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Ryou sighed as he followed Bakura and Marik down the alleyway. This, he thought, was the first bad sign. These two had never led him anywhere good, and abandoned alleyways were a red flag with normal company. The second bad sign was all the snickering, although this one was rather a bit like the free space on a bingo card, seeing as Marik and Bakura were always snickering between themselves about something only they found inordinately hilarious.
“Okay!” Bakura announced, sharply rounding a corner and gesturing to the dilapidated building that stood at the alley’s end. “Here we are.”
Third bad sign. “Bakura, I’m going to need you to explain what exactly it is we’re doing here, seeing as I am missing class for this.”
“Oh, come on, Ryou, it’s not like you’re actually going to learn anything there,” Marik scoffed, patting him on the shoulder. “All life’s most important lessons are learned on these streets. I never went to school, and look at me!”
“Yes, Marik, but you’re forgetting that I’m missing a few key things you aren’t. Like unexplainable charisma, boundless ego, a complexion that doesn’t look like the underbelly of a deep-sea fish…”
“Alright, we could stand around and further inflate Marik’s ego all day,” Bakura huffed. “But we came here to show you our surprise for you, so let’s get on with that, shall we?”
Ryou wearily followed after them as they led him into the warehouse. As they passed the threshold of the door, Ryou noticed that the now-broken chain which had been binding the door shut looked almost like it had been chewed upon, and a broken pair of bolt cutters had been carelessly discarded in the dirt beside the door.
The warehouse was dark, dusty, and gutted to the point he couldn’t rightly say what it might have once been used for. He’d always been intrigued by the thought of exploring abandoned buildings - but the fact that Bakura was the only person who might agree to go with him always stopped that desire dead in its tracks.
Marik and Bakura rushed to the back of the warehouse, Bakura cackling to himself, and as Ryou’s eyes adjusted to the dim light, he could make out the outline of a person there. A very short, very spiky-haired person. Sitting - no - tied to a chair.
“ Bakura!” Ryou shouted. “What on earth are you doing to Yugi?!”
Yugi glanced between Bakura, Ryou, and Marik, looking utterly terrified as Bakura guffawed so hard he could barely stand straight before he composed himself enough to reach over and rip off the tape that had been stuck over Yugi’s mouth.
“ SIIIKE!” He shouted. “We’re not going to murder you, idiot. HAH! We got you good. You actually thought we were going to kill you, didn’t you?”
“Wh…” Yugi stared at Bakura as his uncontrollable laughter continued, only growing in volume once Marik joined in. “What… Why exactly am I here, then?”
“So Ryou can talk to you without all your dumb friends around!” Marik explained smugly, high-fiving Bakura as he stepped over to stand beside him. “Man, what a prank, right? I thought the chainsaw was a great touch, really sold the sincerity!”
“Uhh… If Ryou needed to talk to me in private he could have just… asked…”
“Where’s the fun in that? ” Bakura questioned with a grin. “Well, go on then Ryou, tell Yugi what you’ve been wanting to tell him!”
“Bakura,” Ryou said flatly, his hand balling into a clenched fist at his side. “Whose idea was this, exactly?”
“Oh, mine, obviously,” Bakura answered, preening, clearly incredibly proud of himself.
Ryou inhaled sharply, and before he knew it, he felt himself lunging forward. “ I HAVE HAD IT WITH YOU!” Bakura’s eyes widened in the most genuine terror Ryou had ever seen as Ryou grabbed the collar of his shirt and fiercely shook him. “Can you EVER act like a NORMAL person?! What is WRONG with you?!”
“Oh, like you were ever going to talk to Yugi yourself!” Bakura shouted back, but now there was an undercurrent of nervousness.
Ryou found it surprisingly easy to shove Bakura to the ground, and he shrieked indignantly as he fell.
“I HATE YOU SO MUCH!” Ryou yelled as he lunged again and drew his fist back to punch Bakura in the face.
“YES! GET HIM!” Marik cheered.
The fear abruptly evaporated from Bakura’s expression, and he cackled. “YEESSS! You see, Ryou?! I told you, violence is FUN! HIT ME! DO IT!”
Ryou gritted his teeth, lowered his fist… and sighed. He rose back to his feet. “Bakura,” he ordered. “Untie Yugi right now. And then go wait outside.”
