Yu-Gi-Oh! Fan Fiction ❯ From within the Flames ❯ Shocking Developments ( Chapter 5 )

A/N: Hey people we finally did it! We got out another chapter!

JC: You know that the Writer's Block demon had us in its claws but Kathrine is in the process of trying to cook it for her Goddess.

Kathrine: It would make a great stew!

JC: 0_0 Anyway, this was difficult. Mainly because we're trying hard to keep everyone in character even though they still have feelings. The Bakura part took us the longest.

Kathrine: As soon as we got to the Malik/Marik part though everything came easy so we just HAD to get it up for you people who have been waitin for so long.

JC: Now we won't answer reviews because it's 4:30 in the morning and we are very tired. Don't be surprised at the bad editing.

Kathrine: And Jou-pup we did create a character for you. He's very minor so don't worry. He just pops up this once and maybe later on for a cameo.

JC: Now everyone, enjoy! And thanks for all of the reviews. We've never had so many for one chapter before so we're honored you like this story so much.

Kathrine: Your kind words are highly appreciated.

Disclaimer: WE DON'T OWM YUGIOH!!!!!!! GOT THAT?!!!!

Warnings: YAOI/Shounen Ai, dark themes, cliffhangers(occasionally), anything else we forgot

From within the Flames

By Kathrine and JC

Chapter 5 - Shocking Developments

Yami sighed as he exited the game shop owned by Yugi's grandfather. He had gone by to make sure that nothing had happened the night before, seeing as Yugi was in the hospital. But now he was on his way to get Yugi and knew that his 'twin' would be pleased to know that everything was fine with the shop. Just as he was locking the door and hurrying off the front step, he almost tripped over a box that was in his way.

Catching himself, he looked down at the box in confusion. He knew it hadn't been there when he'd gone in the building and the mail didn't run on Sundays. Where did this come from? He wondered as he stooped down to pick it up. He touched the box and felt and strange shock go through him. The tri-color-haired instantly pulled away and gazed at the bow for a moment. Then he let out a relieved chuckle, " Probably just static electricity."

The name on the box was addressed to Yugi Mouto, but had no return address on it. Could it be from a secret admirer? Yami wondered. The thought alone made him want to chuck the box into the garbage and act like he'd never seen it. He was about to do just that, but stopped. Yugi might like the girl that sent this. I couldn't just throw it away. Sighing dismally, he walked over to his convertible and set the package in his front passenger seat. Then he got in and started it up, driving towards the hospital to pick up his friend.

*****

Ryou was heading towards Yugi's room to visit with him before Yami came to take him home, but couldn't deny that he felt tired. He'd felt drained since he woke up that morning and couldn't figure out why. Subconsciously, he ran his hands over the ring that was on the worn thread around his neck, letting the miniature obelisks dangling from it clink against each other quietly. He was so distracted by his tiredness that he didn't notice himself taking the wrong turn and heading down the hall towards the Intensive Care Unit, or that the ring about his neck had flickered dimly for a moment before becoming dormant.

" Oh dear," he spoke when he looked up and noticed that he didn't see Yugi's room number on any of the doors. Maybe I took a wrong turn, he thought before turning around and to head back the way he came. But as he did he noticed a familiar figure entering a room just off the hall he was in. A very familiar figure with long jagged white hair.

Bakura? His eyes widened. What would he be doing here? That's when he remembered that the other boy's mother was ill and in the hospital. If he remembered it was because she had a weak heart and rumors were going around that nothing seemed to help her. Many said she wouldn't live very much longer. I do hope that she does recover, it must hurt Bakura to know that he might lose the only parent he has left.

Curiosity got the better of him. He'd never met the his 'twin's' mother before, the white-haired boy never telling anyone where he lived and scaring off any who would have attempted to find out. So he walked down the hall towards the door the boy had entered, trying to suppress the strange sense of fear he had. He knew the door when he saw it for it had the surname Kytsune on a slip in a plastic plate. Strangely the door was partially open, but he had to peek around it so that hopefully no one, more or less Bakura, would catch him eavesdropping.

What he saw almost shocked him. The other white-haired boy was fluffing the pillows of a pale, black-haired woman that was lying on the bed with IVs and monitors around her. The boy stopped once she nodded to him with a loving smile on her face and he walked around to sit down in a chair beside the bed, facing towards Ryou but hidden mostly by the bed and its railings. He took the woman's hand in his own a kissed it gently. Bakura? Is that him? I never knew he could act so…so kind, but she is his mother. He strained his ears so that he could hear the conversation that was going on between the two in the room.

