Yu-Gi-Oh belongs to Kazuki Takahashi. We're just humble fans.
 

The slums were always quiet this early in the morning, even in the market area. The few people who were awake set up their stalls quietly, some of them making conversation with their friends and partners.

The boy who appeared to be walking alone, staring into the empty space ahead of him with a look of fascination on his face, attracted some attention from the stall owners, but they looked away after their brief moment of curiosity, clearly feeling their own lives were more important.

Other than these curious glances, Mokuba went almost unnoticed, even when he stopped suddenly at the corner, still staring into nothingness.

"How can you follow me?" a voice hissed, quiet enough so that only Mokuba would hear. "You can't even see me, can you?"

Mokuba shook his head. "I can't see you, no."

"Then how can you be following me?" Ryou demanded.

The boy averted his gaze, staring at his feet dejectedly. "You're cold."

Ryou knew this. Whenever he attempted to touch someone, they would often shiver, or comment that they felt an icy chill, but he didn't see why this would help Mokuba follow him. "And...?" he prompted, barely keeping the impatience from his tone.

"You make the air around you go cold too..."

Ryou took an unseen step back, surprised. He'd never heard of that. He was under the impression that he had no effect on the environment at all.

"I guess most people don't feel it because they don't look for it," Mokuba added, before Ryou could respond.

Ryou thought about this for a moment. He had to admit that the boy was probably right. People had enough problems trying to survive. They weren't likely to be concerned with a chilled air that was most likely just a slight breeze. But he still didn't understand how he could make the air around him chill. He supposed it was one of those things that just happened without explanation.

After a brief period of silence, Ryou realised how quiet it seemed to be, other than the sounds of the stall owners and distant shouting. The silence was unnerving, seeming to beg a response from Ryou, but he didn't know what to say to the boy facing him. "I suppose so," he eventually said, vaguely wondering if Mokuba's mind had drifted away from the conversation they had been having.

Now with a happy, dreamy smile on his face, Mokuba looked up again. Unable to actually see Ryou, he stared a little above his head, overestimating his height. Ryou felt a little uncomfortable as he realised that the empty space he was staring into was where his face would be had he been the boy's brother.

"Are you going to see Jounouchi?" Mokuba asked, seeming to realise how close they were to the blond's home. "My brother liked Jounouchi. He wouldn't admit it but I could tell. I guess he didn't want to get attached in case he forgot about me, so he always teased him..."

"Right..." Ryou murmured, feeling as if Mokuba had just told him some big secret he really should not know. "Yes, I'm going to visit Jounouchi."

"Seto used to say that Jounouchi was a worthless mongrel," Mokuba continued. "But to himself he'd say how much he admired him and how loyal he was..."

Ryou turned around and continued his way to Jounouchi's home. Mokuba followed him, still talking about his brother.

"He wished he were like Jounouchi, and dedicate his time to me, but he thought it was too late, because he had KaibaCorp to run... but he didn't realise it didn't matter, he was great, he was the best brother..."

"I'll bet he was," Ryou said, feeling obliged to respond to the boy. Truthfully, he wasn't so sure of his reply. He didn't know Seto Kaiba particularly well. In fact, he couldn't recall ever having spoken to him, although they had definitely met - they had been in the same class at school, and he had seen him in Duelist Kingdom. 

Realising that the shouting he had heard was became clearer as he grew closer to his destination, Ryou frowned. It sounded like Jounouchi.

Mokuba had paused in his dreamy rambling about his brother, seeming to sense that Ryou was listening for something. "Who's shouting?" he asked. 

