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Chapter Text

Kaiba Seto had been in the middle of debating what his partner history project should be, tapping a pencil with mild ire and staring at the clock, annoyed by how much time had already passed.

When he blinked, his eyes felt cold and strained and he had to swallow painfully, his mouth so dry his tongue couldn't move. Kaiba could feel his heart pounding in his chest, just slightly too fast but faint, and a grim chill ran down his back. His whole body ached, like he'd tensed every muscle in preparation for a deathly blow. He didn't even want to look at the clock, but as he did he acknowledged over twenty minutes had elapsed.

"So you have those too?" Bakura Ryou asked quietly as he saw signs of life return to the other. He was sitting on the couch adjacent Kaiba's armchair, and held out a plate with toast and eggs. "I hope you don't mind. I took the liberty of going through your kitchen. I always find eating afterwards helps."

The vaguely haunted feeling, dread that coiled around his heart, kept Kaiba too disoriented to comment as he accepted the plate of food with shaking hands. Only now that his unnatural stillness was broken, his body began to tremble, and he tried to hide it by slouching into his chair in a manner much too informal for his liking. "I don't know what you're talking about," Kaiba scoffed, lying through his teeth, as he tried to breathe in and out slowly to control his heart rate. Sullenly, he gave in and did indulge in the food, folding the toast with egg on it so it was more of a sandwich.

Bakura averted his gaze and quickly amended," Right, sorry. I didn't mean to assume." He looked back tentatively and said quietly," but I've had my fair share of flashbacks and I wouldn't think you crazy if you ever wanted to talk about it."

Kaiba rolled his eyes and made a disapproving hum. "I know you're fascinated by the occult, but I prefer to ignore it all if it actually even exists."

Bakura's look of concern morphed from passively worried to actively evaluating Kaiba's mental health. "You've seen-"

"I've seen a lot of strange things, often when crazy people wielded solid vision, playing a game that centers around fictional magic beasts."

"You were there for the ultimate dark game," Bakura insisted.

"You mean that Egypt stunt? I…" Kaiba trailed off and ran a hand through his hair in a frustrated fashion. Sighing, he admitted," I can't explain that."

"Or the ceremonial duel."

Kaiba tried to will away the sick feeling in his chest, the numbness in his face, he just wanted to stop feeling so awful so he could have a proper argument with the occult freak and win. He had accepted that magic existed, he had to after going through what he went through, but he hated how that realization made so much of his life less certain and how it twisted events he'd been involved in.

Bakura feared he might be pressing his luck, but pressed forth. "It's okay to not understand it."

"Even if it is some hocus pocus magic folly, and I should accept it all, what does that change?" Kaiba sat up, his irritation enough to overwhelm the fearful trembling he was initially embarrassed by.

"Maybe you could begin to heal," Bakura offered, shrinking in on himself as Kaiba's voice got louder.

"I knew accepting you as a partner was a mistake. All of you want to press your same ideas of friendship and magic and ridiculous faith onto anyone you talk to. Just leave. I'll write up a draft on my own and send you the file," Kaiba barked, dropping the half finished plate on the coffee table with disgust.

"I- I didn't mean to-"

Waving his hand in a curt dismissive gesture, he ordered through gritted teeth," Just go!"

His chief of housekeeping was immediately at the door to his private study, ready to escort the no longer welcomed guest out.

With a long bow, Bakura apologized," I'm sorry, Kaiba." Righting himself, he said," I'll see you tomorrow in class."

Kaiba looked away, his expression steaming, but his actual feelings more akin to frigid with mortification.

~~
~~

"I got the draft you sent," Bakura began as he approached Kaiba.

Kaiba was hunched in on himself, reading some book in a foreign language, obviously looking not to be disturbed.

"I think researching more about the First Battle of Marne will be interesting. Um, here is what I looked up on it," Bakura held up a small stack of papers. "First automotive transportation of troops at war and radio intercepts… You picked a good topic." His hand dropped back to his side, squeezing and crumpling the papers slightly. He had come purposefully early, hoping to avoid other students and knowing Kaiba liked to arrive well before everyone else would start funneling into class.

"I'm sorry about yesterday. If it means anything, I don't see you any different."

Kaiba's patience finally broke, but he kept himself to a reserved tip of his head, just barely looking over his book. "Just leave the notes on my desk. I'll compile our findings later." He smiled a little smugly when the other silently did as asked. He was a fool for thinking he could go back to reading so easily though.

"I think we should make the presentation together," Bakura calmly informed Kaiba, despite his throat getting tight and his stomach growing uneasy. He hated the icy, menacing look Kaiba bore.

Kaiba gave an incredulous look and asked," You really think I want you back in my home after that 'believe and heal' nonsense you spewed yesterday."

Puffing out his chest slightly, and feeling the confidence of rolling a natural twenty, Bakura argued," I think you would hate to score poorly on a presentation because it was clear we didn't work well together when we both clearly know about the subject matter."

With an impressed nod, Kaiba decided," Call Clarice again and get your appointment set. I believe my schedule today was rather open. I should be able to squeeze our studying in for twenty minutes."

Trying not to betray his overwhelming sense of victory, Bakura gave a silent nod and quickly took his seat before class started.

~~
~~

Bakura waited in the reception hall, twiddling his fingers and waiting his turn. Even though he'd been aware ever since he moved to Domino that Kaiba was the rich CEO of Kaiba Corp, and that that kind of success must correlate with his lifestyle, it still seemed bizarre to be waiting in a mansion's reception hall to do a school project.

He'd been waiting for close to half an hour, having to work around the train schedule and not daring to be a minute late when he had only been able to schedule fifteen minutes. All their studying was done for the most part, it was only a matter of deciding how to split the information up for a seamless and equal presentation. For that, Bakura was relieved, but he still didn't like how tight that left them to figure everything out.

"Master Kaiba will see you now," the maid said from behind her desk, and Bakura stood up and nodded, ready to follow whoever was to lead him through this maze Kaiba called a home. Bakura was pretty sure he could retrace his steps and figure his way back to Kaiba's study, in fact he relished proving to himself that he could, but he didn't want to waste precious time on satiating curiosity.

Being guided back to the room they argued in yesterday, Bakura made careful note of where everything he passed was, including the kitchen he'd snooped out yesterday. During the night as it was, everything seemed desolate, probably because it wasn't economical to light such a massive building when only a handful of staff and two owners dwelled in it.

It wasn't that there was a lack of stuff, on the contrary, it looked like an interior designer's dream. Plentiful knick-knacks decorated the walls and tables, and many pictures covered the walls, with all the furnishings and properly accented pillows this place was truly waiting to be advertised in a magazine by some celebratory home decorator.

There was just… no feeling behind all of it. This was supposed to be a home, but it felt more like an office's take on households. That coupled with the bare minimum lighting needed to navigate the corridors made it quite unwelcoming. Bakura mused that perhaps he was just too used to hanging out in space owned by nerds who didn't have to impress the media and could display all their obscure game figurines.

When he finally got to Kaiba's study, he was surprised to find it was even darker than the halls, and Kaiba's deep voice flatly ordered," Tell Clarice to cancel the rest of my appointments." It was lower than usual, and every word had more weight like he was trying to keep them from flying away. His breath at the end gave away the stress in his throat that indicated he was trying to overcome quivering.

The butler who'd escorted him promptly bowed and left to do so, leaving Bakura standing in the doorway awkwardly, unsure if he should enter.

He couldn't quite see Kaiba, he could make out his form in the armchair though, hunched over and with a thin arm propping his head up. As Bakura's eyes adjusted, he could see less that it was propping his head up, and more that he was covering his eyes. Kaiba did nothing, sitting in the big armchair that still managed to be dwarfed by the dreadfully tall man.

After almost three minutes of unpleasant silence, Kaiba said lightly," It happened again. A… flashback, or whatever."

"I'm sorry."

"Why should you be sorry?"

Bakura mumbled," I have a lot to be sorry about, even if I didn't do much, more like because I couldn't do much."

This piqued Kaiba's interest and he asked," More of your occult stories getting out of hand? You were foiled by some genie or magical dwarf."

"Not a genie," Bakura refuted quietly," but a spirit who granted an awful wish much too literally."

Kaiba scoffed at this, but his typical scathing remark that it was all children's make believe was noticeably absent.

"Would you like me to grab you something to eat? It alw-"

"-always helps afterwards. I know, that's what you said yesterday. I don't think we're dealing with the same thing though. Eating just made me feel ill. It started an hour ago. I had my butler bring me some okayu straight away when I… came back to, I guess."

"Oh, sorry-"

"Stop apologizing-"

"Sorr-" Bakura screwed his eyes shut and bit his lip to try and stop himself.

Kaiba didn't comment, and Bakura tentatively opened his eyes back up to see the other slinking even further in his chair, his gangly legs folding beside him on the chair so he was more lying down than sitting. It was honestly a little uncomfortable for Bakura to see the CEO of Kaiba Corp like this. He'd never witnessed him so casual before. Bakura reasoned Kaiba must be really shaken.

"You can sit down if you wish, or leave. I don't really care," Kaiba said softly, too gently like he had lost the motivation to keep up his charade of never melting ice.

Bakura felt his legs shake, like they were about to do something of their own accord, but he managed to walk forwards into the study rather than abandon it like he'd momentarily considered. He didn't look forward to inevitably being yelled at or dismissed again, but he could tell this was Kaiba reaching out the best he could. "Thank you." Bakura took his same seat on the couch he had yesterday, resting his hands on his knees and nervously waiting for something more to be said.