*****

Bakura had just returned from throwing away his mother's lunch tray and refilling her jug of water. He'd placed the pitcher on the bedside table and then proceeded to make his mother more comfortable. He knew that being trapped in a hospital bed for four months was very confining to a woman who enjoyed working in the yard and enjoying life to the fullest. He noticed that she was becoming pale, more so than he'd seen her the night before or even over the past few days. Is she getting worse? The doctors did say that she could get sicker, that they couldn't help her.

" Is everything all right 'Kura?" she questioned sensing that something was wrong in her son. She knew that he had so much built up anger since his father's murder and hadn't been able to find a release for it. Her becoming ill had only deepened his anger and hatred towards the world and everyone in it. And nothing she could say or do could change how he felt.

" Everything is fine, Mother," he assured her, trying to hide his emotions. " Just waiting for summer vacation I guess."

" Oh, all right," she let it go…for now. " Then tell me, how is my garden? Are the flowers blooming yet? Has the Sakura tree blossomed in the backyard?"

" Not yet," he told her. " You'll be home before it does." He could feel the lies in his own words. He knew his mother was never leaving the hospital, that she would never come home to take care of her garden or watch the Sakura tree bloom. She'll stay trapped in this fucking hospital bed until the day she DOES die. Weak woman, why do you have to be so fragile, so easily sickened…so easily taken away from me?

" Great," she smiled once again. " Now how has school been going, you never told me yesterday."

" Finals are this week," he told her. " I will be able to see you more often once I'm done with them."

" How are your friends?" she questioned. " Have Marik and Malik been into anymore trouble?"

" No more than usual, Mother," he told her, not getting into the details of the day before and Marik's new 'obsession'. He also wasn't ready to tell her about the mysterious golden ring that was hidden beneath his black T-shirt that read in bloody letters, Hell has nothing on me, which he'd covered with a dark gray button-up. His mother hated when he wore it so he agreed to hide it for her. To him she was weak enough without becoming more so by arguing with him. Maybe she'll become stronger given time to do so, he thought idly.

" So I take it that Principal took my advice on joining that Saturday club?" she smiled.

" You told him to do that to us?!" Bakura's eyes widened. Wait a minute… " Kokude came here to see you?!"

" Hai, to tell me of you, Malik, and Marik breaking into his office and burning his favorite bonsai tree," she nodded, giving him a quick glare that seemed so unlike the frail condition she was in. " You shouldn't do things like that Kura, you'll get into trouble that you can't get out of one day."

" Save it Mother," the white-haired boy's eyes cut into slits. " What I do is not your concern." He stood up, his entire demeanor changing to the one he used during the rest of the day when he wasn't around his mother.

" Please Kura, don't you see that I just worry about you?" she extended her hand out towards his arm, but he moved away from her.

" Don't start," he shook his head then headed towards the door. " I need some air. I'll be back shortly."

" Kura…" she sighed, knowing it was best to leave it be. Her son believed that she shouldn't interfere with his life and how he lived it. He thought she was just supposed to stay in that bed and allow him to vent his hate and anger on those he thought deserved it, but she couldn't. She couldn't let him destroy his life just because he couldn't control his own hate. Don't you know how much it hurts me to see you like this? She wondered.

*****

Ryou watched form the sidelines, eyes wide at the events going on in the room. He'd never seen such a side to Bakura. He could see an emotion in his eyes even from far away that normally wasn't there, love. But why did he have to act so hateful and angry when it was obvious that he knew how to care about people. If he'd only let someone get close enough to prove it to him, he sighed.

Deciding he'd intruded enough, he quickly turned around and headed down the hall before Bakura noticed him. He needed to find an orderly anyway so he could get to Yugi's room. He turned around a corner and accidentally bumped into someone, catching himself against the wall instead of falling. He looked up and saw that it was a male nurse with auburn hair and sea green eyes.

" Oh, I'm sorry Mr. Kytsune," he apologized. " How is your mother doing today? I'm supposed to watch over her tonight."

" Ummm well I…" Ryou didn't know what to say. He'd been mistaken for Bakura before, but it rarely happened. Most people always said that he looked too innocent to be his 'twin'.

" And how could you mistake him as me?" a voice behind him asked coldly. Ryou turned his head quickly and saw said 'twin' standing behind him.

