Yu-Gi-Oh! Fan Fiction ❯ Ryou Bakura: Chaos Master ❯ Looking for Friends in High Places ( Chapter 19 )

DISCLAIMER: I don't own Yu-Gi-Oh. Takahashi's glad Ryou's back in his world, but he insists that I stop screwing with the poor boy's life. I don't know if I'll listen.

 

The landing had been painful, but Ryou was acutely aware that he was still alive. The fact that he even felt pain told him that. But his mind hadn't adjusted yet, and he kept his eyes closed. Not only in fear, but in the slight comfort of not having to deal with the bright lights that he would be seeing, if he woke up. It had been daytime in Winbourne; there was a good chance it was daytime in Domino as well. Except that Ryou saw nothing but black under his eyelids. But he did hear something. It was the sound of a heavy boot. At first, he thought to just play dead. It could've been anyone, friend or foe. But only one person he remembered actually wore boots: Sami. And so, gaining the courage and forcing the pain out of his head, he opened his eyes. And he screamed.

 

The gun was aimed right for his throat, and who he saw wasn't Sami at all. It was the blonde man, half his face silhouetted in the darkness of night. There was no daylight at all, and no one would see the man aiming his gun directly at Ryou. Not even Sami, who had better night vision than most. Ryou knew he had done that on purpose. His good eye burned with an inner fire, a psychotic fire that instantly shot terror through Ryou's body. This man was going to kill him here and now. But for what reason now? Ryou opened his mouth to speak, but the blonde man just shoved the gun closer, his insane smile widening.

 

“Scream and I swear I'll pump all of my bullets into you,” he growled, bending down, but his gun never leaving Ryou's throat, “So we meet again, Ryou Bakura. Tell me, did you miss me?” Ryou struggled. The man was putting heavy pressure on his throat, and he felt if the man pressed any harder, he'd suffocate.

 

“What…. What are you doing here!?” Ryou croaked, “Where is Sami?” The blonde man just chuckled, shaking his head. He released Ryou's neck, but the gun was still very much aimed at Ryou's body. Even if the pressure was gone, the man could just shoot him once, and he'd be gone for good. The man started to pace around Ryou, but he kept his aim true, the smile growing dark. Sinister, in the shadows.

 

“Sith's safe,” the man replied, and shrugged, “But she's not going to come to your aid now. I'm here to settle the score with you, Ryou. I want you away from her.” Ryou's arms shook as he tried to sit up, but he noticed the blonde man wasn't stopping his movements. He stood up quickly, facing the man. His good eye was practically glowing with insanity. Was it possible Amber had done something to him? No… if she had, the man would've shot Sami if he saw her. He was genuinely going insane over something.

 

“I'm not going,” Ryou growled back, and then saw the man's eyes widen to something behind him. Then, he was gone in a flash, even as Ryou screamed, “DON'T RUN AWAY, COWARD!” But the man paid him no heed. Ryou didn't expect him to. The boy hung his head. He nearly lost his life, and he turned to see what had actually scared the blonde man away. He saw a figure running toward him, but in the dark, he couldn't see who it was. Only when he heard the voice, did he recognize it to be his college friend, Shimbou.

 

“Ryou!? Are you okay!?” the black-haired boy called, jogging up and stopping alongside his friend, “I heard screaming. Was someone harassing you?”

 

“No,” Ryou growled, pushing past him to walk down the road, “What are you doing here, though?” Shimbou blinked, wondering what could've put Ryou in such a foul mood. Normally, the boy was calm and quiet. Now, he was irritated. Shimbou just shrugged, and began following Ryou down the street.

 

“Looking for you,” the younger boy replied, “Your co-worker, Nanisaka, called me and asked me if you were going to `drag your ass back into work soon.' Since I haven't heard from you since Sami went ballistic, I figured I should probably find you.” He noted that Ryou's skin paled, and the boy couldn't even look him in the eyes. He frowned. Whatever happened, it was bad. Suspiciously, he asked, “Seriously, buddy, what happened? You look worse for the wear.” Ryou just sighed. Then he explained what he could, with as little detail as possible. As much as he appreciated Shimbou's concern, he didn't want him involved.

