So, this is a good few years overdue, I know... I'm really grateful to anyone still interested in this series, and once again I'm really sorry it took me so long to finish this piece. I got bogged down with work and uni, and then when I wrote it I wasn't happy with the quality (still not, really, but I think this is the best it's ever going to be), and it was really hard to commit to how this chapter was going to be.

But, it's finally here and just before Christmas too, so that's kinda nice.

I hope everyone enjoys this and finds it a satisfying ending for this very long and rather windy series. Thank you again for reading, and particularly those who have spent a few minutes reviewing. It means a lot to me.

Borath

Domination: Chapter 14

To say it had been a trying year would have been a vast understatement, and that it was almost a marvel that they had come through it more of less intact was another. Damage control had been an arduous but necessary task following Malik's innocent but altogether necessary death, and although in grief, Isis and had been understanding if reserved. Yami had tried to spend some time with her, feeling responsible for leaving her effectively alone now that her brother had followed after Rishid's recent death. They had quietly and awkwardly decided that that was probably the main trigger for Yami Malik's violent and obsessive return. The funeral for Malik had been a quiet and intensely personal affair. Yami had felt incredibly awkward being there, and the Pharaoh tried not to speculate on how Bakura was as the thief observed from a substantial distance.

Malik's death during that final confrontation was something that wasn't really discussed, with a strong sense between them all that now was the time and opportunity to move on. And move on they had, with the bonds of friendship re-established through shared adversity and after seeing one put into the ground, Yami had internally resolved to bring himself back to better health. It had been a choice between rebuilding or allowing himself to completely collapse, in his mind, and weeks later he felt he had chosen right.

"I can't believe you're actually doing this." Yugi's broad grin echoed in his words.

It had turned out that they could fit quite a few people into the tiny bathroom of the Mutou house, but he'd managed to stake a good spot on the edge of the bath next to the sink where Yami was 'working'. Ryou was sat behind Yugi, stifling giggles with his hand, and Bakura loitered in the doorway appearing rather bemused. Sugoroku had Joey drifting around with boxes to keep him out of Yami's hair. The eldest Mutou had attempted this with everyone briefly, but Joey was the only one still stuck in the shop under the man's watchful gaze. Everything this morning seemed to be revolving around Yami's hair, and the spirit was not entirely happy with the attention.

Staring at his reflection in the mirror whilst leaning over the sink, Yami was carefully separating his hair into sections and tying them with bands. With it in heavy white bunches, he was hardly recognizable, and the grey irises where there was once crimson didn't help matters. He'd already thrown a shampoo bottle and the soap, albeit playfully, at Bakura for the insinuations about how stupid he looked.

Sighing, Yami looked bemusedly at Yugi's reflection in the mirror, not quite believing he was doing this either. "It's not like I have a lot of choice. I've been in and out of my soul room and it hasn't done anything. It's been over a month now. It just wants to stay white, and I refuse to spend the rest of my existence looking like one of Bakura's 'groupies'."

Said white haired spirit laughed and crossed his arms, leaning casually into the doorframe. "I won't take that as the insult it was doubtlessly intended as. Won't it grow back in its normal colours eventually?"

Growling in frustration, Yami kept his back to them both and indicated violently to his scalp. "Even the roots are white." He waved his hand erratically in the air for a moment, trying to voice his disgust and shock. "Still!"

Yugi coughed loudly and brought his head down, putting his fists firmly into his cheeks. Yami had become outright obsessed with his hair recently, particularly after Joey had commented that it could just be that he was old now, and to be thankful he wasn't bald.

Joey reappeared in the doorway, slipping past Bakura without a glance and clapping a hand on Yugi's and Ryou's shoulders. "Right. Grandpa says you guys have gotta come help out downstairs. Leave Yami to it with the hair stuff." He sounded breathless, and Ryou squirmed a bit as the sweat from his palm finally reached through his shirt to his skin.

"What about Bakura?" Yugi asked, standing obediently all the same. He gave Yami an apologetic look through the mirror to which he merely smiled with a raised eyebrow. The both knew how Sugoroku could be, and how it was always best to do as they were told.

Bakura looked to Joey, marginally interested to know why he'd been let off whatever manual labour everyone was getting roped into. Joey put his hands to his head briefly before dropping them back to his sides after catching wind of his underarms. "Well I did ask about that, but the whole Tomb Robber Thief thing came up an' that was kinda the end of it."