" Oh dear, sorry for the mistake," the nurse said quickly.

" Whatever Shin," Bakura frowned. " Now what were you saying about my mother?"

" Just that I was supposed to watch over her during my extra shift tonight," he said in a kind tone that showed he was used to Bakura's attitude.

" Fine," the white-haired boy replied. The nurse nodded and walked around them both.

" Well, nice seeing you," he excused politely. " Sorry again for the mix up." With that left to check on other patients.

Bakura ignored him as stared straight at Ryou, who was becoming uncomfortable. " Why are you here?" he demanded more than asked.

" I came to see Yugi before Yami came to take him home," Ryou said, slowly turning around so that he could fully face the other boy. It was then that Bakura actually got a clear view of the certain 'item' that he was wearing around his neck. His eyes widened and his hand unconsciously went to his own chest.

" Where did you get that ring?" he asked immediately.

Ryou gazed at him confusedly before looking down at the golden ring he'd gotten from his father. " I got it in the mail from my father," he explained, not sure why the other boy was interested in it. " I guess it's from his latest dig."

" When did you get it?" Bakura's voice was still cold and harsh, but Ryou could tell that his eyes were filled with something he almost believed was fear. But Bakura feared nothing and no one so that was impossible.

" Yesterday, why?" Ryou answered. What is wrong with him? He's never acted like this before. Is it because of seeing his mother?

Bakura realized that he was showing weakness from his actions and quickly tried to get himself back under control. He wasn't going to show weakness to anyone, especially his 'twin'. " No reason at all, just wondered when you started to wear girl's jewelry," he replied. " Especially something that looks completely like its been hiding in a tomb for a few thousand years." With that he spun around and stalked off back down the hall that his mother's room was in.

Ryou watched him go in complete confusion. Why was he acting so strange? He sighed and then smacked himself gently on the forehead. " I could have asked that nurse Shin how to get to Yugi's room," he realized. He took it up as a loss and continued down the hall in the opposite direction as Bakura hoping that he would run into someone soon.

Bakura watched him go from around the corner before leaning against the wall. But how is that possible? He asked himself. How is it that he has the exact same ring that appeared around my neck last night? Is it some kind of trick? Is he lying? But how the hell did it appear in the first place?!

He'd always known that something was different about himself, something deep inside that told him so. And he'd really believed it with his strange white hair and pale skin that was unheard of with Japanese people. Then he'd met Ryou and wondered how it was possible for two people to look so much alike. Well, Yugi, Yami, Malik, and Marik really threw him off guard with their uncanny likenesses. It was as if someone had made them specifically to look like each other.

Does this have to do with why we look alike? He wondered, unsure of when he would find out the answer. But then he realized that all of his earlier anger had vanished with his questions about the new predicament that had arisen. Mother's probably worried, he thought. She's still weak, her heart can't take much more. He stood away from the wall then and went back to his mother's room, pushing all his questions out of his mind for now.

*****

" Something is wrong Marik," Malik told him over the phone. It was actually one of the only times that his boyfriend/lover wasn't with him, for he'd gone home to check in, and he couldn't help the sense of unease he felt. It was like something was pulling at him, trying to get him to realize something that he wanted terribly to forget, and yet didn't even know why he wanted to forget it. It was just the sense of foreboding that he remembered so well from his youth.

{ " You don't have anything to worry about," his 'twin' assured him. " I'm sure nothing's wrong Want me and Bakura to come over?" }

" It's only eleven," Malik reminded him. " He's still visiting with his mother until about three remember? It is Sunday."

{ " Right but I'll still be over in a few minutes," the other blonde said to keep him calm. " Just wait." }

" All right," Malik agreed, hanging up the phone and sitting down on the couch for a short while, lying down on his side so that his back didn't touched the back of the piece of furniture. It still stung every now and then even though it'd been years since the damage had been done to it. Gods, why do I feel like this? He wondered. Something's coming and I don't think it's going to be good. That's when a thought came to his mind.

He stood and hurried down the hall towards the bedrooms, stopping at the doorway he knew hadn't been opened in six years. He was almost afraid to go in, memories of the room plaguing him still. But he took a deep breath, steadying his nerves, and opened the door, stepping into the room before he lost his cool. It was a sparsely filled room, but everything in it were pieces from his true homeland, Egypt.