 

“You won't believe it, but you know Sami talks about magic, right?” he asked, and when Shimbou nodded, he continued, “It's real, my friend. We left Malik's house after dropping some friends off, and this portal swallowed us into another world. It was hell just to get out of there, and now we're back, and I'm nearly killed by this blonde psychopath!” He glanced sidelong at Shimbou, half expecting the boy to think he was speaking crazy. But Shimbou was impressed, and extremely amused. He snorted, and his smile turned sly.

 

“Is he wearing a ton of leather?” Shimbou asked, “Toting a large gun around and screaming to the high heavens for some woman named Sith?” Ryou's response to the description made Shimbou laugh hysterically. He knew Ryou saw the man. Likewise, Ryou didn't have the heart to tell him that apparently, Sith and Sami were the same person, as little sense as that made to him. He just bit his lip, nodding, his eyes wide with terror at the realization that now, the blonde man was making a definite scene. Shimbou was extremely lucky the man hadn't shot him, too.

 

“That would be him,” Ryou replied grimly, “…did he stop you?” Shimbou laughed again, and shrugged. Obviously, being in the presence of an able hit man wasn't a big deal to the boy. Obviously, Shimbou was an idiot.

 

“No, I kind of stopped him,” came the amused reply, “He was screaming, so I asked for a description of this woman. She sounds a lot like Sami, you know? I mean, I doubt it was her, but does Sami have another twin or something? One that actually looks like her?” Ryou's eyes narrowed flatly. Shimbou should've made the connection, but for some reason, it was beyond the boy's scope of thinking. Ryou just ignored that. This wasn't Shimbou's mess, anyway. He just shrugged, deciding not to let Shimbou know that Sami had another name. It'd only confuse him again.

 

“You know what they say about people having twins,” Ryou simply said, and then asked, “Have you seen Sami, by the way? We were separated when we came back. I have a feeling she'll want to know I was nearly shot in the head.” Shimbou just laughed again, and then shook his head. His hand gestured toward the entire city at large as they began ascending a small hill, the road curving down the middle of it.

 

“No, but she's probably not far,” the boy replied, and grinned, “She's probably off slaying dragons or something similar. I mean, she owns a sword, right? Maybe she's looking for this great evil that seems to be spreading throughout the city.” Ryou's lips pursed. He didn't want to tell Shimbou just how right he actually was. They turned a sharp corner into a narrow alley that cut across the hill and headed for an older section of town, where derelict apartments and old businesses sat, many abandoned, but some trying valiantly to cling to life.

 

“Probably,” Ryou said, deciding to just humor Shimbou, “…wait a minute! How do you know what's been going on?” They stopped, and Shimbou gave him a flat look this time. Anyone could grab a newspaper and see that Domino just wasn't quite right now. He took out one such article and held it up. It was a clipping about Flamenco's being shut down, having suffered a sudden fire. Ryou's eyes widened. A `sudden fire' had to mean Amber used a spell to destroy it. Which meant she knew Sami would head there. He cursed, and Shimbou just snorted. He'd hit the nail on the mark.

 

“See?” the younger boy replied, “I didn't think it was natural that Flamenco's burned, either. But there's no proof that it was purposely burned. I thought about calling Sami…” He stopped when he noticed that Ryou's eyes were distant, as though he was thinking entirely on something else. He snapped his fingers and said, “Dude, what's up? You're spacing out on me here.”

 

“We ran into one of the workers of Flamenco's at Winbourne,” he whispered, and Shimbou's brow rose, “She's the one that shot Sami, and we're pretty sure she's the one who's causing all the mayhem to begin with. I'm certain she's also the one who burned Flamenco's down.” Shimbou didn't seem overly surprised by that, though. He had already suspected that magic played a key role in that. His grin slanted slightly, giving him a smug expression.

 

“It's that new girl, Amber, isn't it?” he concluded, and Ryou's mouth dropped open, “Dude, Sami never told you I used to go there? When I found out Sami had been fired for that piece of trash, I knew something funky was going on. So I did some investigation. I asked Pierre why he fired her, but he just got nervous and fidgety. It's like Amber has some sort of omni-presence there. All of the workers said the same thing. Every time they try to complain, she shows up and they clamp down. Doesn't that strike you as really, really odd?” Ryou nodded, unable to believe that Shimbou had come so far! He barely knew what was going on, too! Ryou grabbed his arm, looking him dead in the eye.

