Love and Learn

Sakura (L-sama no Miko)

Chapter 4

"Thanks for taking me here, Marik-sama," the smaller blond Mobian said as they approached the apartment building.

"You wouldn't leave me alone if I didn't," his taller master grumbled.

"I'm sorry, but I won't be happy until I know Bakura-dono and Ryou-chan are alright. What if he ran into that poor little guy we helped last night? You know how Bakura-dono gets around strangers."

The taller blond smiled, remembering the day he'd met the thief. Ryou had developed a mild case of pneumonia and Bakura had rushed him to his clinic. The white haired man had to be physically restrained by his cousin's boyfriend Rishid. He was so mistrustful of them that, Marik couldn't doubt that the thief would have done his job for him if he knew how. He also noticed him glaring at the other clients while waiting for their turn. It was almost as if the thief was expecting to be attacked at any moment.

"Hey, it's ok. I am kinda worried about the little guy too," Marik said ruffling the smaller one's hair. He then pressed the call button for the thief's apartment. No answer which was odd since either Bakura or Ryou was usually up by this time. He pressed the button again, and a panting Ryou answered.

"Y-Yes?"

"Hey, Ry!" the golden wolf called.

"This isn't exactly the best time right now, Malik," he said, "We're um… kinda in the middle of an emergency."

"What'd that idiot thief do now?" Marik asked.

There was a short silence then Bakura's voice came over the intercom. "Thank Ra you're here freak, I could use a vet right now."

Malik went pale, "You don't think…"

"Possibly," Marik whispered back. "I'll be right up!" he said into the speaker, glad for once he'd forgotten he was still carrying his emergency kit. There was a brief moment of silence then the door buzzed, allowing the two blonds to enter the building. Malik raced to the elevators and dashed into the nearest available one, not waiting for his master. He couldn't shake the feeling that something had happened to the little Mobian he'd meant the night before.

Meanwhile, Bakura was in the bathroom with a very frightened Yugi. "Why'd the bleep did you go and do that for?!" he yelled for the umpteenth time as he desperately tried to stop the bleeding with yet another set of towels. Yugi only shook, too frightened and too weak to answer.

"Yelling at him isn't going to help any," Ryou spat, glaring at his taller lover. "He's already scared as it is. It'll be okay Yugi. Marik-dono's on the way up and he'll fix you up," he said, smiling and petting the soft spiky hair.

"About bleepin' time!" Bakura grumbled when a rather loud knock came from the apartment door. Ryou rushed back out and opened the door, only to be knocked over by a blond blur. Marik didn't need to ask, he just followed his smaller lover to the bathroom.

"Bleep!" the taller blond said, at the sight of a pile of bloody towels and a shaking Yugi. "Just what did you do to him?!" he yelled, pushing the white haired thief away and immediately began examining the cat Mobian's wrists.

"I wasn't me!" Bakura shot back. "The idiot slit his wrists on his own!"

Malik snarled and glared at him. "And why is that?!" He didn't know what the actual situation was, but seeing a fellow Mobian in danger of losing his life didn't sit well with him.

"This isn't the time for this bleep!" Marik yelled pulling out a syringe and sticking it in a bottle of anesthetic. "Either help me or get the bleeping hell out!!!"

Both Bakura and Malik eeped then dashed out of the bathroom.

"Now will SOMEBODY tell me what the heck happened to Yugi?!!!" Malik asked as he plopped down onto the couch.

"H-How do you know Yugi?!" Ryou queried, trembling from the glare the gold wolf Mobian was giving the two of them.

"We ran into him last night. Said he was looking for his master. I never would have thought it'd turn out to be you, Bakura-dono."

"I'm not really his master," Bakura said, grimly. Malik looked at him questioningly. "It's a bit of a long story."

"Well, we've got plenty of time," Malik said, still glaring at him.

Bakura was about to start his tale, when, the call button went off. "Please don't tell me that's who I think it is," Bakura complained.

Ryou, for want of something to do other than sit and wait, pushed the reply button. "Um… Hello?" he asked, meekly.

"YUGI HAD BETTER BE THERE, THIEF!" came Kaiba's very irate voice.

"I knew it," said thief, grumbled. Malik watched the two, curious as to what the heck they'd stumbled in on. "Might as well let him in, love. There'll be no stopping him anyway."