Bakura nodded smugly, moving away from the doorway and advancing on Yami's back. "You see? You work hard at getting a solid reputation, and it'll stick with you for life. Isn't that right Yami? You're working on being a stick insect with stupid hair, and it'll stick with you for life."

Ryou and Yugi chose this moment to duck out of the bathroom, Joey rapidly in tow and pulling the door shut behind him. Bakura, now at Yami's shoulder, folded his arms again and looked down into the sink. He was glad to see only a few errant hairs when he had been expecting quite a few. The energy surge that Yami had summoned up had done a lot of exhausting damage, some of it apparently permanent.

Yami appeared unfazed by Bakura's comment, mixing up the first dye in the solution bottle, watching the vibrant yellow slosh around. He'd hoped it wouldn't come to this but it appeared that the bleaching had been utterly permanent and he'd have to do this every few months. He was privately contemplating a change rather than working with the same three colours next time, but felt that in some strange way sharing such a striking similarity in appearance created a further kinship with his aibou. It was a silly notion, but one he found difficult to let go off all the same.

"Grandpa just wanted us to have a chance to talk, didn't he?" he asked finally, not taking his eyes off of his task. Bakura nodded unseen and began picking idly at his nails.

"Yeah. Ryou and Yugi got that too. Just the blond who missed it, but then we have to be forgiving of such cases. Charitable thing to do and all that." Bakura knew he was rambling and hated it. There was a strange knot of nervousness in his gut that he wasn't fond of, and he couldn't quite place its cause.

So much had happened in the last few months, so much that had brought him closer into the group, closer than he ever thought he would be. It hadn't occurred to him whilst he was spending so much time with Yami that it could happen, and he wasn't sure if he'd have resisted it even if he had. The saps had grown on him a bit, like Ryou had at some point.

Lately however, after Malik's death and when everything had quietened down again, Bakura had found himself filled with a distinct sense of unease. His act of revenge hadn't fulfilled a private part of his soul as he hoped it would have, and Yami didn't seem to be relying on him as much anymore. It was almost as if he wasn't needed. Not that he'd ever voice such feelings. He hadn't been needed before all this, so it shouldn't be difficult to go back to that blissfully uncluttered state. He was still wary of it though.

He and Yami hadn't had a chance to really talk in the last few weeks. Ryou had wrangled him into helping to explain what had happened to Isis and helping to arrange the funeral. There had been a few white lies and some unspoken information, but Isis was still remarkably forgiving through her grief. She had known that her brother's dark side could bring about this fate, but wished it hadn't had to have involved a fight to the death with the Pharaoh. The forgiveness in her voice hadn't helped Bakura's feelings either. He wasn't expecting it and he certainly wasn't used to it.

There was no regret in him over Malik's death. He knew that Yami had stopped short of actually killing Yami Malik because that would have made him into something he wasn't, would have made him something like the psychotic monster, if not worse. Bakura, however, had never had any reservations about his nature, and knew that he was worse in terms of morality because he had craved that moment, that lethal strike for years. It was that deep yearning that had ended up punishing though, by building it up so much that the actual event became hollow; an empty victory. It was a feeling he had never anticipated.

There had been a very long period of silence between them now as Bakura became lost in his own thoughts, but Yami saw no reason to break it. He had enough sense to hazard a guess at the turmoil the other spirit must have been feeling recently. It was also a pitfall of their relationship that after so many intense discussions and frankness with each other, having a long period away from each other made it rather difficult to get talking again. He'd managed to get partway through dying and wrapping several clumps of hair in foil now, and his sand timer was running for them. He didn't like clocks at all, and Yugi had gotten him this half-hour timer last Christmas.

It was Bakura who spoke first in the end, gesturing a little as he did. His habit of talking with his hands was apparently becoming unnoticed by him. "So, how's the diet going?"

"Well, I believe." No longer plagued by worry and with his nightmares settling down, as well as his general feelings of depression and anxiety, Yami had managed to start eating more than the occasional bowl of soup. Part of that had been in making dinner a more informal gathering with food rather than an actual meal, so Yami didn't feel the same pressure to eat that he used to. He was actually feeling hungry again as well, his body demanding nutrients as it replenished and repaired itself.

"Anzu sent a good nutrition book last week and Honda left a fruit basket with a card in the Game Shop. I think they're tokens of peace."

Bakura ceased from examining Yami's torso and elbows, looking to the spirit's face with interest. Yami had a nasty habit of diluting his words when it came to his friends, but he could spot it most of the time. "Are you going to accept?"