He couldn't bring himself to start any kind of conversation, be it about Kaiba's flashback, something unrelated, or bringing up their school project which was the whole reason he was here in the first place.

Bakura watched Kaiba's clearly weary eyes drift closer and closer to sleep, wanting to say something because he didn't know what he should do if Kaiba actually fell asleep. It would be creepy to stay and watch, he was pretty sure, but he also couldn't bare the thought of leaving Kaiba if he had asked him in expecting moral support or something through the process of winding down from whatever nightmare he'd relived.

Following a shaky sigh, Kaiba murmured," It was the first time Yuugi- no, the… other Yuugi- and I dueled. I had it coming. I deserved every second of it. It was the one time I ever stole and cheated, and I faced the penalty." Kaiba bit his lip, hard enough that it bled. "Even after… Though I guess I didn't technically cheat to obtain the other Blue Eyes, I didn't play by the rules either."

"Penalty?" Bakura asked, knowing immediately what that meant in the eyes of a sealed Egyptian spirit. His stomach twisted, and he wondered when Kaiba's senses would snap back into place and this surreal fairy tale would end.

"He… turned me into a card. I was sent to the realm of monsters, or something ridiculous like that," Kaiba diffidently explained, resting his head on the arm of the chair and hugging his arms close to himself. "I was torn to pieces by every duel monster I could recall, and even others I couldn't. I died over and over. It was the inspiration for creating my solid vision battle boxes."

Bakura felt a pang in his chest and he wondered what that must be like. Kaiba seemed so sure that he deserved the severe, mystical punishment, and that didn't sit well with Bakura. From all the penalty games his darker half had wrought, the punishment had far outweighed the crime, or often lack there of. Atem wasn't evil like the thief was, but it still didn't sit right with him that someone should deserve to live through repeated death. "Cheating may be wrong, but that doesn't mean you deserved the penalty."

Kaiba laughed, one of those cold, humourless laughs that hurt to listen to. "My very first act after recovering from that penalty was to hunt down every Blue Eyes. I caused someone to commit suicide so I could seize their card, and enlisted the mafia to secure another."

"You have three Blue Eyes."

"I had four. I strong armed a man into bankruptcy and kidnapped Sugoroku for a private duel to win the last Blue Eyes on this planet. Then I ripped it in front of him so no one else could ever use it."

Bakura now had a conflicted feeling that maybe Kaiba did deserve the penalty, and it made him a little sick.

"After that, I put Yuugi and the others through the Death-T, and lost to… Atem… again to suffer my second penalty."

Two penalties…? One was enough to last a person a life time, but two? Bakura couldn't stop himself from asking," What was the second penalty?"

"We only scheduled fifteen minutes. You should be going home," Kaiba said, shrinking in on himself and shielding his eyes from view.

"R-right…" Bakura uncertainly got to his feet and began to walk to the door dazely. That couldn't be the same Kaiba Yuugi and Jounouchi had been fighting all these years.

Kaiba's voice called after him," Would- ... W-would you like to continue working on our project tomorrow? It's due Thursday…"

"I can't keep the train in business. It's costly to get to this side of town," Bakura said, playing with the hem of his shirt. He wanted to leave and never come back. He wanted to stay and make sure Kaiba was alright. He felt sick thinking over the moral dilemma of the past and certain parties' actions and how they contrasted with the pedestal he placed them on and-

"I'll send a limo," Kaiba offered.

"Sure, pick me up at six o'clock. I should be able to squeeze in twenty minutes for studying," Bakura said without turning back to the other, relying on his years of roleplaying to lend to a brash fighter's bravado and not betray the quivering in his chest.

"Thank you for finding the time to fit in my last minute appointment in your busy schedule," Kaiba sarcastically sneered, but Bakura knew it wasn't meant as harsh as it came off.

He walked into the halls, wandering until he found the kitchen and had his bearings in this maze of a home- no, a house- and showed himself out.

Chapter Text

The limo was beautiful as expected, no expense spared and every luxury offered. Satellite TV and sodas and the most comfortable leather seats Bakura had ever encountered certainly made for a better fifteen minute ride than the train.

It didn't calm Bakura's nerves though as he approached the mansion he'd come to know. The chauffeur opened his door, and Bakura thanked him for his time, receiving only a 'naturally, Mr. Bakura' in return. When he entered the large reception area again, he saw the familiar face of the maid and hazarded a smile, to which she politely, but rather coldly, responded," Master Kaiba is in his personal study. Would you like an escort to see you there?"

"N-no, I know my way," Bakura assured her and headed off to the study that he had definitely learned his way to, despite so much of this mansion still remaining an impassable labyrinth to him.

The study was well lit, and Kaiba was sitting sharply in his chair, the very posture choir teachers everywhere strived to instill to their students. It was much more comfortable to see Kaiba so business like, and Bakura was kind of relieved that he was pretty sure they'd work on their project finally. Too much formality hit him in the face though as Kaiba looked up to his arrival with cold, calculating eyes and said," Bakura, thank you for arranging this appointment. I'd like to call attention to our first order of business…" He continued in a flawless business drone.

Every step of their project was conducted efficiently, without dawdling and speculating or talking about those pesky symptoms of post traumatic stress. His business tone was eerily calm, and fluid, never breaking off in a sentence or transitioning without segways. It was truly amazing that the same man who could be so passionate about duels or so broken like yesterday, could be so emotionlessly efficient. The others liked to joke that Kaiba didn't have emotions or was some kind of automaton hellbent on dueling and running a business and nothing else, but from the little Bakura had seen of Kaiba, and Bakura had to admit that it was quite little, he could see plain as day that even during his stoic, staring moments, great emotional wars plagued Kaiba. This was all an act, one he'd honed over years of practice for the difficult area of corporate business.

Structuring their presentation and who would say what took only minutes. Coming up with a rough draft for each section to ensure that each distinct point of interest would be covered by one of them took five minutes more. They were both confident enough in the other's ability to string together coherent sentences that they didn't worry on actually writing the planned speech. So that left them done within eight minutes, and Bakura wondering if he should announce his departure and take his leave.

The nerves of coming and dealing with Kaiba, the unpredictable factor and worry that he may invoke the other's dismissive anger, finally got to Bakura as time seemed to slow down. He was looking up from the paper outline when it happened. His eyes seemed to travel a quarter as fast as they should, and the world was darkening around him. The familiar heaviness pulled at his neck and he could feel the dancing of the pendant's prongs tickling his stomach.

He couldn't hear anything, and with how dark everything had become, he might as well be blind too. His skin could feel the slightest change in the air, and all his little hairs stood up on edge.

"-kura, Bakura!"

Sharp inhales, the shrieking breaths of someone who wasn't actually breathing any of the air they were desperately drawing in rang in Bakura's ears. He was bleakly aware of being shaken by the shoulder, and he could feel that the couch seat was sagging towards another presence.

Grabbing the wrist of the hand holding onto him, Bakura tried to ground himself. He was in control. That was his hand, doing what he instructed it to. His grip must have been too tight, because the hand let go of him and sank towards Bakura's chest where it was more comfortable for Bakura to hold it. "How much time did I lose?"

Kaiba answered without questioning it," Two, maybe three minutes."

"I stayed here the whole time?"

"Yes."

Bakura could hear the puzzlement of the last answer, but he didn't feel up to explaining. He felt dizzy and sick and…

"Bakura, what's your favorite food?"

"Cream puffs," Bakura dazedly answered, bringing the other's hand closer to him, like he needed to hug onto something to anchor himself in this world. He let go as he could feel how tense the arm it connected to became, and Bakura awkwardly apologized.

"It's fine," Kaiba assured him, even though he was rubbing his wrist like it hurt.

"No, I don't even have him as an excuse anymore, and I'm still hurting people," Bakura said between shaky breaths, having calmed down to pained but quiet breathing.

Kaiba stopped rubbing his wrist and looked at Bakura like he may break if he said the wrong thing. Tentatively, he placed a hand back on Bakura's shoulder, but in a manner for squeezing it reassuringly rather than grabbing hold and shaking.

Kaiba recalled the broken conversations back at the ceremonial duel. "You had a second soul like Yuugi did, right?"

Bakura sniffled, trying to hold back tears as he nodded.

"But he…?"

Bakura shook his head, his lower lip quivering as his face reddened with the oncoming tears. He recognized on some level that it wasn't fair. Kaiba had shared so much with him yesterday, but Bakura couldn't bring himself to talk about the thief.

A maid came to Kaiba's side, presenting a plate with a silver cover and Kaiba gestured for the coffee table where she obediently laid it. Bowing and departing, the maid left them to their privacy. Kaiba used his free hand to remove the silver lid and placed it to the side, presenting a tray full of cream puffs. Some were lightly dusted with powdered sugar, others with heavily drizzled chocolate, a few were plain, and there were an assortment of fruit topped cream puffs. A side of ice cream with chocolate drizzle and a mint leaf accent made the whole plate look absolutely gorgeous and Bakura shook his head more.

"That's too pretty, I can't eat that." It looked like it belonged on the cover of a magazine or on a show where chefs were battling for a prize.

Kaiba reached forward, plucking the closest one off the tray and ate it. "No, it definitely tastes like food. Which helps after a… eating helps afterwards."