"IF YOU DON'T LET ME IN THIS INSTANT, I'LL…" Kaiba's ranting was cut off the door buzzer.

Sighing, Ryou went to start some tea, not before shooting Bakura a glare of his own.

"I'll explain when rich-boy gets here. I'm in no moodfor repeating myself," he said, sighing and shaking his head.

Malik kept silent, however, he would glance over to the bathroom door whenever a howl would escape from behind the closed door. It didn't take too long for their front door to receive another beating.

"I KNOW YOU'VE GOT YUGI IN THERE THIEF! OPEN UP!" Kaiba yelled.

Malik got up and answered the door. It was obvious to him, that the white haired thief was too shaken to deal with the brunet at the moment. Seto stared at Malik for a moment, thinking he'd gotten to the wrong apartment, but then recognized the mop of white hair by the couch. "WHERE'S YUGI?!" he demanded, Yami silently following him into the apartment, glaring at everyone.

It was then that Marik chose to come from the bathroom, carrying a dozing Yugi, bandages on both forearms. "Will you keep it down! Poor guy's been through hell."

Yami and Seto saw red. "WHAT HAVE YOU DONE?!!" Seto bellowed, barely managing to hold Yami from attacking Marik.

"Yes, 'Kura, I think you've got some explaining to do," Marik said, rocking the little Mobian who was trembling again, having been woken by the loud voices. "I'm going to put him to bed, and then I want a full explanation," he said carrying Yugi to the guestroom, Yami following him.

"As would I," Seto spat, making himself at home on one of the living room chairs. "Care to tell me why he had bandages on both arms, thief?!"

Bakura hung his head before speaking. "It's all my fault. If I hadn't yelled at him, if hadn't rejected him, the little one wouldn't have smashed my mother's mirror and slit his wrists."

There was a resounding crack as Seto's fist had an intimate meeting with the thief's jaw. "You knew he never got a fail safe and still you DELIBERATELY refused him!! No wonder he wanted to kill himself!!!" came Seto's irate reply.

"It's not that I don't want to keep him," Bakura said, rubbing his sore jaw. "We'd be living on a tight budget if I'd kept him, Kaiba. He deserves better. He deserves a master who could give him whatever he wanted. I'd never be able to do that. I can barely do that for Ryou as it is. Gods know he deserves better than this tiny little apartment."

"'K-Kura-sama!" Ryou said, blushing, shocked at his taller lover's confession. Not once did the thief complain to him, nor did he whenever Bakura had denied him a gift due to the fact that the bills had to come first. "I-I never knew you felt like that!"

Bakura was again stopped from saying anything when Marik returned, followed by a growling and glaring Yami. "He's asleep right now, so do try to keep your voices down. I gave him a sedative so he'll be out of it for a few hours," the vet said, sitting next to Malik. "He's lost a lot of blood, but not too much since you two got to him in time. He'll be weak for a few days, so I don't recommend moving him. He'll be ok, though, probably be in some pain, due to the stitches I had to give him. I'll prescribe some painkillers." Bakura nodded, the guilt written all over his face.

"Got what you deserved then?" the blond vet asked, noticing the thief's quickly bruising face. Bakura could only nod.

"Hey! I DEMAND an explanation!!" Malik demanded.

"Malik! What did I say about keeping your voice down?!" The golden wolf Mobian 'eeped' before grumbling, "Well I do."

"Well thief?" Seto spat.

Ryou placed a hand on his lover's shoulder. Thankful for the smaller one's support, Bakura began his tale aided by the brunet who filled them on what had been going on at the mansion.

"So now you know," Bakura said, hanging his head once more. "I'm a jerk and a complete idiot."

"Yes you are!" Ryou said, crawling into his lap. "But I guess I'm one too, since I can't stop loving you," he added, giving him a quick peck.

"I suppose I should apologize as well," Seto said, shocking all of them. Seto Kaiba, CEO of Kaiba Corp. was known to never apologize to anyone, even if he was wrong. "I never should have kept him when I learned about the missing fail safe. But Mokuba seemed so happy to have someone to play with at home, I just couldn't do it."

Yami nuzzled his master's cheek. "You thought you were doing the right thing, Master," he said, purring as Seto absentmindedly scratched the cat Mobian's ears.

"That still doesn't make it right. I should have sent him back when he started to refuse to eat. I truly am sorry, Bakura. I wish there was some other way I could get you out of this mess."