The bureau, the bed, even the bedside table had been brought with his parents from Egypt when they had bought the home. It had been his parents' room before he was born and only his father's afterwards. He always blamed himself for his mother's death, even though his sister Isis told him it was actually an infection from afterwards that had led to her demise. But Isis had only been eight, she couldn't possibly have fully understood back then.

His eyes traveled from the room itself and landed on the door to the closet in the corner. Is it still even there or did Isis move it? he wondered. He stood in front of it now, unsure of whether or not he should be doing this at all. It helped me before, he reminded himself. I was so scared then, it might… He shook his head. How could he be thinking of that thing as a person?

I'm losing it, he thought sarcastically, not fully sure if it was untrue this time. He opened the door slowly, not taking time to regret his actions. To one side of the closet were clothes, shoes, and even two or three briefcases that he knew belonged to his father. On the other side was a beautiful, traditional Egyptian wedding dress made of pure silk and that had been handmade by his Great-grandmother for his mother. He froze for a moment, looking at it and thinking of all the other times that he had done so in his younger years, imagining his mother and what she would have been like in his mind.

Kneeling down he moved around the dress the to back of the closet, feeling the wall for the hole he knew was there. Then he felt his fingers slide over it, a small hole that was only large enough for a finger to fit in, especially if it was a slender finger. He slid his one index in easily and then pulled, catching the small board as it fell from the wall. He moved the board and reached his hand in, grimacing at the feeling of cobwebs, but continued his search.

He smiled when he touched something lightly with his fingers and then reached in further, grasping it around the handle. He felt a rush then, a bright light bursting from the cubbyhole and hitting him directly in the chest. He was thrown back into the wall grasping onto one of the suits and pulling it with him. He heard a loud shout of pain, but was too shocked to even pay it any mind.

The 'thing' was no longer in the cubbyhole, but floating in the air in front of him while emitting a gentle golden glow. It was a scepter or rod of some sort. The head was a round sphere with gold wings on the sides, the Eye of Horus in its center. His eyes were wide with disbelief, but he couldn't stop himself from reaching out and grasping it. The glow disappeared then and he was left alone, the rod in his hand.

He felt a tingle in the back of mind and a thud was heard from another room. " Malik!" a familiar voice shouted and this time he did pay attention.

" Marik?" he called back. His lover sounded hurt for some reason. He shakily stood and stumbled out of the closet, leaving the room and heading for where the voice had originated.

*****

The somewhat 'mentally unstable' blonde had just reached his lover's front door when he felt the strange sensation of something burning inside of him. He tried to ignore it, but didn't seem to be able to. He pushed open the door and entered, becoming worried when he didn't see Malik. " Malik?" he called out, but no one answered. He walked from the foyer and into the living room, but still he saw no one.

It was then that the burning turned into a fire in his veins and he let out a shout, dropping to his knees and falling against the coffee table. His head started to throb and put his hands to his temples in hopes of alleviating it. Suddenly, it was as if lightning ran through his body and he was jolted. He dropped to the floor, eyes wide in shock. That's when he felt more than saw the bright glow before him.

It was soft and somewhat gentle, though it seemed to be powerful by just itself. He stared at it in confusion, feeling pulled towards it. He extended his hand towards the light and felt his fingers wrap around something that he couldn't quite see. The pain he felt was then gone and he was able to breathe easier. He hand dropped to the ground and he heard a loud thud from whatever he was holding so tightly.

" Malik!" he yelled out, still worried about his 'twin'. He was greeted with an uncertain reply before the other boy came walking unsteadily into the room soon after. The other blonde's eyes were unfocused somewhat and he seemed out of breath, but he saw nothing else wrong with him. Although in his hand was a strange rod-looking object.

Malik stared at his lover laying on the floor by the table and hurried to him as fast as he could. He kneeled down next to him and placed a hand on his head. " Are you all right?" he asked immediately.

"I-I'm not sure," Marik answered truthfully, his entire body still reeling from whatever had happened. Malik looked him over and noticed something he was holding in his hand that seemed hidden by the table. His eyes widened as he realized that it was a golden rod identical to the one he himself held. He stared at it in complete disbelief and confusion, not knowing what was going on.

" Oh Gods, what's happening to us?" he asked in an awed voice.

*****

" Now I want some answers!" Jounouchi demanded. " I told you what you wanted now I want to know some things too!"

" And what would that be?" Seto asked with a feigned curious tone.

" Why am I here, besides to give you answers?" Jou asked. " What do you want from me?" He wasn't going to be used again, he didn't care if he had to burn the house down first. It just wasn't an option he would ever look towards.