Bakura nodded, feeling his tears start to warm his cheeks. His ragged breathing still shook his frame, but it didn't hurt to breath anymore. Kaiba reached and bought the plate to Bakura, setting it on his lap. The long sliver spoon rattled ever so softly as it hopped against the shaking plate and Bakura used both hands to stabilize the plate the best he could so he didn't topple a tower of cream puffs onto himself. Kaiba must have noticed the dilemma, because he grabbed the plate and held it a couple centimeters above Bakura's knees so the other would have available hands to eat.

Giving thanks silently as he clapped his hands, Ryou cautiously grabbed a pastry and popped it into his mouth. The sugary goodness immediately made everything seem not so bad, and he eagerly grabbed another from another pile. After having a few bites of ice cream and two or three cream puffs of each style, Bakura quietly thanked Kaiba for the meal. Kaiba discarded the plate of desserts back where it had initially been set.

Kaiba's hand was still where he'd set it, never moving in the slightest, and Bakura wondered if he'd really offered support like this before or just seen it in the movies. Other than it's firm grip that assured no one would get to Bakura, it wasn't all that comforting, just sitting there limply.

Shifting in his seat so the hand would be made to run across his back, Bakura closed his eyes and relished the contact. He never had close friends before Yuugi and friends, and even their relationships were strained with the constant obstruction of the thief. His family was also largely absent for most of his childhood, and Bakura forgot how wonderful haptics could be.

Kaiba startled at his hand slipping, but he understood the painfully clear motive easily, and awkwardly tried to rub Bakura's back for a few minutes before giving up and pulling back, even shifting so he wasn't sitting so close.

"Thank you," Bakura softly spoke.

Kaiba ignored it.

"I've been getting better, but I still wake up thinking I'll be reunited with the Ring in my sleep." Bakura's tears were silent, but every time he began a word, the distinct sound of crying wrapped the beginnings and ends.

Kaiba didn't know how to respond. Was he supposed to offer encouragement? Dismiss the likelihood of that happening? Initiate some kind of hug? Kaiba chose the easiest path and stayed silent, crossing his arms uncomfortably. He didn't like being the emotional support. It was so easy with his brother. He'd known Mokuba for so long, basically as far back as he could remember distinct memories, and was in tune with what would console him, but some practical stranger…? He was at a loss.

"All those hours, days, months," Bakura began, having to swallow hard but managing to clear the sound of crying from his voice. "He stole a lot of things, but he probably stole several years of my life," Bakura whispered.

"I'm… sorry."

Sniffling and shaking his head, Bakura whimpered," It's so stupid… I miss him!" New tears threatened to spill. "He did so many awful things, to me, to others, but I miss him." Burying his face in his hands, Bakura cried out in frustration. "Even when I was lonely, at least I was never alone. Gah, I'm so dumb."

"It's not dumb to miss someone," Kaiba countered.

"It's dumb to miss the thief," Bakura insisted. "He was a murderous spirit, literally fused with darkness, and he hurt so many people. He put so many people into comas, he stabbed me twic- no, three times!" Bakura drew in a shaky breath. In a cracking whisper, he asked," So why do I miss him?"

This was too much for Kaiba. It had been hard enough to accept the visions, and the rest of the occult, but now they were talking about what sounded like a legitimate vengeful spirit, and Kaiba just couldn't handle the occult this deep. "I- I don't know. I never really spent any time looking into, believing in, or thinking about spirits. I wouldn't have believed you if you told me about this… thief, a year ago."

Bakura nodded, idly rubbing the large scar on his arm from Malik's and the thief's ploy. He seemed distant again, mute fear in his wide eyes as he stared off far away.

"My second penalty…" He gauged Bakura's interest, happy when he found this was enough to draw Bakura's attention away from whatever he was bemoaning to himself. Bakura was clearly interested, and had been obviously disappointed when he didn't share yesterday. "... was to shatter my heart into puzzle pieces. Or that's what he said. I didn't believe it when I woke from my coma."

Bakura rubbed the tears from his eyes with his rough palms. "That's right, I remember hearing about that... the coma, I mean."

"It didn't stay secret long," Kaiba sighed regretfully," and it lead to my corporation's stock dropping and me almost losing the company, which in turn lead to Mokuba's kidnapping." He grabbed the locket at his chest and clicked it open. He took great comfort in staring at it, and it helped him not think about how personal of information he'd just admitted.

"Most of the time when I have a flashback, it's to that Mind Crush, or whatever silly thing he called it. The hollowness that overcame me. It sounds stupid if I try to put it into words. I couldn't believe it was real, that it was actual magic, for so long. It feels like I'm just now sorting out what happened to me even though I got over it so long ago." With a rueful smirk, he echoed," I guess I'm finally beginning to heal."

"That's good," Bakura encouraged, a small smile trying to play convincingly on his face.

Kaiba looked to Bakura with harsh, serious eyes, not good with emoting seriousness without his tactical coldness as well. "You're accepting what happened and how you feel about it, so you'll heal too."

Bakura averted his gaze, not used to such direct speech. "I… I suppose you're right."

"I'm rarely wrong."

Bakura laughed, earning a confused look from Kaiba. "It's just, you said that so sincerely, and you weren't trying to be arrogant, but-" Bakura laughed again, earning a scowl. "I'm sorry, it's just that if anyone else said that in this instance, I'd think them boasting, but you're just being truthful."

"We finished our project," Kaiba diffidently stated.

"Yes, we did."

Kaiba stood up and walked to the other side of his study, inspecting his book case. "Would you like to be chauffeured to your apartment?"

Bakura could see through his purposefully aloof air, but he bet Kaiba just didn't know how to carry on from what had happened. Bakura had to admit to himself he didn't really know what friends would do after that either. He was usually alone when something like that happened. Playing it off like being offered a limo ride was nothing out of the ordinary, Bakura said," It would beat waiting at the trainstop."

Kaiba trailed a finger across the tomes, some old and ready for professional rebinding, others so new that they stiffly refused to open all the way. There were many books on this shelf that Kaiba had read so many times that he could legitimately recite them from memory, they were comforting even if some of them would be considered rather dry and boring by most. He didn't have to wander over here to find the book he was after, having long ago memorized his entire collection's order, but he still scanned through each book, feeling a sense of home as he did so, until his eyes fell on the prize. Hooking his finger over the top of the book and carefully sliding it out, Kaiba turned around briskly walked back to Bakura who now stood.

Holding out the book stiffly, Kaiba cleared his throat and said," I like to read this after a nightmare." That whole shelf was filled with books for that very purpose, but this one was in a language Bakura spoke and had some material Kaiba thought he might find interesting.

Bakura cautiously grabbed hold of the book, sending a look to confirm he was really supposed to take it. With a nod of approval, Bakura accepted it and ran a hand over the weathered cover. It had clearly been read many times in many places. Well taken care of as it may be, it showed little signs of water damage and the cover had subtle patterns of broad hands holding it from where the sun had bleached much of the cover over the years.

"Thank you," Bakura said with a bow. He held the book to his heart, silently hoping its very presence could ward away the tension in his chest. The title didn't promise a very exciting read; it surely wasn't a sci-fi fantasy like Bakura normally read. Regardless, Bakura looked forward to reading a book that Kaiba must have held dear.

Kaiba looked away and hummed in response, setting his shoulders and appearing to be in a whole other world of his own. Bakura dismissed himself and left Kaiba to staring at the bookshelf, able to guess his welcome was about to be overstayed.

The same chauffeur opened the door for him as he left the grandiose mansion, and he rode home in style.

~~
~~

Their presentation was easily the most put together, and by far the most in depth on their topic. It went off without a hitch, and Bakura was relieved that it was over. He smiled awkwardly as they got enthusiastic applause from his fan club, and Bakura noted curiously that Kaiba bristled under the attention. Kaiba’s presentations were always well received, though Bakura supposed usually not so excitedly.

“It was a relief to work with someone actually competent,” Kaiba told Bakura as they left the front and were about to sit through painfully uninspired presentations from other students. Kaiba frowned as he mulled over his next sentence, and finally said,” If you wanted to be partners again, I wouldn't say no."

"Sounds good," Bakura agreed with a smile. He was always stuck accepting one of the over enthusiastic students that were less interested in school than they were in him, and that got old quickly. Working with Kaiba had been simple, when they actually worked on schoolwork, and he looked forward to their next assignment.

~~
~~

They started hanging out in the evenings, even when they didn't have projects together. Bakura wasn't quite sure how it happened. He'd just show up and come inside whenever he felt like. They often didn't talk, just hanging out in the same space, Kaiba busy writing up stock reports or projecting figures on his corporation's products, Bakura reading or working on a model he brought along. He couldn't paint his stuff here, but he liked to whittle new figures in a particular chair in Kaiba's second study.

Sometimes they played various games, everything from chess to Pandemic. Kaiba taught Bakura cribbage, and Bakura brought Arkham Horror to the table. It had been a long time since Bakura could freely play board games and simple card games. He got the feeling that Kaiba wasn't used to it either. They never played Duel Monsters. The game had too much at stake for Kaiba, and Bakura found himself unsettled picking up the cards he owned, knowing they all were traded and dealt by the thief much more than himself.

"I found a new game in America on my last business trip that I thought you'd like," Kaiba said one day as Bakura walked into the study like it was his own room. Kaiba was behind his desk, looking up from what looked like a headache's worth of paperwork.