"Why not just let him stay with Bakura-dono?" Malik asked. Bakura was about to protest, but the blond Mobian raised his hand to stop him. "I'm not saying for free. What about if rich boy here helps out a bit?"

"And why should I do that?" Seto asked, not liking the idea of having to pay for something he didn't even own or use.

"Because you'll be the legal owner of Yugi," Malik replied. "You could say that Bakura-dono here is your… um… caretaker or something and Yugi stays here because he likes him so much."

"And we could let Yugi go and visit Mokuba," Ryou added, "That way he won't lose his friend and Yugi'll be much happier."

Seto placed his hand on his chin, thinking it over. It actually wasn't a bad idea. Both sides would be getting what they wanted. He looked at Yami and the cat Mobian looked up at him, curiously. "What do you think I should do?" he asked. Yami blinked, which Seto thought was rather cute, amazed that his master would ask for his opinion. Even though he did that all the time now, he still couldn't believe that he would even be considered to have an opinion of his own.

"Yugi should be happy," the darker Mobian replied, remembering just how miserable the smaller one had been.

"I guess I have no choice then," Seto began, "I'll allow Yugi to remain with you thief, however, you will no longer be accepting jobs from anyone else. Your sole purpose will now be to make sure the little one is happy, very happy as well to do whatever job I send your way." Bakura nodded, accepting his fate. "I will pay you, of course, it's not like I'm going to make your work your $$ off for nothing." Again the thief nodded. "But if I ever hear that Yugi is either unhappy or hurt in anyway, I will go through with that threat I made earlier, do I make myself clear?"

"Yes, Kaiba," Bakura said, rather subduedly.

"Good. I have to get back to work, I've wasted enough time. I'll be sending you your first payment within a week. Oh, and bring the little one to my house when he's well enough, Mokuba will not leave me alone until you do." With that the brunet CEO strode out the door, Yami started to follow, then turned back to the thief.

"I will not hesitate to hurt you, if anything happens to him. I'm sure master will not hesitate to give that order," he warned then followed his master out of the apartment.

"See, it turned out all right!" Malik said, happily nuzzling against Marik.

"I really hope so," Bakura said. "I really hurt the poor kid. I just hope he doesn't wind up hating me or something."

Ryou couldn't help giggling. "Baka! I may have gotten mad at you this morning, but I don't hate you. I'm sure Yugi'll feel the same way when he wakes up."

Malik nodded in agreement. "From what Marik-sama's told me about imprinting, I'm pretty darned sure that the little guy couldn't hate you even if he wanted to."

Bakura let out a chuckle, his mood improving slightly. "No doubt you're right, blondie. Looks like I've got another handful. Believe me, it wasn't easy to get Ryou to start thinking on his own at first."

Ryou blushed, but nodded.

"Well I guess I'll be heading back to work as well. That bleep cousin of mine is going to have another cow." Malik stifled a giggle, remembering how particular Marik's cousin Isis was about him being punctual or lack thereof. "I'll send you a prescription of painkillers for Yugi later. Try to keep him in one piece this time ok?" he added jokingly.

"Not even funny, freak," Bakura shot back, grinning though.

"Bye Ry-chan!" Malik called as he followed his taller copy out. "I'll come by and see how the kitten's doing."

"He'll like that, I think," Ryou said, relieved now that everything had worked out for the best.

"Are you sure you don't mind all this, Ryou?" Bakura asked, concerned his lover may get jealous once Yugi had recovered and started showering him with affection again.

"Like I said earlier, 'Kura-sama, poor Yugi can't help himself. He's imprinted onto you so there's no way out of this. Besides, I don't think he could help it even if he hadn't been imprinted," he said with a mischievous smirk. "I just can't keep away from you either." He then proceeded to give him a kiss that caused them to wind up in the bedroom that Ryou had just cleaned not too long ago.

Yugi woke up, his head fuzzy and foggy. He'd been dressed in a pair of pj's a tad too big and the mirror he'd smashed was gone, the glass cleaned up as well. Remembering what he had done, the little cat Mobian glanced down and saw that white bandages covered most of his forearms. Hanging his head in shame, for failing to 'go 'way' as he had put it, he stood up and staggered to the door.