 

“This is really important, so answer me,” Ryou stated grimly, “Shimbou, did you find anything suspicious? Secret doors, or machines, or orbs of any kind?”

 

“That's the weird thing. I couldn't find anything pointing to her being anything other than human,” Shimbou replied uneasily, “Trust me, I checked. Pierre let me go into the basement, but there wasn't a damn thing there. And then, the place just goes up in smoke. You know this means she was hiding something, right?” Ryou just nodded. He had no idea how to even respond. Shimbou had done good work. They continued on their way, with Shimbou continuing to tell Ryou what he had guessed in the last few days. Ryou listened well; at this point, with Shimbou's theories fitting so perfectly in place, he credited every word the boy said. And if Sami had been there, she'd have probably given him a sword of his own and asked him to fight alongside her. And Shimbou would be just stupid enough to accept.

 

The alley was very narrow, so much so that Ryou and Shimbou had to travel single-file just to fit. And even then, traversing the walkway was a pain; not only did it already feel claustrophobic, but there were old crates and piles of rotting garbage strewn about. The lack of space forced them to physically climb over everything. Ryou could feel the moisture from the garbage on his skin, and even felt bugs crawling as they went. He wanted nothing more than to take a shower. But he had to find at least Sami first. She'd probably let him go home as she searched for everyone else. Then again, maybe she wouldn't.

 

“Shit!” Shimbou yelled, shocking Ryou as he heard a crash behind him. Ryou turned and saw that Shimbou managed to slip and fall into one of the piles, and cringed when he heard a distinct squishing noise under where the boy landed. Shimbou grumbled, getting up as though nothing happened. But the poor boy wasn't graceful in the least, and as soon as he stepped forward, he slipped again and fell face-first into another pile. His lungs were assaulted with the smell of rotting food, sickly sweet at first stench. He choked, and Ryou rushed to help him up as he said, “Damn it all to hell!” He kicked the garbage away, still hacking to get the smell out of his mouth.

 

“Are you okay!?” Ryou asked, brushing some of the dirt off the younger boy's sweater. Shimbou coughed again, shaking his head to clear it. That was a smell he'd never forget.

 

“I wish I were dead right now,” Shimbou grumbled in reply, stomping forward. When the alley turned through another bend, it ended abruptly before a tall, brick wall. Both boys looked up; it went very high up indeed. Shimbou just cursed and said, “You have to be kidding me! A wall!? Here!?” Ryou just snorted, shaking his head. That was their luck right then. As Shimbou took to complaining, Ryou looked for a way around the wall. He was getting a strong feeling that something was around it, and he learned that when he had a feeling so powerful, he'd do best to pay attention to it. His efforts were rewarded when he found a ladder, concealed from the shadows of the surrounding walls. He tugged Shimbou's arm.

 

“Let's go,” he said, and hoisted himself up the ladder. Shimbou just shrugged as he watched. There weren't any better options, so he followed shortly after. The ladder wound upwards for some time, but neither dared to look down for fear of slipping. Ryou kept going, only hoping that Shimbou was doing the same. Five minutes passed, then ten, and onwards until it finally reached half an hour. Ryou thrust his arm up, and felt a ledge underneath his fingers. He pulled himself up. As it turned out, the ledge was part of a rooftop. Ryou walked to the far edge, and gasped. The entire city was sprawled out before him, like a king overlooking his vast kingdom. If only Sami could see such a sight!

 

“What's up there?” Shimbou called from farther below. Ryou turned, not wanting to tear his eyes from the splendid view. It took his breath away, and for a moment, made him forget that they were currently looking for their friends, and for a psychotic killer as well.

 

“Take a look!” Ryou replied, and Shimbou scrambled the rest of the way up, his athletically-trained body making the rest of the climb easily. He looked over, and felt the same enchantment Ryou had. The city was gorgeous! It was almost sad that Amber was trying to destroy it. As he looked, Ryou took to exploring the rest of the rooftop. His inner feeling grew stronger, and he moved where he felt most guided. It took him behind a generator, where he found a body curled up, shivering in the slightest breeze. Raising a brow, he bent down to examine it. He found a lock of red hair.

