, Ryou grabbed at Malik's shoulders, clearly wanting to shake the life out of him. His hands merely sunk in and clasped into fists, as Malik shivered from the strange, cold feeling that overcame him. "You can't just go and kill the people you're supposed to be helping, Malik! Why did you do it? TELL ME!"
 

"I'm SORRY, Ryou, I'm SORRY, I'll tell you, but PLEASE get your hands out of my shoulders!" Ryou obeyed, but still stood close to him, backing him against the wall although Malik knew very well that he could just walk through the boy. It was not easy to get Ryou angry, but in much the same way as he did when his friends were in danger, he seemed to change. He was no longer the meek, well-mannered boy who stayed in the background, but a determined and powerful individual able to intimidate even the bravest of people. Including Malik.
 

"Then tell me," he seethed.
 

"I... I was ordered to...  I was ordered to destroy one of Yuugi's group and... and if I didn't then I'd lose every chance I got at geting Isis back, and I... I'm sorry Ryou, I know I was selfish, but you have to understand! I mean, I..." Malik resisted the strong urge to say 'what's one more among millions?' because that would only make matters worse.
 

"Just sorry doesn't cut it, Malik, you killed one of my friends!" Ryou couldn't hide the quavering in his voice. Malik could tell he was near tears.
 

"Anyway," he muttered, not meaning for Ryou to hear. "Death is better than this shit hole..."
 

But Ryou heard perfectly. "You think so? So why Honda, then?" He was unable to keep the bitterness from his tone.
 

"I... he... well, he's not, he's not... he..." Malik swallowed. "You're not gonna like it..." he warned.
 

"Try me."
 

"Well... he wasn't really that essential to the group, was he?" He made a flustered hand gesture, trying to prevent Ryou from commenting. "I mean, Jounouchi, and Anzu, and Otogi, they're needed to get money and food, and Shizuka, she needs to look after the ones who got their souls banished by Bakura and... I'm sorry! But at least he's somewhere better than this, at LEAST!"
 

"If death is such a blessing, why do you fear it?" Ryou wanted to know, after a moment of contemplation. 
 

"Because if I'm gone, who'll bring back Isis?"
 

Ryou stepped back from Malik. "So you're saying, if you can bring back your sister, you'll just kill yourself?" 
 

"If life is still this unbearable..."
 

"Would you kill Isis too?"
 

"NO! Of course not! It's her choice whether she lives or dies!"
 

"And yet it wasn't Honda's choice whether he lived or not... I'm going for a while, Malik, I need to think."
 

"Yeah, you do that," Malik said in a half whisper to himself, as Ryou chose to use what was slowly becoming a trademark exit - sinking through the floor. "I'm sorry, Ryou, I didn't mean..."
 

"WHAT ARE YOU DOING THERE, ISHTAR?!" a familiar voice demanded. Malik winced at the sound of it.
 

"Nothing, Bakura, sir..."
 

"Well, isn't THAT appropriate. I'm bored half to death, get off your ass before I have to drag you!" With that remark, Bakura turned and stalked away.
 

Malik knew precisely what the Pharaoh wanted. He used to look forward to this task, and thoroughly enjoy it, but it was becoming more tedious. True, Bakura never hurt him as much as his father once had, inscribing the secret of the Pharaoh's memory onto his back, and carving in the lines that accentuated his cheekbones, but the whippings and the cuts were starting to become unbearable. In bed, Bakura may have become a completely different person, but he still liked to cause pain - even if the pain was to cause pleasure to the receiver.
 

Reluctantly, especially after the intense fight with Ryou, Malik rose to his feet and followed Bakura's path to his bedroom, knowing full well what would await him.
 

END OF PART 1