"Really?" Bakura asked, a little excitement showing in the bounce in his step as he came closer. He dropped his book bag on the couch.

"I had it translated to Japanese since it was so text reliant," Kaiba said, resuming his typing. It was simple data entry at this point, nothing that required hard thought, but it was better off done sooner than later. Diligently keeping on top of his work was the only way to keep this company strong, and he couldn't afford a single dip in sales. Too many close calls had already hit stocks over the past couple years, and he would not fail after he had put so much work in.

Bakura smiled, taking his seat in the leather chair that was up against the wall near Kaiba's desk. He looked forward to playing whatever game was in store. He was relieved it would be in Japanese. The last game they had tried to play in English had taken a lot of extra time just with Kaiba parsing it all out for Bakura. He may be taking English as an elective, but his English was not ready for fantasy game lingo.

"What's it like to know so many languages?" He asked, getting comfortable in the chair since he could tell Kaiba still had a while before he'd be done with paperwork, and Kaiba never put off his work to play games.

Kaiba did pause his rapid typing, thinking about the question for a moment before shrugging. "It just seems natural at this point." Languages of the business world had been ground into him by his adoptive father, as well as the classics for literature's sake. He picked up Russian for fun, though that was his weakest language.

"I wish I started learning another language when I was young. I feel like I'm getting nowhere with English right now."

Out all the horrible things about his adoptive father, Kaiba was appreciative of the intensive language programs he underwent. He was fluent in six languages, could read in two more, and could scrape by in several others.

Bakura acknowledged Kaiba had spared as much time as he was willing until he finished working, so he closed his eyes and waited his turn, dozing dangerously close to napping.

Bakura woke with a start, muffling his gasp and making every attempt the hide his sudden panic. Kaiba was still absorbed in his work, and thankfully missed Bakura's jolt that nearly toppled the chair he was curled up in. He couldn't remember what he must have dreamt of, but he had a sneaking suspicion. He calmed himself by watching Kaiba type. It was memorizing. Elegant, rarely halting, and fluid like every word that he would ever type had been laid out before him to a score of music.

He never hunted and pecked, like Bakura sometimes gave in to doing. Such rhythmic but steady clicking was soothing and Bakura soon found himself dozing again.

Play your next move you have to play your next move if you can't you lose your soul. Everyone is waiting for your next roll everyone is waiting for your next play, and if you can't play they'll all lose their souls.

All the sculptures you've worked so hard on all the figures you've painted so pretty every miniature is a friend of yours. You can never be lonely you'll never be alone every friend is kept for eternity.

Bakura opened his eyes blearily, not being jarred awake but merely floating from dark unconsciousness to hazy reality. Tears were dried on his face, and he idly scratched at the salty trails to clean them away before Kaiba noticed. Fresh tears still rolled down his cheeks, and he cursed his weakness while sleeping.

"Bakura?"

Bakura's eyes snapped up to Kaiba, and then quickly looked away, Bakura's cheeks beginning to flush. Muffled by his sweater he was shrinking into, he declared," We can't play any games today." He hoped he didn't insult or disappoint Kaiba when the other had picked out a game especially for him and gone through the effort of having it translated.

Kaiba stared for a bit, his typical calculating expression, and then closed his laptop. Coming over to Bakura, he took a knee beside the chair and asked gently," And why is that?" His lips were a flat line, his eyebrows set with no stress in any direction.

"Please don't be mad," Bakura asked, seeing the lips as pursed and the eyebrows as sharp. He played with the ends of his sleeves anxiously, a small hole having already been worried into existence.

"I'm…" Kaiba's face took on a look of brief confusion. "I'm not mad."

"Sorry."

"It's fine," Kaiba assured Bakura, resting a hand over Bakura's reassuringly. He'd learned not to insist on the other not apologizing, it only lead to more apologies and frustration. He tried lifting his eyebrows ever so slightly, trying to let his eyes crinkle with a subtle smile. Emulating a mild positive expression was hard for him, but he gave it his best. "I have an aggressive neutral expression. It can be unsettling, purposefully so. I'm sorry." He trained himself to have the sternest resting expression, a golden poker face. It was effective in business, and unnerving to many which had been an asset most of his life. He had a hard time turning it off.

"No, you don't have to apologize. I just- I thought you were upset. You got a game just for me and all." He felt embarrassed if he had really just begged Kaiba not to be mad because his natural resting face. That had to be insulting somehow. Bakura could just curl up in a hole and never leave right now.

"We can play it some other time," Kaiba dismissed.

"Thank you." Bakura was relieved, and it showed everywhere from his face to how his tense shoulders drooped.

"Still, I'm curious. Why can't we play?"

Bakura looked away, his eyes not really focusing. He chewed on his lip idly and began to play with the hem of his sweater with his free hand.

"Bakura."

"You could enter a coma," Bakura meekly answered, screwing his eyes shut at how silly it sounded aloud. Kaiba had to think he was nuts.

"I'm not going to fall into a coma-"

Bakura interjected much louder than he'd been all day," You have before!" Opening his eyes, he grimaced as the expression looking back at him was decidedly not neutral or happy. A mix of confusion and hurt crinkled Kaiba's brow.

"You could be more susceptible," Bakura expounded. "And so many people have fallen into comas because of playing games with me. I couldn't bare if one more person did, especially you." He sniffled and wiped at his tears with his sleeve. Even as he set his arm back down, he felt his cheeks grow wet again.

"This is… because of the thief, right?" Kaiba had a lot to catch up on, so resolutely denying everything for so long, but he was a quick learner.

Bakura nodded.

Kaiba sighed, resting a hand over Bakura's ear and catching a tear with his thumb. Tucking his long hair behind his ear, Kaiba ran his fingers through the white locks a few times, making sure to run his nails lightly over Bakura's scalp. He quickly learned how positively Bakura responded to light, affectionate touch, and while it was difficult for him to think to do it of his own accord, Kaiba made an effort. "The thief is gone, he won't put me in a coma," he reassured Bakura.

"He could come back at any moment," Bakura warned," and he's such a good actor. No one would ever know."

"I think I would be able to tell," Kaiba scoffed. Few people were truly good actors, not before Kaiba's scrutiny.

"Were you ever able to before? Duelist Kingdom, Battle City? Did you ever notice I wasn't me?" Bakura's eyes were wide, the importance of this question ringing through his expression.

"No," Kaiba admitted," but I didn't know you back then."

Bakura accepted this with a slow nod. Maybe Kaiba would be the one person who could actually tell if the parasite ever took over again.

"What makes you think he's coming back? I thought one of the Yuugi's defeated him and his soul was… lost, or some end like that."

"He always comes back. No matter what I do, he'll find a way to come back. I'm his host, and so long as the lights are still on, he'll barge back in when finds his way out of whatever hole he's wormed his way into."

The solemn sincerity of the sentiment made Kaiba frown a little and redouble his efforts of brushing through Bakura's hair soothingly. Some days, he wished he stayed blissfully ignorant of the true mystical happenings that went on around him. He would never have to be forlorn that he couldn't ever truly settle his score with his true rival, he'd just think it was Yuugi all along and that he still had hope of facing him in a duel and reclaiming his honor. He'd never have to question his place in the universe, how some dumb look alike priest existed three thousand years ago and possibly was the very reason he existed today. He'd never have to feel truly sorry for what Bakura had endured, and be heartwrenchingly aware of how awful the Spirit of the Ring had been and what he had been willing to do.

"I have a few more pages of work, but then we could do something, your choice. No games," Kaiba promised, already working out a formula in his head so he could quicken his pace.

Bakura looked over at the desk piled with paperwork and thought how Kaiba had actually paused his work to come over here. It was mundanely amazing, and a small warmth caught in Bakura's heart. Smiling as he sniffled, Bakura nodded. "That sounds good."

Bakura ended up teaching Kaiba the beginner's steps to making models. He enjoyed how seriously Kaiba took every step, striving for perfection in every small motion. It showed how much he was willing to focus every minute detail, believing that if one tried hard enough and never slacked on any small aspect, they would succeed.

"No, you have to hold it like this," Bakura gently corrected, showing how his thumb was carefully out of the way, but still supporting base of the woodblock.

Taking direction well when it came from someone he trusted to be the authority on the matter, Kaiba adjusted his grip and continued to wittle. Bakura was making a full out character, but Kaiba was just trying to manage a basic prism.

Two hours passed, them quietly working on the craft. Kaiba appreciated how often they could forego speech, and how it didn't seem awkward. He also looked forward to when they spoke. Bakura thought carefully before speaking, and Kaiba was glad to have a conversation partner that didn't nervously prattle to fill space, but just spoke when they felt there was something to be said.

Kaiba side glanced at Bakura's piece. He was working slowly on his figure, probably for Kaiba's benefit so that he could see how it was properly done. He understood how much Kaiba valued the micro-facets to every action, how they connected and lent to the next stages and would pay off in the end. He held a beautiful elven mage, delicately detailed all except for his face. His robes had folds and his short hair had clearly sectioned bangs. The amount of care that was put in was incredible, and it was clear his hands were well practiced. Kaiba looked back at his own botched prism with a wry smirk.

"It takes practice. A lot of muscle memory," Bakura encouraged," That's a really good first attempt. The corners have really defined edges!"

"You don't have to sugar coat it. It's not very good at all."

With an enigmatic tilt of his head, Bakura commented," You're so critical of anything you do."