 

“Yugi?” Ryou called. The body moved slowly, but when it finally unfurled itself, he saw that it was Yami, not Yugi as he had thought. The old pharaoh sat up slowly, grumbling as he heard gravel crunching underneath him. Then he saw Ryou. He blinked, at first wondering if it was just a dream. But Ryou was still there.

 

“Ryou? Where are we?” he asked slowly, mind spinning from his nap, “Is everyone else dead?” Shimbou just snorted. That was a humorous assumption, considering that technically, Yami was dead. Ryou's eyes just narrowed flatly. He had expected Yami to be the first one to go looking for answers.

 

“Yami, what're you doing here?” he asked slowly, and emphasized his point, “And why aren't you looking for anyone yourself?” Unfortunately, it was pretty clear that Yami didn't feel Ryou should feel any more superior. He returned the scold with an equally flat look of his own.

 

“I was unconscious, Ryou,” he stated, “I know I'm powerful, but how much do you expect me to do? I'm still half-human, after all.” Ryou's lips thinned. That was technically right, but it wasn't an excuse, either. He pulled the old spirit to his feet.

 

“Right,” Ryou mumbled, “Look, who knows where everyone else is. We need…” Ryou stopped when he realized Yami wasn't even listening to him. The old spirit was walking to the edge, and looking down. The drop was steep, landing in a patch of grass far below. If he angled it right, he might live through it. Ryou knew exactly what he was planning, and he said, “Yami, no! Don't do it! Get back here!” Likewise, Shimbou looked over and couldn't believe his eyes, either.

 

“Dude, I know you're pissed, but suicide's not the answer! Just go down the ladder!” Shimbou exclaimed. But Yami ignored them both as he knelt down.

 

“I'm not wasting three years picking my way through garbage,” the spirit remarked, and not wishing to hear any more complaints from, in his mind, two very stubborn children, Yami simply jumped off the edge. Ryou screamed as he and Shimbou looked over, but to their sheer amazement, the pharaoh had calculated his move perfectly. He landed harmlessly upon the ground. Shimbou just laughed, looking at his pale friend.

 

“Damn, that dude is cool!” he declared, and before Ryou could even protest, Shimbou followed the idiotic move. Ryou just grunted, and decided to do the smart thing: go down the ladder.

 

After the three had been reunited, no thanks to Ryou's slower tactics, they began walking down the dark road, the light having been extinguished in what looked like a brutal assault. The suburbs clearly didn't survive the rush of magic Malik had mentioned, at least not as well as Domino Square. Though the grass was relatively unscathed, anything that could've been destroyed, had been. Houses had been blasted apart, their bricks and glass strewn about the street carelessly. Cars had been smashed as well, adding even more glass shards to the dangerous obstacle course. But what truly proved to be the biggest problem were the trees. Split directly in half, with both halves wilting into the roads, branches as thick as Ryou and Shimbou combined blocked the paths. And behind them, shrubs and thorns added to provide a barrier against their intrusion. This didn't look too good for them. The only plus was that, not too far down the road, they saw a battle being waged. And, the participants were a hulking, black mantis, and Bakura himself.

 

“GO, MY FLYING MENACE!” he screamed proudly into the night sky, eyes alight with madness, “DEFEAT THAT BASTARD AND BRING ME VICTORY!” When Ryou saw flocks of pigeons raining from the sky, onto the hapless monster, he knew what was coming next. Bakura laughed madly, as though he had just drunk from the fountain of insanity within the deepest pits of Oblivion itself. It was such a bloodcurdling laugh, Ryou was sure that even Ishtar would be hard-pressed to pose a problem, should Bakura choose to attack him. Quickly, the brush cleared from the road as the monster crashed to the ground, and Ryou ran over toward where he heard Bakura. The old thief was already kicking the carcass of what had once been his intimidating foe.

 

“Let that be a warning for crossing the true masters of mockery,” Bakura growled dangerously, “For I am their new king and no one messes with my birds.” He turned, grinning smugly when he saw Ryou. He held out his hand, and as a pigeon landed on it, he said, “Praise our new ally, this beautiful pigeon.” Ryou blinked at it, and then stared at Bakura as though he were the craziest person on the planet. Which, considering what just happened, he may have been. But no one made a move to pet the bird, even as Yami and Shimbou came rushing up behind Ryou. Bakura's eye twitched, and then he just lost it.