" Nothing, I just wanted to know how you knew Gozuborou," Seto replied. " Was that all?"

" Bullshit," Jou spat. " You don't seem like that kinda person and I barely know ya."

" Perceptive," Seto acknowledged.

" Knew there was something else to this," Jou growled, backing farther away from the other boy.

" How did you get your abilities?" Seto finally asked. " Don't play with me either. I pretty much know how you got them."

" Then why ask if ya already know?" the blonde questioned sarcastically. " You don't seem like a stupid person, but maybe I'm wrong."

The brunette cut his eyes at that comment and then stepped closer to the other boy. " I prefer my assumptions to be confirmed or else they cannot truly be called 'fact'," he answered icily. " But if you want to uncooperative, fine. You are part of the project held by Kaiba Corporations that dealt with genetically engineering people to have certain 'abilities' so that they could be used later."

" Wow and they say that all rich people are dumbasses," Jou mocked.

" You're testing my temper, dog," Seto warned, the boy reminding him of a tempered canine at that moment.

" Dog?!" Jounouchi raged, the insult hitting a familiar mark. " You're the one that kidnapped me for information and then call me a DOG?!!"

" You have quite a bark to you, but no bite," Seto went on. " Surprising that you're a result of the Experiment at all."

" You…" Jou growled, ready to fry the other boy to a crisp whether he was at full strength or not.

" Down boy," Seto told him. " Keep that up and you're enjoying a nice time-out in a freezer. Now, I am willing to make you an offer, seeing as your 'secret' cannot be found out and neither can my own."

" What?" Jou's anger died down in confusion. First the guy kidnapped him, then demanded information, then insulted, and now he was trying to make a deal with him? Just who the hell was this dude anyway? He had to be bipolar because the blonde couldn't come up with any other explanation for how he was acting.

" I am willing to offer you a 'deal of sorts'," Seto explained. " It will probably benefit us both in the end and you won't have to worry about the police after you for killing that man in the park like an order of filet mignon."

" Oh shit," he'd almost forgotten about that sick perverted excuse of a person. He knew then that the boy, Seto Kaiba, had him over a barrel and he didn't have a way out that he could see. " Okay, so let's hear this 'deal'." The brunette smirked at him and he wasn't sure if he was going to like this at all.

*****

Yami led Yugi out of the hospital and down the steps towards his car, making sure not to let go of the smaller boy's arm. The doctor had said that he would still be dizzy for a while and should be watched carefully. He wasn't about to let something happen to him as it was, but he took the doctor's warning to heart anyway.

" Thank you for coming to get me, Yami," Yugi repeated what he had already said three times so far since the other boy's arrival.

" Think nothing of it," Yami assured him again. " It was nothing."

" Okay," Yugi smiled at him. " You know, Ryou came to see me a short while before you got here. He seemed very preoccupied by something though and wouldn't tell me what."

" Would it have to do with his father?" Yami asked with concern in his tone. He walked his 'twin' to the other side of his car and opened the door to let him in. Yugi climbed in, moaning softly from the pain in his head from moving too fast. " Take it easy," Yami reminded him.

" Fine, but no, I don't think it had anything to do with his dad," Yugi replied. " I think it had to do with something right before he came to see me."

" Well, trust Ryou to be able to deal with things," Yami suggested as he got into the driver's seat. " He's tougher than most people think."

" I know," Yugi agreed.

" Oh," Yami remembered something a leaned back into the back seat of the car. He came back up with a package in his hands that he quickly dropped into Yugi's lap. The younger boy stared at it in confusion. "It was on your porch this morning and is addressed to you," Yami explained. " I thought I would bring it along for you."

" Oooh, it could that new puzzle Grandpa said he ordered for me!" Yugi exclaimed happily.

" Wait 'til we get to your house before you open it," Yami told him as he drove down the street. " You know you can wait."

" Yami," the other boy groaned, but then sighed in agreement. " But I still can't wait to open it!"

A/N: See? Another Item claimed. You just have to wait to see what else happens.

Kathrine: We like how everything came out in this chapter. We hope yall did too.

JC: Review and tell us if we're still keeping everyone in character. Marik's the only one we might not have done too good of a job with. But we'll fix that, you'll see. ^_~

Kathrine: Okay, we'll try to get another one out when we can, but we have LOTS of stories to update so just wait a bit. Bye for now!