Kaiba looked at him, confusion creasing his brow and crinkling his eyes. A small frown pulled at his lips as he responded," Of course I am." He had been trained to be. It had been hammered to his very core that if something wasn't being done with every fraction of attention that could be spent, it wasn't worth the time to do it. He had to strive to be the best, or he would sink to mediocrity like all the rest who didn't have what it took to succeed.

"Well, try just enjoying this. When it comes to art, a master is someone who's failed more than a beginner's even tried," Bakura said. "The discipline is important, and attention to the basics is key to a smooth model, but if you're frustrated with the results of the first few, you'll never make any more or get any better."

"I don't get discouraged easily," Kaiba refuted, having taken a little umbrage at the insinuation.

Bakura shook his head with a light laugh and said," I guess I forgot who I was talking to. Still, try to take it a little more lightly. You'll enjoy yourself more."

Kaiba narrowed his eyes on the rubbish triangular prism and hummed bitterly. He supposed he could try and force himself to not expect immediate perfection, but Bakura was asking a lot. "Okay, so should I start a new piece if this one is shot?"

Bakura wryly smiled and insisted," Just because it won't be displayed for all time and eternity doesn't mean it's shot. It's a great chance to try new skills, like add a pattern to the sides, or try scalloping the edges." He took the prism and slowly showed the process of a simple pattern he liked to use on hair. "Try that on the rest of that side," he prompted.

Kaiba nodded and took back the ugly prism, though… now that he was looking at it more as a chance to test the skills he'd want to use on his finished pieces in the future… It didn't look so ugly. He smiled slightly, probably giving the Mona Lisa a run for her money in the competition of least facial muscles used, and took Bakura's words to heart.

A few minutes later, Bakura set his knife down and broke the renewed silence with," Look, it's you." He held up the miniature he'd been working on this whole time. The elf was presumably taller for a figurine despite only being about eight centimeters tall if one took the body proportions into account. The robes were reminiscent of Kaiba's favorite, white jacket and a stoic mein was engraved on the finished face.

Kaiba was impressed by the likeness and sincerely said," It's really good. It looks just like me." Aside from the pointed ears and fantasy wardrobe of course.

"Thanks. So long as we never play with it, you're safe," Bakura quietly said, a lot less joyful than he had been moments before.

Kaiba trained a studying look on Bakura, catching and berating himself for the intense neutral expression while breaking his stare. He wanted to ask if Bakura really believed the thief would come back, if it was worth giving up the thing he enjoyed most because of his fear. He didn't know how to phrase it except for in an accusatory fashion, and so simply said," If we were to play with it, what class would it be?" He'd read up on all of the rules of Monster World after Bakura had off handedly said it was his favorite game.

"Beast tamer, of course," Bakura said, holding back a laugh as he thought about how Kaiba would react to finding out that was the same class he pegged Yuugi as. "A beast tamer with a penchant for raising dragons."

"Naturally I would work with the best nature has to offer," Kaiba said with a grave tone.

Bakura spun the figure around anxiously. He found he couldn't exactly remember how he'd explained things earlier, having been a little to upset for clear thinking at the time. "Did I tell you about how my darker half sealed all of Yuugi's team into their mini's I made for them?"

"You mentioned friends much more broadly, and didn't specify how they fell."

"It was awful, I'd black out and regain consciousness to a group of unconscious people, enough times I had to transfer schools often. Then Yuugi came, and with Atem, he was able to foil the spirit of the ring, but there was still that chance we'd lose and their souls would be trapped forever. I handpainted so many figures, and offered them in good faith to people I claimed to be friends with… and it was only a set up for them to lose their soul. I don't know why I continue to make these anymore." Bakura dropped the Kaiba figurine in his nervous twirling of it, and bleakly watched it fall to the ground. He didn't move to pick it up.

"But your game with Yuugi went well. You won," Kaiba argued lightly, trying to be as uplifting as he could. "And Yuugi, or his double probably, was able to beat the thief again at a roleplaying game, banishing his spirit. Even if the Millennium Ring did come back, and that's a big if, I'm pretty sure I could stand a fair chance against him. I… I never got to get even with… Atem, but I stood my ground and proved myself more than a light challenge. I would have beat him if we ever faced off again, I'm sure of it. I could hold my own against the thief, I promise you."

Kaiba reached easily for the mini, and put back in Bakura's hands. "So if we ever decided to play Monster World, I would be proud to use such a miniature, and I wouldn't have a single fear on my mind." Meeting Bakura's eyes as the other finally looked up at him, Kaiba assured him," But in the meantime, it will showcase your talent and stand proud with your collection. L'art pour l'art, art for the sake of art… It doesn't need to serve a utilitarian purpose to hold intrinsic value."

Bakura looked at Kaiba like he was an oasis in the middle of the desert. Kaiba's words were so needed, he couldn't even properly appreciate their beauty as he earnestly drank them in. He looked away after a solid twenty seconds, his eyes falling back to the mini in his hands. He marveled at how it looked pleasing again, the grim hold that his fears had painted fading away as he now eagerly imagined a paint scheme.

Chapter Text

"Hey," Bakura casually greeted as he wandered into Kaiba's sun room. "Yuugi and everyone invited us for pizza tomorrow."

"Us?" Kaiba asked, looking up from his book with eyes that read blatant disbelief.

Bakura tilted his head to read the spine of the book. The title was long, and Bakura thought it was probably French. He gave up trying to uncover its secrets pretty quickly. "Okay, me," Bakura admitted," but I said you might be interested and they eagerly invited you."

Kaiba shrugged and said," They were probably just being polite." His voice was dull, playing uninterested and dismissive, but the discomfort came through loud and clear.

Bakura joined Kaiba on the garden swing chair, upsetting the careful balance and sending them rocking. "Maybe, but they seemed really happy when I mentioned you."

Kaiba hadn't directly talked to any of them since the ceremonial duel. He had never intended to start talking to Bakura either, and only… did he believe enough in fate now to peg it as a reason? Only chance had it that Bakura was randomly assigned to him as a partner and saw him at his most vulnerable. "I wouldn't fit in," Kaiba said, pointedly returning his attention to his book.

Bakura commented," We're quite a motley crew as it is. I don't think one more will change that." He stared around at the gorgeous plants, many exotic that he'd never seen outside of movies. This room was a favorite of Bakura's, but Kaiba didn't spend a whole lot of time in it. He mostly only read here when he seemed to have something on his mind. Bakura couldn't understand not spending every day in the verdant paradise; the fresh aroma was alluring enough.

Bakura cautiously rested up against Kaiba, knowing that sudden contact sometimes made the other uneasy. He started with slowly matching his forearm to Kaiba's, then after a small nod, Bakura knew it was okay to lean against him. Kaiba was so much taller than he, but most of his height was in his legs, so their torsos lined up relatively well, Bakura just falling short. He got so much comfort from resting his head on Kaiba's shoulder and feeling another's warmth as their bodies fit together in an odd but perfect way, he wondered if Kaiba felt the same.

"So… would you want to come?" Bakura asked after a while, letting Kaiba think on it before bothering to ask. When not crunched for time, he knew Kaiba preferred to avoid snap decisions.

"I haven't decided."

"Okay," Bakura dismissed to assure him there was no pressure. He closed his eyes and pushed with his feet so they rocked slowly. If Kaiba minded, he never said anything. After a while, he got out the book Kaiba had lent him. He'd read it four times now. Bakura had been wrong when he initially assumed it would be boring, having correctly guessed it not to be fantasy in any sort. He'd also been surprised to find one of Kaiba's most favored books was a book on swordsmanship.

A Book of Five Rings, a book that explained the Way of a warrior, advocating a no-nonsense approach to battle and encouraging its readership to learn through constant practice, rather than just reading. It was dry and direct, but it hit points clearly and conveyed great discipline. It certainly fit Kaiba after a proper read through, and Bakura especially appreciated the last and smallest book of five, the book of void that outlined that which existed determined that which did not, and one's understanding of the world did not play into what was the void.

They both read quietly.

Kaiba broke the silence with," Do you really think they want me to come?"

"Yes," Bakura answered simply, looking to Kaiba and meeting his eyes. The harsh gaze he met made him want to shrink away, but he steeled himself. Kaiba was just thinking really hard, Bakura had to remind himself that. He wasn't actually angry. Bakura had to look away so he didn't give away his sudden unease.

"Well, since you'll be there," Kaiba finally decided, his voice quiet with uncertainty. It was uncomfortable to make decisions he wasn't entirely confident in. Choosing not to go would have been a confident choice, he usually stayed home and he knew what to expect, but he figured he owed it Bakura to at least try.

"I'll let them know. They'll be happy to hear!" Bakura chirped, getting out his mobile and sending a quick text to Anzu.

Kaiba felt his stomach drop as he watched the characters fill the tiny screen and the message be sent away. Now he was bound by digital affirmation. He had to go, there was no getting out of it. Even having taken twenty minutes to make up his mind, he felt like it was a rash decision. Sure he'd weighed all the pros and cons, but most of the pros had been chalked up to the fact he wasn't really sure what they were. What were the pros to going out to eat in a group, casually when it wasn't aiding a business deal to run smoothly?

"Kaiba?" His soft eyes stared up at him with a look of concern.

"I just don't want to… impose. Make them feel like they have to let me tag along."

"That's not how it is at all, I promise you!" Bakura rested his head back on Kaiba's shoulder. "And I'll remind you every hour if I have to."