 

“PET THE DAMN PIGEON!” he yelled angrily. Ryou's brows creased, but he pet the pigeon, if only to humor the deranged maniac. Yami, however, wasn't nearly as accommodating. He smacked the pigeon out of Bakura's hands, causing the thief's mouth to drop.

 

“Where is everyone else?” Yami asked him, completely ignoring Bakura's reaction. Unfortunately, Bakura wasn't about to let Yami's act go without a fight. He threw his arms up.

 

“I can't believe you! I trained these birds to kill our opponents, and you don't even acknowledge my hard work! You just… just swat my efforts away like they're meaningless!” Bakura cried, eye continuing to twitch, “These birds gave up their mockery to help us, and you smack them away like disregarded subjects! What kind of spoilt child are you!? You have some nerve!” Yami's eyes narrowed as Bakura continued his slander, completely oblivious to the fact that the pharaoh's patience was on already thinning ice. Finally, Yami lost it as well, deciding to fight fire with fire.

 

“BAKURA!”

 

“WHAT!?” Bakura screamed, eyes burning with insane hatred. Yami wasn't afraid. He just waited for Bakura to calm down before risking the rest of his afterlife.

 

“Stop being a complete imbecile and help us,” he commanded, “Now, have you seen anyone around here?” Ryou had a feeling Bakura hadn't paid much attention to anything particularly important. And when Bakura stared at them all as though they had the nerve to ask him such a stupid question, Ryou knew he was right yet again.

 

“How the hell am I supposed to know where anyone is?” Bakura snapped, brows furrowing sharply, “In case you haven't noticed, idiot, I was fighting for my afterlife there.” Yami wasn't convinced, though. They'd been in worse jams before, and they'd each come out for the better. He crossed his arms, snorting in amusement.

 

“It looked more like the birds were winning for you,” the pharaoh remarked smugly, too confident for Ryou's comfort. With both of them being spirits, Bakura could easily kill Yami if he wanted. Which, Ryou was sure, he wanted to do. It was only a matter of seconds before the old thief exploded again.

 

“SCREW OFF!” Bakura finally shrieked, “Look, if you want your stupid friends, why don't you go and find them!?”

 

“Why don't you both grow up before I strangle both of you!?” Ryou exclaimed, and both spirits turned to him, “What in hell's the matter with you!? We're dealing with magic and you're wasting time bickering! Seriously, I wish I'd just stayed with that psychopath!” He stormed away, leaving Bakura and Yami to stare in complete and utter amazement. Ryou had never defied either of them so strongly before. They glanced at each other with concern.

 

“That's a new one,” Bakura grumbled, “What's his problem?”

 

“Let's see… Monsters are attacking the city, we're plunged into eternal darkness, the city's destroyed, and your friends are all missing,” Shimbou recounted, and shrugged, “I'd say we're screwed six ways to hell and back. So let's just go.” That wasn't entirely the best way to put things into perspective, but it did the trick. Yami and Bakura followed Shimbou as they ran after Ryou.

 

The park was just a few short minutes away, and unlike the streets before them, it was well lit, much like the square. They had no trouble locating the first of their friends; Joey was standing guard outside of the large clock tower, despite the fact that it wasn't working currently. But they couldn't see anyone else. Curious, but mostly worried, Ryou ran over. Joey saw him, and grinned, waving him over.

 

“Hey, buddy! We were wondering where you went!” Joey called cheerfully, and clapped Ryou on the back when the boy stopped, “…you look kind of pale. Everything okay?”

 

“Where are the others?” Ryou asked, without answering. His breathing was heavy, but he put it off to an adrenaline rush. The terror from nearly being shot hadn't completely gone away, and seeing Bakura and Yami acting like children only made his blood boil higher. Joey stepped back, surprised by Ryou's grim, almost angry tone. Clearly, something was very wrong. Joey decided not to stall and see what.