"We'll find out..." Ryou replied, before deciding that running would be the fastest way to find out. He ran off, leaving Mokuba to follow him at a slower pace. 

~~~~~

Receiving yet another a fierce blow across his face, Malik fell to the ground, using his shaking arms to support himself and try to push himself back up.

Jounouchi was seething. "You're just lucky I haven't killed you!" he snarled. "Especially after what you did! What possessed you to come back here?!"

Refusing to reply, Malik stood up, trying to control his shaking. Bruises were already beginning to show on the side of his face where Jounouchi had hit him repeatedly.

"I WOULD kill you, but that would be sinking down to your level, wouldn't it?" Jounouchi sneered, in an attempt at gaining a response.

"Jounouchi, stop it," Otogi said, in a warning tone of voice. Anzu had already gone back through the curtain, knowing that Jounouchi would not be easily deterred.

"I can tell you don't mean that," Malik sniffed, before being tackled to the ground by Jounouchi again, with another bruising blow connecting to his aching jaw.

"Fuck you!" Jounouchi spat, pinning Malik to the ground and striking his jaw again, as if he wanted nothing more than to shatter the bone beyond repair. "You deserve what you get, and you and everyone else knows it, you little bastard!"

"Jounouchi, I think that's enough now," came a calm voice. "As attractive as turning his whole body into a bruise may seem to you, it's not going to help."

"Ryou," Malik breathed. Reluctantly, Jounouchi stepped back and allowed Malik to move, looking at the partially visible spirit and the boy stood just behind him.

"Bakura, what the hell are you doing here?" Jounouchi demanded, completely ignoring Mokuba. "Did you ask this bastard to come here and apologise? I don't care what you say about him, he's nothing but a..."

"Be quiet, Jounouchi," Ryou sighed, allowing himself to become completely visible and stepping over to Malik, who, although he had moved into a sitting position, was still on the ground. "You presume far too much. Malik, why on Earth did you come here? You know they don't like you."

"Don't like?" Jounouchi snorted. "More like detest! You're like a disease or something. You come, you kill, you leave and come back again later! You're a walking disaster!"

"Jounouchi... quiet." Ryou said, impatiently. "Malik?"

"I came to give you something," Malik replied, glaring at Jounouchi. "But to be honest, I'm not sure whether I should give it to you or not."

"And... what is it?" Otogi asked. 

"I... hold on." Malik reached behind his neck, and attempted to unclasp his gift. However, his hands were shaking violently, and he found himself unable to take it off. "Damn! I can't get it!" he complained.

Mokuba, who had up until now been humming gently, seemed to snap out of his happy daydream and approached Malik. "You have something around your neck," he said, distantly, and pushed away Malik's hands to unclasp the object himself.

"Isn't that Mokuba?" Otogi asked. Jounouchi just nodded in reply.

Mokuba looked curiously at the golden object he now held. "It's a necklace," he stated. "It looks strange." He paused for a moment, before adding, "I've seen it before."

"The Millennium Tauk!" Ryou gasped, as he got a clearer view of it. "You stole it?"

Malik nodded, the shaking from the shock of the blows he had received slowly becoming less severe. The bruises, however, were becoming clearer, and his cheek had swollen to a point where speaking was difficult.

Jounouchi stared at the Tauk for a moment, before speaking. "I don't care if he DID steal one of the Items! He STILL killed Honda!"

He made as if to throw another punch at Malik, who immediately lifted his arms to shield his face. Jounouchi smirked with some sense of satisfaction. "Scared, Ishtar? GOOD!"

"I didn't want to kill anyone, I did it because I HAD to!" Malik responded, his voice trembling. He knew it was a feeble excuse, but he had already been on the receiving end of a vicious attack from Jounouchi. He didn't want to go through it again.

"Oh, you HAD to, did you? You didn't have to kill ANYONE!" Jounouchi yelled, dropping his fists. Somehow sensing he wasn't going to be hit again, Malik lowered his arms slightly.

"Most people here want to die," Mokuba said, softly, still looking dreamily at the Tauk, although his attention appeared to be elsewhere. "They always do, in the end."

Jounouchi and Otogi stared at Mokuba, bewildered by this statement. It was a fact they knew well, but it was extremely unusual to hear the thought spoken aloud. Mokuba, however, didn't notice the attention he was receiving, and continued.

"But they won't kill themselves because they don't want to hurt anyone they love. Seto loves me. That's why he's not dead, he didn't want to leave me behind. He's just gone for a little while. He sent me an angel to protect me." He smiled happily.

"An angel...?" Jounouchi repeated, in confusion.

"He means me..." Ryou sighed. "I went to see Shizuka earlier. Mokuba somehow thinks Kaiba wants me to protect him..."

With some degree of difficulty, Malik stood up, wavering slightly and lifting his hand to his forehead as if to fight off a wave of dizziness. "Sounds to me like he's a little deluded," he commented.

"Who asked for YOUR opinion?!" Jounouchi demanded, angrily, raising his fists.

"Jounouchi, that's ENOUGH!" Otogi snapped. "He deserves it, and he deserves it like hell, but now's not the time! He's at least made SOME effort against the Pharaoh!"

Jounouchi glared at Malik for a moment, but reluctantly lowered his fists. "Think yourself lucky, bastard," he snarled.

"I..." Malik began, uncertainly.

"So many people were left behind," Mokuba commented, absently. Despite the soft, quiet tone, he attracted immediate attention from everyone. "Poor Rei..."

"Rei?" Ryou asked, gently. "Was she a friend of yours?"

Mokuba stared at the Tauk with an air of distant thoughtfulness. "Honda left her behind..."

"Hold up a second, Mokuba," Jounouchi interrupted. "Who the hell is Rei? What do you mean by 'Honda left her behind'?!"

Mokuba didn't reply. He didn't even appear to acknowledge that Jounouchi had even spoken at all. Instead, after staring at the Tauk for a few moments, he put the golden Item around his neck and touched the eye symbol gently.

"Mokuba! Who is Rei?" Jounouchi demanded, impatiently. Mokuba looked at him as if he had only just noticed his presence.

"Rei? You don't know her?" he asked, tilting his head in confusion.

"No! I DON'T know Rei!" was Jounouchi's response.

"Honda's daughter..." Mokuba murmured, gazing calmly at the stone by Jounouchi's feet.

A moment of stunned, confused silence followed.

Only Malik seemed to understand, a slight smile of comprehension crossing his bruised face.

"His WHAT?!" Jounouchi finally yelled. "Honda had a daughter, and I didn't KNOW?!" He turned to Malik. "What the fuck are YOU smirking about, Ishtar? You killed Honda when he had a KID to look after!"

Malik took a step back, ready to bolt if Jounouchi attempted to attack him again, the smile disappearing as fast as it came. 

"Calm down, Jounouchi!" he cried, anxiously. "I didn't know!"

"Even if you DIDN'T know it's no excuse...!"

"Jounouchi, calm down... I don't think that's what he's smiling about," Ryou said, realising what was happening. He gestured towards Mokuba, who was once again humming in an other-worldly manner. "What has Mokuba got around his neck?"

"The necklace thing?" Jounouchi replied, confused.

"The Tauk!" Malik corrected. "And the Tauk tells the future!"

Realisation dawned on Jounouchi's face. "Mokuba can see the future?"

"It looks like it," Malik replied. "But I don't know why, an Item isn't supposed to respond to someone who's not destined for it..."

"Well, maybe it's destined for him," Jounouchi snapped, making Malik flinch uncomfortably. "So he can tell us if we ever manage to get rid of that Pharaoh... hey, Mokuba!"

"Yes?" Mokuba responded, lifting his head up to look at Jounouchi. 

"Can you tell us if we ever get out of here?" the blond asked. Ryou groaned despairingly at Jounouchi's lack of tact - in his state of mind, Mokuba was unlikely to have even noticed that the Tauk had magic.

For a moment, Mokuba stared at Jounouchi with his unfocussed eyes, before once again turning his gaze to the ground. "Isn't that your choice?" he asked.

"What kind of answer is that?!" Jounouchi demanded, losing patience.

"Jounouchi!" Otogi snapped. "Settle down, Mokuba hasn't done anything wrong!"

"I don't think Mokuba knows about the Tauk's powers," Ryou said, after a moment of silence. Mokuba glanced at him curiously. "He must have had a vision or something, and thought it was real."

Mokuba looked thoughtful for a moment, before his face reverted to its dreamy, distant expression as he gazed upwards at the sky.

"Seto..." he murmured.