Kaiba thought over Bakura's words and rested his chin on top of Bakura's head. He closed his book in his lap and left it as his arms instinctively folded. The barrier kept the rest of the world at bay- the rest of the world except for Bakura. A calloused hand covered his, fingers slipping between his so they locked together.

"We can leave at anytime," he promised softly, rubbing his thumb over Kaiba's forefinger gently. His hands were smaller, so their hands always matched up so Kaiba's thumb was always on the outside.

"That won't be necessary," Kaiba murmured.

Bakura didn't fight it. He did reveal though," It's not easy for me either."

"But they're your group of friends."

Bakura frowned at the choice of words. It was so clear how hard he distanced himself from them, though he couldn't exactly blame him. It would be hard for him to look Yuugi in the face if his alter ego who looked exactly like him had dealt penalties to him like Atem had to Kaiba. Jounouchi had said some pretty hurtful things over the years to the effect that he assumed Kaiba had no feelings, and Honda and Anzu had never been overly warm to Kaiba either. Bakura bitterly wondered how his yami had spoken to Kaiba if they ever met in all the chaos between Duelist Kingdom and the Dark Game.

"I'm always surprised they even tolerate my presence after Death-T."

Bakura squeezed Kaiba's hand lightly. "They don't even think about that anymore. That was years ago, and you've helped them a lot since."

A dismissive hum.

"I got them all trapped in miniatures before, they're pretty forgiving." He was going to fight this tooth and nail. He wouldn't let Kaiba convince himself he didn't deserve friends; he'd been doing that for too much of his life.

Another begrudging hum.

~~
~~

Bakura waved Kaiba over as he saw him enter the pizza shop. Yuugi and Anzu were already here, having come early to square away a large table for the six of them. Kaiba looked so out of place in the pizza parlour, full three piece suit in white with a blue vest and tie and shined up blue shoes with white spats… Bakura rested his chin in his propped up hand and smiled dreamily, taking in how Kaiba had clearly emulated the Blue Eyes. It was kind of precious how dedicated and passionate to the card he was.

Yuugi was immediately standing and welcoming Kaiba, who in turn was distant and answered questions with one word answers. Yuugi didn't seem to mind, his face lighting up just like it did for everyone else he cared about. Anzu urged him to sit down, stay a while, an amused grin playing at her lips, and Bakura eagerly scooted over so Kaiba could join him on the booth with Anzu.

Soon after, Honda and Jounouchi were barrelling in, and it was only a matter of time before pizzas were being ordered with Jounouchi claiming he'd eat an entire one himself.

"Okay, it's been way too long, Kaiba," Jounouchi said as he sat down in the spinning chairs across from the booth. "We just gotta' duel."

"Can't you guys hold a conversation for five minutes before jumping to games," Anzu complained, but she rolled her eyes and laughed.

Yuugi piped up timidly," I wouldn't mind a duel either."

Honda hand waved it and took the seat across from Anzu.

Bakura stared at the decks already being set on the table. It'd been so long since he dueled. Years since he, himself, dueled despite knowing his hands had been shuffling cards only months ago. "I, uh, didn't bring my deck," he said a little meekly. He exchanged glances with Kaiba, catching a look of understanding from the other. Bakura wanted to play, but he had stopped carrying his deck with him long ago.

"No matter," Kaiba dismissed, hefting his briefcase off the floor and onto the table with a heavy thud. Typing in a quick code with practiced hands, he opened it to reveal his coveted rare cards. He slid the metal case over to Bakura and looked Yuugi and Jounouchi in the eyes, his cold expression sharpening to seriousness as he proposed," With the deck Bakura constructs, we'll have a tag duel."

Jounouchi narrowed his eyes and asked," Tag dueling?" He was always suspicious of Kaiba, especially when he brought up new terms or rare rules.

"A two on two format. Two players form a team and share life points, but their fields are separate. They can freely share their hands and strategies with their teammate," Kaiba efficiently described.

"Like against the Meikyuu brothers," Yuugi recalled, beaming at Jounouchi. He held out a hand, and Jounouchi clasped it.

"We've always made a great team. You're on!" The excited shout was directed at Kaiba, and then he looked to Bakura. "You take all those rare cards and make the coolest deck! I haven't seen you duel in forever!"

Bakura sheepishly smiled and said," I'll try my best. It's been a while."

"By the way," Kaiba interjected. "Limited cards are per team, not per deck. So cards like Raise the Dead and Critter can only appear once between either player's deck. If you need to make substitutions, you can browse my collection-" He waved a hand over his open briefcase. "After Bakura is done with it."

"Aw man, what are all the limited cards again?" Jounouchi thought aloud, thumbing through his deck quickly.

Yuugi leaned over and commented," Well, that card is, but I don't have it, so we're good. Same with that one… Oh, one of us will have to replace that card…"

Kaiba sat back and relaxed, looking over at Bakura as the other swiftly inventoried the briefcase. He was a quick thinker, so Kaiba was sure he'd be able to construct a rough deck easily. It didn't have to be great when being supported by his dragon deck.

Bakura was delightedly surprised how many occult and dark cards Kaiba had brought. It wasn't so many as to be the theme of the collection, but it was definitely enough to build a theme deck. He suspected that was on purpose, seeing how few dragon themed cards were packed and knowing how much Kaiba preferred them. Bakura wondered how long ago Kaiba had assembled this particular set of cards, and if he'd been waiting to showcase them to Bakura.

He was still working out his deck when the pizza came out, and made a clear show of closing the case and protecting the cards before delving in. He'd been too engrossed with deck building to pay attention to the conversation and was not surprised to come back to a discussion on the new set and how they felt about the spread of power among the cards.

"I personally like how agro it is," Kaiba defended.

"But it doesn't give you a chance to get all of your favorites on the field," Jounouchi protested.

Kaiba smirked and said," It does if you actually have skill."

Everyone laughed as Jounouchi predictably flared at this and Honda had to remind him the fight hadn't even begun yet. Bakura was the only one who paid more mind to Kaiba's reaction to the verbal exchange. He was relieved to see Kaiba was enjoying himself, and not just at how well his delivery of the insult went, but how well it was received, even by Jounouchi who was playfully arguing back and dishing dirt of his own.

Anzu enthusiastically brought up a music group coming to the area, not so subtly changing the subject off of duel monsters for a second, and Yuugi happily entertained the idea of them all going to see it together.

Bakura watched the guarded look come back to Kaiba's eyes, and when Kaiba sent him a muted look of panic, he smiled and gestured to everyone with a sense of, well, why not?

Swallowing the lump out of his throat as he nodded at Bakura's clear message, Kaiba added to the discussion," They tour mostly in Europe, so this is a rare chance to see them domestically."

"You know of them?" Anzu asked with bright eyes, honestly surprised.

With everyone's eyes on him, Kaiba folded his arms and matter of factly replied," Of course. They are a big client of KaibaCorp, using solid vision for their special effects."

"Man, I thought that was really fire on stage," Honda sighed, his vision of their daring shattered

"I thought KaibaCorp only did gaming," Yuugi thought aloud.

Kaiba reminded," Entertainment, gaming is just our main focus. We've built several parks, with full divisions of staff in architecture and solid vision stage design." A brief moment of awkwardness passed over the table as every member but Bakura suddenly recalled just what kind of parks had been built and the various attractions that had been constructed.

Bakura looked around, thinking rapidly of how to diffuse the situation, jumping quickly to," KC Grand Prix had to take quite the team in constructing all those cool fields for the battles, huh?" He'd watched it on TV, cheering Yuugi and Jounouchi on from Japan. Now that he thought about it, he didn't actually remember the outcome past the first round. That was around the time he'd began running.

This was easily accepted, and Honda brought up," We should invite Otogi and Shizuka too."

"And Mai if anyone can track her down," Jounouchi tagged on glumly.

Kaiba rose an eyebrow at this but said nothing. The meal was winding down, the last slices all being claimed, and Kaiba got to his feet.

"Huh? Where are you going?" Jounouchi asked.

"To get napkins. I won't be playing with my cards on a grease soaked table."

"C'mon, don't you have a maid for that?"

"I couldn't pay anyone enough to clean and put up with your idiocy." Kaiba was on a roll, having secured the last laugh every verbal battle thus far. It lessoned how anxious he was, and he was thankful how easy of a target Jounouchi was. Victoriously, he sauntered away to get the napkins.

By the time he finished cleaning the table, everyone's deck was ready. Their duel started immediately, and quickly turned into a close duel. Everyone's favorites hit the board at some point. Flame Swordsman, Black Magician, Summoned Skull… A surprising turn with Swordsman of Landstar and Chained Boomerang taking out Emerald Dragon with a boost from Landstar Shot.

It all came down to only Yuugi's Silent Swordsman defending the field with their life total at 400, and Bakura and Kaiba with no monster and a life total of 850. Bakura drew his card for the turn and looked over to see what Kaiba pulled. Bakura didn't hide his disappointment well. Nothing needed defusing at the moment…

Nibbling on his lip as he looked at his own hand and tried to formulate a plan, it came to him an epiphany how they could win this turn, but… He looked to Kaiba and debated even mentioning it.

"Um, Kaiba," Bakura spoke up. He got the other's attention and slid one card in his hand up to bring scrutiny to it. Premature Burial only required 800 life points to operate, and while there was nothing in the graveyard at the moment that could beat Silent Swordsman by enough to win the game, Kaiba did have a Blue Eyes in his hand, as well as Cost Down.