 

“Yugi and Mokuba are up top, trying to get the clock to work,” he explained, “Malik came by after Rex called him. Some crazy person demanded to know where Sami is. I'm pretty sure he's the one who shot her, because he had a gun in his hand. He ran after her when he saw her climbing into the sew… hey, Ryou!!” Before Joey even finished, Ryou was already running. He cursed hatefully, wishing the blonde man had just died already. It'd make his life so much easier.

 

Ryou ran past the side of the clock tower, and found a sewer grate open, its top lying three yards away. The smell coming out of the opening was atrocious, but he'd bear it. Sami had to be down there. He felt just an ounce of magic, barely a spark. But it was from her. And, when Rex came up the ladder, Ryou knew that Malik was there, as well. Rex looked up and grinned when he saw Ryou.

 

“About time you showed up, Bakura,” he said gruffly, tipping his cap, “We've been trying to find a signal to call you from.”

 

“Is Sami with you?” Ryou asked quickly, again without answering. Rex just blinked profusely. He personally didn't understand the worry; Sami was easily able to defend herself. Obviously, Rex misjudged the blonde man's insanity for her.

 

“No. She went farther down,” Rex replied curiously, “Malik was injured, though, so we need to get him out. But he's being stubborn. I'm going to find a medical kit. You go down there and drag both their asses out, okay?” Ryou nodded, and when Rex moved aside, Ryou descended the ladder. The smell was stronger, but so was the spark of magic he felt from before. Sami was closer. Ryou let go and fell the rest of the way down, landing softly. The shaft opened up to a larger, circular cavern with one tunnel leading westward. Within the cavern was a rough-hewn table, and on that table was Malik. Ryou noticed that he wasn't sitting quite right. He walked over.

 

“Malik!” he called, and Malik yelped, turning, “…you okay?” Malik shook his head, and pointed to his leg. There was a gash, the skin around it purple with injury. Ryou winced, and realized the cut was probably infected. He tore off his left sleeve and bound the wound, hoping it'd hold until they got it properly treated. Malik just grinned, but it vanished quickly. He pointed down the tunnel.

 

“Your crazy girlfriend went down that way,” he grumbled, “And some asshole with a gun went after her. I don't know what trouble she's going into, but we have to help her. I promised Katt I'd help her when she heard what happened.” Now Ryou understood why Malik was being so stubborn. He couldn't let Katt down. Except that this time, he'd be forced to. Ryou wasn't about to let him wander around a sewer with such an injury.

 

“I'm afraid I won't give you a choice, my friend,” Ryou told him gently, “You have to get up and get treated. I'll go after Sami.”

 

“You think you can take a psycho down?” Malik asked with concern. But Ryou didn't want to tell him that his fears were correct. The blonde man would definitely shoot him if they met again. He swallowed hard, hoping the Zerrkandr would be strong enough to fend off bullets.

 

“If not, Sami will probably get him,” he said, only hoping he was right. Malik seemed to believe that, and after seeing his friend climbing up, Ryou went down the tunnel. It was dank, and he heard dripping in the distance. The ground beneath his feet was soggy; he was probably close to a trench. He plunged forward, wishing he were anywhere else right then.

 

Ryou didn't need to go far before becoming completely confused. The tunnel had wound only a short way, but as he exited it, it ended in a balcony overlooking what had to be the entire under-works of the city. On all four sides of the walls within the huge cavern, there were gigantic pipes dumping brown liquid into a pool far below, and small aqueducts that looked like simple threads from that height carried the water elsewhere. It was both amazing and terrifying to see. Ryou couldn't help but shiver.

 

“Nice view?” came a voice to his side. Ryou yelped, and turned quickly only to find Sami looked at him, amusement scribbled on her face as she asked, “What on earth are you doing, Ryou?” Ryou couldn't believe it! She had been right there! He would've laughed, except that he knew someone else was close by. He decided to get right to the point, if only to avoid this someone.

 

“Looking for you,” he said simply, “Rex and Malik said you were down here. The real question is, what are you doing?” Sami just chuckled, her wings ruffling lightly. She walked him back into the tunnel, and they began to head back. Ryou couldn't believe it'd been that easy, but when he heard her explanation, he wished it wasn't. There was only one reason she'd abandon whatever she was doing here.