When he didn't hear anything, he braved risking his master's anger and crept out of the room, clinging to whatever he could to keep himself steady. The little one's first instinct had been to search his master's room, and that is what he did. Opening the door carefully, as to not disturb anyone who might be inside, Yugi peeked past the crack he had made.

Just as his instinct had suspected, Bakura was once again lying on the bed, Ryou curled up at his side. The poor cat boy couldn't help letting out a tiny whimper at the sight of the two of them. It hurt too much to see his master with another. He started to close the door, but as he was doing so, bumped into a piece of furniture in the hall and let out a yelp of pain.

"Yugi?!" Bakura cried as he watched the smaller Mobian start to fall. With the speed learnt from years of running from the law, the white haired thief dashed over to him and thankfully caught him just before Yugi hit the floor. Carrying him over to the bed, he said, "You shouldn't be out of bed. You've lost a lot of blood with that stunt you pulled."

Yugi winced. "Y-Yugi sorry," he said miserably.

Bakura sighed. "I'm not angry with you, Yugi. I was wrong. I shouldn't have made you go with Kaiba," he said as he placed him on the bed next to Ryou, who had just woken up.

Smiling, the smaller white haired Mobian, drew Yugi into his arms. The little cat Mobian stiffened slightly, but a sudden sharp pain in his head forced him to relax.

"What am I going to do with you?" Bakura asked, shaking his head in mock anger. "You're such a handful." Yugi was about to apologize, but a gentle kiss from his master stopped anything from escaping his mouth.

"Master want Yugi?" he asked, blinking very much like Yami had.

Nodding, Bakura wrapped his arms around the petite cat boy. "Forget about what I said earlier. You're staying with Ryou and me."

"Master want Yugi!" he cried, ecstatically, then began to kiss and lick all over the white haired thief. Bakura firmly grasped Yugi's face and turned it to his, smiling gently. "Not yet, little one," he said, causing a pout to appear on the small heart shaped face. "Maybe when you're better. That is if you don't mind, love."

Ryou blushed, but smiled. "I don't mind sharing 'Kura-sama, but just remember who had you first, or your next date will be with a certain piece of furniture," he warned, nuzzling his nose into Yugi's soft spikes.

"Like I'd let that happen, tenshi (angel)," he said back, reaching over to pull the smaller clone into a kiss.

Not liking to be left out, Yugi copied his master and kissed Ryou's cheek, earning a chuckle from Bakura. "Not until you're better, little one," he reminded. "How about some lunch?"

As if on cue, Yugi's stomach let its opinion be known. Laughing, Ryou got up and quickly put on a pale blue robe. "Lunch it is then!" he said heading off to the kitchen.

Owari

Sakura: Yay! I finally got this baby finished!!! Not as good as a couple other hybrid ficcies I know of out there, but I am rather proud of this one.

Bakura: Makes two of us. -

Yami: You may be proud Tomb Robber, but I'm not!

Sakura: Oh, go stuff it Pharaoh! It's your fault poor Yu-chan wound up almost getting his soul eaten by the Leviathan!

Yami: I keep telling you, onna, I. HAD. NO. CHOICE!!!!

Sakura: And I keep telling you, Pharaoh, THERE'S. ALWAYS. A. CHOICE!!!!

Sonic: There they go again.

Scourge: Yep. She's a real spitfire.

Tails: What are you doing here?! What about Fiona?!

Scourge: Still sore about that, eh? Don't worry kiddo, Fiona's still my girl. I just like popping in on Sakura-chan every now and then.

Sakura: Bout time you did too! Things were getting a little too predictable round here.

Scourge: Glad to shake things up for ya, babe. (seg – sexy evil grin)

Bakura: Hey! I saw her first!

Sakura: As much as I'd loooooooooooove to stay and watch you guys fight over me – and I do – I've gotta go work on my other ficcies. Jya ne!

Ed: She gone yet?

Al: Looks like it, brother.

Ed: Thank goodness.

Roy: Not so fast Full Metal, she told me to make sure you read this for her.

Ed: How'd the heck did you get in here?!!!!

Envy: Fooled you again Hagane-chibi!!!! Yeesh you're so gullible.

Ed: Y-You palm tree headed freak!!!!!

Al: Um… I guess I'd better do this then. (clears throat) Sakura-san asks that you 'pleaaaaaaaaaaaaase, pleaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaase send me loooooooooooooads of reviews!' Thank you.