Kaiba stared at the two hands, making the same leaps as Bakura. He never let others use his Blue Eyes. He'd worked so hard to obtain them all, and they were his. The brief instances of working together with Yuugi had been uneasy enough, and they had been life or death duels that required him to put his reservations aside. This was just a friendly duel, and they still had plenty of opportunity to find a different win. He could see the hesitation in Bakura's eyes as he suggested the plan, and knew the other was completely aware he might say no.

As he stared at his Blue Eyes for a moment longer, Bakura said," Don't worry about it. We've got other options." His words were warm, showing he was not insulted like Kaiba momentarily feared he may be.

"No, that's the best strategy," Kaiba dismissed Bakura's attempt at playing it off. He pulled Cost Down out of his hand and flipped it so the other team could see. "Cost Down lets me discard a card from my hand to lower the levels of monsters on my side of the field and hand by two." Slipping Blue Eyes away from the other cards of his hand, he calmly continued," I choose to send Blue Eyes White Dragon to my graveyard, which my partner and I can both access as their own." He set both down in the stack of cards, but quickly picked the monster card back up and looked to Bakura.

"And I play Premature Burial at the cost of 800 life points, allowing me to place one monster card from my graveyard to the field and equip this card to it," Bakura finished as he placed it in his spell zone and accepted Kaiba's card, setting the Blue Eyes in attack mode on his field.

"Hah, well the joke's on you. Next standby phase of ours, Yuugi's swordsman'll match your Blue Eyes," Jounouchi bragged as he flipped a trap card. "I activate Celebration of Creation, which can only be activated by a special summoning of a monster by spell or trap and makes it your end phase."

"Nightmare's Cross," Bakura said softly as he flipped his own trap card. "Your trap is negated and I may select one monster on your side of the field who may not attack, but more importantly can be bypassed if there are no other monsters for a direct attack." He smiled, that quiet and meek expression that was passively boastful. "I attack you with Blue Eyes White Dragon for 3000 points of direct damage."

Jounouchi stared at the table, as if unable to accept the cards laid out on it and how they fit together. While Yuugi was busy explaining to Jounouchi that, yes, that was a fair win, an Anzu and Honda listened intently to Yuugi, Bakura whispered to Kaiba,"It's a relief to duel with someone actually competent. If you wanted to partner up again, I wouldn't say no."

The look of surprise that morphed to a wry smirk was worth the comment, but their moment was quickly interrupted by Jounouchi. "Okay, so you won that, but what do you say to a rematch?"

"Don't be a sore loser," Honda sighed.

"We also shouldn't spend the rest of the day here if we aren't going to order anything," Anzu tagged on.

Kaiba straightened his tie with a gentle clearing of his throat and announced," It's probably best I get back to work anyways." He'd survived almost two hours socializing, that was more than enough.

"Work?" Anzu said with a wrinkled nose. "It's a Saturday."

"I have to rerun some numbers so we can get out this press release by tomorrow and-"

Honda scoffed," Don't you have people to do that for you?" The CEO couldn't really be expected to do every single menial task.

"Yes, but I do it better."

The innocent arrogance went over with a round of laughs, and Kaiba furrowed his brow with a small, confused pout. Bakura squeezed his knee under the table to get his attention and gave a reassuring nod, a bright look on his face to convey, they're laughing with you, not at you. Mostly, anyways. It was a good natured laugh, the same they laughed at Jounouchi for getting too enthused about showing how macho he was and Yuugi for having forgotten to sleep because he got so engrossed with a new game the night before. Perhaps they were being too familiar, acting like he should know how the group played fun at each other. It took Bakura some time to get used to, too. They meant well though.

Kaiba accepted Bakura's cue, his expression dropping to its icy neutral in the blink of an eye. Securing his briefcase and getting to his feet, Kaiba said with the briefest hesitation," It was an interesting duel, so, uh, thank you."

"It sure was," Yuugi enthused," we should definitely all hang out together again!"

Kaiba gave an awkward nod and left quickly. Bakura had to hold himself back as his body instinctively jumped, ready to chase after. Kaiba probably wouldn't want him to draw any more attention to his exit.

As everyone else was concluding they should probably get going too, Bakura got a text. Quickly checking it, he sighed with relief. [It wasn't horrible.] That was practically two thumbs up coming from Kaiba.

Chapter Text

The lights were off, and Bakura was reading A Book of Five Rings aloud softly. He stumbled over the words he couldn't make out via the faint light streaming in through the blinds, having much of the text half memorized, to the point he didn't have to be able to read every word to recite it somewhat smoothly. He laid in Kaiba's lap, the other's hand running through his hair slowly.

He'd been in the middle of the book of fire, and read that book and the next. By the time he finished wind, Kaiba's breathing had evened out and his hand had slowed until it had altogether stopped and just rested cupped around Bakura's head. The book of void was so short, Bakura read it anyways despite his work being done.

He laid the book on his stomach, looking up at Kaiba. He must not have slept all night. Bakura came only an hour ago, but Kaiba had been a nervous wreck and was now sound asleep at ten in the morning.

Bakura didn't dare move, not wanting to rouse Kaiba from his much needed slumber. Apparently he dozed off, because he woke to Kaiba running his hand through his hair again. It was so mundanely breath-taking to slowly come back to reality, not afraid of where he was or what he'd done, in the arms of someone he trusted. He took his time becoming fully conscious, letting himself stay in that dreamy state where time seemed to expand and collapse, hours and minutes were the same, and fleeting thoughts were lost to the void but repeated over and over…

When he finally opened his eyes, he saw Kaiba looking off in the distance, a pensive look chiseled into his face. Even when he was hiding everything, his face was so emotive to Bakura; it was never hard for him to guess how Kaiba was feeling when others seemed to grasp at straws and come away frustrated.

"You couldn't have gotten a whole night's sleep," Bakura chided. "You should still be sleeping."

"Three hours is enough," Kaiba dismissed, and Bakura frowned as he heard the other being completely truthful.

"It's better than none, I suppose."

Kaiba nodded idly, and Bakura raised an eyebrow. A somber air was expected, but his contemplativeness intrigued Bakura. "What are you thinking about?"

Kaiba didn't initially answer, and when he did, his voice was distant. "You didn't have to stick around, read to me, and stay until I woke."

"I haven't had to do anything for four months," Bakura stated, his voice echoing a bit of the confidence Kaiba's usually had. His stomach fluttered when Kaiba's lips pulled into a warm smile and his hand was squeezed comfortingly. "But I've chosen to do a lot of things. Such as sticking around, reading to you, and waiting for you to wake up."

Kaiba hummed thoughtfully, and didn't say anything. Bakura thought he was going to have to prompt him more, but Kaiba finally admitted," I guess, it seems surreal someone chose to do those things." He stopped running his hand through Bakura's hair and folded his arms defensively. He looked conflicted, a tragic reality brushing up against an equally true wonder.

Bakura sat up, brushing his hair out of his face and looking at Kaiba with a pained expression. What kind of life had Kaiba led? Bakura hadn't had anyone care for him for a long time, but at least he knew that people cared about others all the time.

"Mokuba has been the only one I've ever been able to count on," Kaiba commented. "I love him so much, and I would do anything for him, but…" No one had ever done the same for him. Mokuba was only now just getting to be old enough to take care of himself let alone others. Kaiba felt his cheeks flush and was thankful for how dark his room was. It was humiliating to admit this all, and he couldn't help but feel he was messing up. He never treaded into the waters of opening up, and it had worked just fine for him all of these years. That's why he lost so much sleep and had immobilizing bouts of dread.

Kaiba looked over and asked," What?" He didn't like how the look in Bakura's eyes made his stomach turn.

"I'm sorry."

"Wh-what? Why?"

Bakura leaned in and embraced Kaiba, his arms resting over Kaiba's loosely and his face burying into his broad shoulder. "You have lots of people who care about you now," he said, Kaiba's dress coat muffling his important message. "Yuugi, Anzu, everyone… we all would do anything for you."

Kaiba's arms fell limp in his lap, and he leaned into Bakura's hug with mute shock. He shook his head lightly, and tried to say something, but the words wouldn't form. To literally be left speechless was uncomfortably rare for Kaiba, and he frantically petitioned his brain to come up with something to say.

He failed.

Bakura squeezed Kaiba and reminded him," It's okay not to understand it. That comes with time."

"If my mind was swayed to believe in magic, I'm sure another conviction can be rocked."

"I'm glad to hear that."

"Thank you… for everything."

Bakura warmly replied," Anytime." He dropped his hug only so that he may lay back in Kaiba's lap. Today seemed like a good day for doing nothing. Kaiba absently started braiding Bakura's hair, resuming his thoughtful gaze trained nowhere in particular.

~~
~~

Bakura leaned against the cabinet door, holding his stomach uneasily. He couldn't reach the fridge door to close it, and couldn't muster the energy to crawl across the marble floor the little distance it would take to do it.

The light of the fridge was too bright, ruining his dark vision, in turn making Kaiba's entrance a mystery until he called out softly," Bakura?"

Bakura bleakly focused past the bright light to where he heard the voice, and could just make out the tall stature of Kaiba. "I feel sick," he groaned, closing his eyes regretfully. His eyes were squeezed tight to keep out the painful light, until he heard the mute thwump of the door sealing. Some of the dishes clattered as Kaiba navigated blind in the minefield of empty containers.