Bakura sat up, dusting himself off and rolling his eyes. “Yes, landlord. I was only trying to help.”
“Yeah, come on, Ryou, how else were you supposed to tell Yugi you liked him?” Marik questioned with a shrug.
“Thank you for announcing that in front of him, Marik!” Ryou cried, mortified.
“You’re welcome! I guess that is a bit less complicated than the fake kidnapping thing.”
Ryou rubbed his temples, surprised to find himself missing the days when he and Bakura shared a body and he could simply vanish into the soul room, leaving Bakura to deal with the world.
Bakura set to freeing Yugi, struggling to untie the knots he himself had made, finally giving up and sawing through them with one of the many pocket knives he kept on his person at all times. Yugi sat frozen with fear until the ropes fell away, and Bakura sauntered back toward the door to the warehouse, slinging his arm around Marik’s shoulder as they left together.
“Well, good luck!” he called, kicking the door shut behind him. With a horrible creaking sound, it fell away from its hinges and collapsed, sending a cloud of dust into the air. Bakura watched it fall with a slight grimace before he and Marik disappeared around the corner.
Ryou let out a tremendous sigh and heavily sat on the ground next to the chair, where Yugi still sat, wide-eyed and bewildered.
“Oh, my god,” Ryou muttered, pressing a hand to his forehead. “I am so sorry about him. We’re working on it. Sometimes it seems like he’s getting better, and then… he goes and does something like this.”
Yugi chuckled nervously, finally standing from the chair. “It - it’s okay, Ryou. Trust me… I get it. Atem wasn’t… the greatest at first either.”
“Really?”
“Yeah,” Yugi said with a grimace. “He kind of… um… lit people on fire… stabbed people…He was gonna just kill Kaiba at one point, remember? And honestly, he wasn’t nearly as hesitant as he should have been about attacking you with Slifer in Battle City.”
Ryou thought back. “That is true, I guess.”
“Yeah, anyway, I understand. I mean… Bakura’s heart is in the right place, at least?”
“Not one single thing about him is in the right place,” Ryou sighed. “But… thank you for being so understanding about this.”
“Oh, no problem, Ryou!” Yugi smiled at him. “Er… By the way, what Marik said…”
Ryou leapt to his feet. “N-no, it’s stupid, forget about it.”
“I mean… do you actually… really like me?” Yugi asked timidly.
“Well…” Ryou sighed. “Yeah, I do. But, you probably get that all the time, so…”
“Not really, actually,” Yugi said, somewhat sadly, kicking at the dirt. “Most people just kinda look past me for Atem. I thought that would get better now that we’re split up, but… Let’s be honest, he’s way cooler than I am.”
“I don’t think so,” Ryou mumbled.
“Really?”
“I mean, I kind of have my hands full with one insane ancient spirit.”
“Yeah, that’s true,” Yugi laughed. “Well… um… Duke said you were gonna be DMing a game soon, right? Do you need another player?”
Ryou smiled. “We do, actually. And I made Bakura promise not to do any soul-trapping this time… but he is going to be helping me out with the villains.”
“That sounds fun! So, um… why don’t we work on character sheets after school, then?”
“Sure, that sounds great. I would offer to walk with you to school, but I need to get those two back to Marik’s house so Odion can keep them from destroying the city,” Ryou said as they both headed for the exit of the warehouse.
“That’s alright, Ryou. I’ll see you there in a bit!” Yugi smiled and waved as he headed through the alley for the main road. He glanced back over his shoulder once… and almost seemed to be blushing.
“Soooo?” Bakura’s voice sounded from around the edge of the warehouse as he and Marik stepped back into view.
Ryou huffed. “Yugi… is coming over after school today to work on his character sheet for my tabletop campaign. So… you two will need to find somewhere to hang out that isn’t my living room tonight.”
“Hahah!” Bakura laughed, pumping his fist in the air. “See? I told you this would work!”
“You two are the most insufferable idiots I have ever met in my life,” Ryou mumbled.
“And you love us,” Bakura finished, smirking.
“No. Maybe. Okay, fine, yes. But I wouldn’t suggest pushing your luck.”
Bakura was not listening. He and Marik had already started on their way back, fist-bumping as they immediately began discussing their next scheme.