 

“I saw Amber heading down here,” she answered, and then said, “That man followed me, and he said I should head out and stay safe. He's going to flush her out and try to capture her directly.” Thankfully, the dark hid the sneer Ryou was hiding. Once again, that idiot of a man was making him feel weak because he hadn't been there for Sami. He hoped Amber killed him, even though it'd probably upset Sami a great deal.

 

“How nice,” he said sarcastically when they came to the ladder. Sami looked at him warningly, but he didn't hide how he felt. He just climbed up the ladder, back into the city, with her coming shortly after. Everyone else had already assembled around the grate, waiting for their return. But what disturbed Ryou about it, as he saw Rex, was that the detective couldn't find a medical kit. Malik needed one very badly, though he was currently acting like nothing had happened. He waved for Ryou and Sami to walk over, which they did.

 

“You find what you needed?” he asked Sami. She shook her head, and sat next to him on a bench.

 

“No. Nothing down there but garbage,” she stated tiredly, and Malik decided not to ask about the blonde man. Sami then noticed that there was red human blood on her pants, and glanced at Malik suspiciously. She saw just a tiny bit of the makeshift cast Ryou created, and raising a brow, asked, “What happened?”

 

“Nothing serious,” came the equally defensive reply, “Just a scratch.” Sami blinked, and shook her head again, ripping the cast off. She gasped audibly; the wound was throbbing. She looked up at Malik seriously.

 

“A scratch, huh? It looks infected,” she commented, and frowned, “As much as I don't like you, I'll have to fix this. So don't say anything.” Malik opened his mouth, and then understood what she meant when Sami closed her eyes. He felt power coursing through her, very quickly, and very strong. Whatever she was working on, it had to be a complex spell. Her eyes flew open again and she said, “Remeidr!” Malik looked down at his leg when he felt tingles of cold running up his nerves. The wound was binding itself! He looked down at Sami, and the two smiled, for just a second. But Rex was already on his way over, and Malik's smile vanished.

 

“Look, Winchester, I don't want to rush this, but Malik told me there were monsters running around earlier, and if Bakura is right, too, then we need to move before we're next,” he told her, and Sami stood up. Monsters weren't a good sign, but she had expected them to be here, anyway. It meant Amber was close. To everyone's confusion, she smiled slyly at the news.

 

“Right on target, then,” she said, “All right, let's go and talk to the others. If we're lucky, Mr. Suguroku is with them by now.” Rex nodded, having come to the same action. He tipped his cap again, and helped Sami to get Malik to stand. His wound was bad enough to warrant support, and Rex gladly offered the help. But as they moved to leave, Bakura tapped Sami's shoulder again. She sighed, wondering what his problem could've been.

 

“What about Yaten?” the old thief asked her, and Sami just snorted, walking away.

 

“If he's stupid enough to not run the hell away, then I think he deserves to die,” she said sarcastically, even though Ryou knew she was actually serious. Bakura just shrugged. That was enough for him. They left the clock tower at that point, and began to slow walk out of the park altogether.

 

By the time they'd reached the western side of the suburbs, where Malik's house sat farther out, the first few stretches of sunlight were spearing through the horizon already. The going had been slow due to Malik's leg, but they made it within two hours, and he was eternally grateful to Sami for it, too. Without her magic, he wouldn't have been able to walk at all. His house came into view within a few moments, and excitedly, he pointed toward the obscured path that wound through a small grove, right to his house. Rex took it, with Sami and Ryou following immediately after. Bakura had taken to keeping the others in line, but when Malik decided to just get to his house alone, all hell broke loose as Mokuba and Yugi rushed to try and help him. Sami just sighed.

 

“Should we bother?” she asked, when Malik actually fell over, having been hindered more than helped. Ryou just laughed.

 

“Think your magic could stop their shenanigans?” he countered, as Shimbou finally decided to do things his way and carry Malik up the steps. Sami just sighed again. Something told her this meeting would go even worse than the last one. She hoped that Ishizu would handle it better, too.

 

-----------------------------(End Chapter)

 

After finding his friends scattered throughout the city, the group heads back to Malik's to make sure the others are well, and to figure out where to head next from there. Will Kaiba have changed his mind and give them the directions to his island? And will Katt be able to help them this time? Find out next chapter, so click that Review button!