Bakura folded like a house of cards into the arms that tentatively wrapped around him. He felt Kaiba sit beside him so he could better support his weight. "You ate too much," he sympathetically concluded, rubbing Bakura's back gently.

With an anxious, shaky breath, Bakura explained," I was just so n-nervous a-and…"

"Shh, it's okay now. I'm going to make you some tea, okay?"

Bakura hummed in acknowledgement, wiping away some fresh tears. Within minutes the strong scent of peppermint filled the whole kitchen, large as it was. When Kaiba sat back down beside him, Bakura leaned against him and accepted the cup and saucer of steeping tea. The thought of consuming anything, even just tea, made his stomach sluggishly flip.

Kaiba resumed rubbing his back, taking a break only to run his hand through Bakura's hair for a while. "Peppermint will make you feel better," Kaiba promised softly, squeezing Bakura's shoulders encouragingly. It was a natural aid for indigestion and nausea.

Bakura nodded lightly, trusting Kaiba. He tentatively took a sip. Of course there was no immediate effect, it wasn't magic, but the distinct smell and flavor was calming in itself. He looked around furtively, his eyes just able to make out the evidence of what he'd done. A tray that had cold cuts of ham, several small cups of yogurt, the remains of a stalk of broccoli, a glass bowl that had been full of some fancy red sauce pasta, a partially eaten cake sat next to a mitarashi dango tray that only had some sauce left on it, further away was too far to make out in the dark… Bakura took a long, embarrassed swig of tea.

He snuggled against Kaiba as he drank his tea, calming down as time floated by. When he finished his tea, he set it to the side, bumping over an empty carton of milk. He guiltily buried his face against Kaiba's chest and cried softly.

Kaiba looked around uncertainly, hugging Bakura close and trying to come up with what he should say. "Do you want to talk about it?"

"I dreamed that he was back, and when I woke up, I was just so afraid he wouldn't feed me for another week and that I'd be so hungry, and… I just…" He broke off, feeling ridiculous. The thief wasn't back, they talked about that already, and even if he was, eating so much in one sitting wasn't going to keep him from being starving a week later.

"A week?" Kaiba asked with slight surprise.

"He always forgot to eat," Bakura said simply with a shrug. "Or he was doing it on purpose to punish me. I don't know."

Kaiba thought back on times he must have been dealing with the thief. He'd always assumed there was just one person he was dealing with, not knowing Bakura enough to know he wasn't sadistic or unhinged like the spirit Kaiba had talked to most was. He also thought back to the conclusion of Battle City and how his main kitchen fridge had been entirely emptied, despite having his staff stock it to last the entirety of their trip and then some.

"What was that rice stuff?"

Kaiba tried to recall what he'd had recently that had rice Bakura would be unfamiliar with. Bakura probably didn't eat a lot of middle eastern cuisine. "With lentils and onion?" He felt Bakura nod against his chest. "Mujadara, that was a Lebanese recipe."

"I'm sorry I ate all your food."

"It's okay," Kaiba reassured him.

"I'm really sorry."

"It's okay."

"b-but…"

Kaiba hushed Bakura gently, and reassured him," It's okay. I'm not mad or upset. I just want you to feel better."

Bakura let out the breath he didn't know he'd been holding. He laid down in Kaiba's lap, feeling a little better on his side so the weight of his stomach wasn't bearing down. He kicked a few empty containers out of the way as he got relatively comfortable. He still felt so bloated he never wanted to move again, but at least he wasn't so nauseous and the stomachache was lessening.

"There's nothing to do but sleep it off. I'm going to return to bed… Why don't you join me?" The floor wasn't a particularly great place to get one's sleep in for the night. Especially not on this cold, slate tile.

"Okay, but I can't get up." He slumped gently to the floor as Kaiba set him aside to stand up. Strong hands hooked under his armpits and pulled him to his feet. His legs were jelly as he tried to get his footing, and Bakura thought gloomily he must seem pathetic right now. All the stress of fearing for his life that had brought him to the kitchen in the first place was shaking through his legs. "I-I'm sorry, I'm trying…"

An arm hooked behind Bakura's knees, and Kaiba righted himself holding Bakura close. It was surreal, and Bakura closed his eyes feeling like he must be dreaming. The familiar scent of expensive leather and the feel of fine silk pajamas were so real, but Bakura had learned to doubt information he was presented. The thief could distort his perceptions. This could all be one large hallucination. Everything could be one long dream, the last four months could just be the thief giving him a false sense of hope, and it could all crumble around him as he woke up deathly famished again…

Bakura dismissed his late night fueled paranoia and focused on the gentle rocking of Kaiba's walking. If it was some large dream that would just be ripped out from underneath him later, he was going to live in the moment and enjoy it while it lasted.

They curled up into Kaiba's giant, plush bed, and Bakura pulled the silk sheets close. Resting his head on Kaiba's chest, he curled up to Kaiba and found himself slipping to sleep readily, feeling a sense of protection that warded away more nightmares.

Chapter Text

Bakura woke to bright sunlight, a full of wall of windows exposing the morning light. He laid still, listening to the steady beat of Kaiba's heart. Yawning and stretching, he sat up after a long while of soaking in the calm atmosphere. Ugh, stretching put more pressure on his stomach than he thought it would. He withdrew his arms quickly and rested them around his stomach.

Kaiba pushed himself up against the upholstered headboard, arranging the many pillows so there was a good space for Bakura to join him. When he did, Kaiba wrapped a long arm around him and pulled him close, then thought about how that was his natural inclination when it would have never crossed his mind to do so a month ago.

Bakura rested against Kaiba and spoke softly," I keep thinking about how he's doing, if his soul is at rest or destroyed, or lost somewhere and waiting to be found again."

"I really don't know much about this kind of stuff," Kaiba sighed, wishing he could be of help.

"And I can't ask Yuugi- they all actually know what happened in the Dark Game and before, but I was… not me for the entirety of it. I can't ask them though, because he's dealing with the loss of his friend, and I couldn't bring up the chance that my spirit is still lingering this world when the person that everyone actually wants around is gone for good. No one thought to tell me how everything went and I just have so many questions…"

"I'm sorry," Kaiba murmured. "I was there for a lot of it. Maybe I could help."

"Did you ever see him?"

Kaiba frowned as he thought over the question. He supposed he had, even if he wasn't aware of it at the time. Bakura wasn't like the man who'd endangered Mokuba's life for the sake of challenging him to a duel. "The thief? He gave me the millenium eye so I could join the Dark Game, though I didn't join until halfway through. I never saw him in the Game itself though."

"Oh," Bakura sighed disappointedly. "I was wondering how they won."

"We won by taking out Zorc with the gods combined. Horakhty smited Zorc in one strike."

"Zorc…?" Bakura asked breathlessly with a shiver, his eyes wide enough the whites of his eyes edged all sides of the iris. He stared up at Kaiba briefly before looking down languidly. "So the thief really is gone…" He gave a weak smile as he felt Kaiba's eyes on him. "Their souls were merged, so if Zorc was destroyed, the spirit of the ring must have been too." He suddenly felt tired like he'd been running, memories of the night he was chased into the church flitting through his mind.

With a forced laugh that lacked any humor, Bakura mused," I should be happy to hear this." He laughed again, but edged on being a sob. With another racking sob, he pulled away and covered his eyes with his hands. "What is wrong with me?"

Placing a hand on Bakura's shoulder, Kaiba insisted," There's nothing wrong with you."

Bakura shook his head. "There must be. I should be happy. He ruined my life. He took over and kept me in the darkness as he hurt my friends. I shouldn't miss him. I'm so messed up. There were even times when I thought he cared about me. He could have discarded my soul so easily, but he actually went out of his way to save it once."

Kaiba felt like a failure. He was never this personal with someone before; he had no clue what could even be comforting at this juncture. He had manipulation in the business world down pat, but basic understanding of regular human interaction and the emotional range in all their extremes were beyond him. Bakura never failed to make him feel better, but he didn't know how to return the favor.

"I'm sorry for dumping this all on you," Bakura said with a pout as he let his hands drop to his lap and looked back at Kaiba.

"No, I want to be here for you. I wish I could do more to help."

Bakura sighed and shrugged. He cast his eyes down and his frown became soft. "I just have a lot to think about. It's like no one really knows me, and I wish there was someone better to know."

"You're amazing, Bakura. You care so much, you can't help it. You're just so kind and accepting and thoughtful. You saw me when I was vulnerable and tried to play it off so I wouldn't get embarrassed, you offered help when no one else has… Bakura, please, know how wonderful you are."

Bakura's face read of disgust, like he didn't believe what he was hearing.

"Bakura… you're so kind, you care about the thief even when most wouldn't. That's not a flaw, it's selfless. He hurt you, and you still wish you could help him." Reaching out a hand, he smiled as Bakura took it. Squeezing it gently, he continued," There's nothing wrong with you, it's just going to take a long time to heal. He put you through a lot, you've had to overcome every situation he's left you in by yourself, but not anymore."

Bakura teared up, but with a grateful smile. The thief had kept him so distanced from everyone, that even though they were his friends, they couldn't really lend an ear- and now he would feel guilty to talk to Yuugi or Anzu about his yami. Kaiba was here for him though, Bakura thought with relief. He curled back up beside Kaiba, great solace warming him as Kaiba pulled him close and rested his chin on Bakura's head, rubbing Bakura's back gently and ignoring the clock that insisted they should get out of bed.