~~~~~

"Malik, I think you deserve a thank you," Ryou commented, as he, Malik and Mokuba walked back towards the Dark Palace. "I can't believe you stole the Tauk..."

"It's not nice to steal things," Mokuba murmured, absently. His two companions took a momentary glance at him, but he had clearly drifted off into a happy daydream again.

"Well, I had to do something," Malik replied. "I couldn't just carry on the way I was, that wouldn't help at all."

"No, I suppose not."

For a moment there was no sound other than the footsteps of Malik and Mokuba. However, it was a meaningful silence, somehow making it easy to assume what was meant to be said.

"Are you worried?" Ryou asked, eventually.

"About what?"

"If my yami finds out..."

"If he does, I'll deal with it," Malik sighed. "I don't know... he'll either banish me or kill me, but to be honest... I don't really care anymore."

"I see..."

"But Ryou..."

"What?"

"Will you promise me something?"

Ryou watched the ground pass under his feet before answering. "Tell me what it is first," he said.

"If anything happens to me, will you try to restore Isis' soul?"

Ryou paused in his steps. Malik turned to face him, and found the spirit's eyes gazing sincerely into his own. "Of course I will. Even if nothing happens to you, I'll try my hardest to help you bring her back."

"Thank you."

The rest of the journey progressed without discussion, the only sounds being footsteps and Mokuba's humming. 

This area of the slums, so close to the palace, was usually abandoned. Most of the buildings before Bakura had summoned monsters from the Shadow Realm to destroy the city were still standing, although they were severely damaged. There was a heavy risk of collapse at any time.

It made the palace slightly more difficult to see, although they knew the way. Finally, not long after the remains of the KaibaCorp Headquarters came into view, Ryou stopped.

"I should take Mokuba back to the surgery," he explained. "I don't think my yami would appreciate him following me, especially since he has the Tauk."

"It's alright."

"I'll probably stay there, in case Mokuba wants to follow me..." Ryou added. "I'll see you around, Malik."

"See you later, then," Malik responded, nodding. "Bye."

"Bye. Come on, Mokuba."

For a moment, Malik watched Ryou and Mokuba head off in the other direction, before continuing his journey back home, hoping that Bakura's bad mood had worn off already.

It wasn't far to the palace, Malik thought. The journey wouldn't take long. But his discussion with Ryou had caused an uncomfortable, nervous feeling to bubble up in his stomach. What if Bakura did find out? What if he already had?

He was glad Ryou had agreed to try to help Isis if anything happened to him. Because now that he had stolen the Tauk, Bakura was bound to find out. He was dead already.

And when, after entering the palace, he was seized by the wrist, whirled around and slammed into the wall, he was not surprised to hear Bakura's voice whisper dangerously into his ear...

"You just made the most costly mistake of your pathetic little life..."
 

END OF PART