Catching Bakura's intense gaze in his peripheral vision, Yami lowered the black dye bottle and turned to face him for the first time. "Quite honestly, I just want to forget about everything that's happened recently. The bad at least. A strange amount of good has come out, and I'm grateful, but I want to start again. With all my friends." He sounded tired again, and he could feel his shoulders dropping as he spoke. "They were being honest, and blunt, which is what you've done for me. The actual words were the only problem, and I can forgive words." A sigh, then he continued to apply the dye. "I just don't know how I'm going to apologise to them. I threw them out quite brutally."

Bakura frowned at that, not quite seeing why it was an issue. He had initially advise Yami to apologise to them, but since speaking to Joey about the heated exchange he had come to find that a less pressing thing. "You were angry, and you had every right to be. Don't go apologising for your behaviour, especially now when things are just about all done and dusted. Accept their apology, say thank you, and see where you go from there."

Yami smiled thinly. "I can't quite believe I'm getting advice on friendship from you," he murmured, to which Bakura grinned.

Rubbing absently at his elbow, Bakura ran his fingertips back and forth across the broad scar he now bore. He didn't mind it too much, and was proud of it in a way. Bludgeoning someone with a broken arm apparently made said breakage worse, he had discovered. He also now knew what it felt like to have the bone almost emerge from the skin. Quite disconcerting, although he had recovered quickly. There was also some satisfaction for him to find in having a scar from that incredibly memorable day. Yami had scars now too, but none of them were bright and new. In fact they were faded considerably and, at this rate, would be quite difficult to see in a matter of weeks.

He shook his head to take his mind from such thoughts before he ended up spiralling into them and wasting this time he had to talk to Yami properly, without a deadline by which he had to leave or people lurking about. The spirit's head was now almost completely covered in tinfoil, and looked father ridiculous. "Very shiny," he commented at last. "How long until we see the final results?"

With a triumphant smile now that he was done with the laborious bit, Yami flipped the sand timer over. "Half an hour. Now all there is to do is wait."

Bakura clapped his hands together and lent back against the wall. "Great. So what shall we talk about?"

'''''''

Yugi found it strange to be in Yami's room again. It had been redecorated a few days ago and the smell of paint and carpet still lingered. The window had been replaced and some of the furniture was different too. It still felt familiar though, and somewhat safe, which was perhaps why Yugi found it so difficult to accept. It had been a site of disaster and horror only a few weeks ago, and to have it back as something safe and comfortable was a little disconcerting after such a long period of having it 'off-limits'. He wondered if Yami was finding it difficult to sleep in here. If he was, he hadn't mentioned it.

Ryou stood at his side but having glanced about the room he was no longer looking at it. His attention was instead focussed on the envelope in Yugi's hands. It was plain and slim, but foreboding also.

Sugoroku had made the wise decision of having the hospital send Yami's test results to the house rather than putting the anxious spirit through the torment of taking him back in person. Yami had come to despise hospitals and wanted little more to do with them if he could help it. Quietly, Sugoroku also felt that it would be easier if Yami was at home if the results were not what they had hoped for.

Tapping the envelope into his palm, Yugi looked to Ryou with wide eyes. "I know we shouldn't, but I really want to open it. I need to know."

The other teen smiled sympathetically, placing a hand on Yugi's shoulder. "I understand, but this is addressed to Yami and Yami should be the one to open it. They should be finished in the bathroom soon, and I'm certain it's good news anyway."

Yugi nodded. "Yeah. You're probably right. Thanks Ryou."

As predicted, the spirits emerged from the steaming bathroom moments later, Yami's newly coloured hair damp and tousled, and Bakura appearing impressed with the results. It wasn't perfect: the yellow wasn't as bright as before, and the red was nowhere near as even as it once was, but Yami looked far more like his old self. Yugi had also just about gotten used to the spirit's 'creepy' eyes, which were here to stay unless they could find affordable coloured lenses.

"What's that, aibou?" Yami asked of the envelope as he stepped into the room, taking note of the nervousness the teens both seemed to be suffering, particularly Yugi.

Yugi extended the envelope to him and watched as Yami took it and began to open it. "It's your test results from the hospital. They got here a few minutes ago."

Yami frowned a little in confusion, keen to get at the contents now although there was a stab of worry in his stomach. Bakura stepped close to him, as if his proximity could offer support. "I thought I would have to go in to receive them?"

"Apparently not," Yugi said quickly, not wanting Yami to know quite how much involvement Sugoroku had had behind the scenes recently. He was certain that Yami wouldn't be offended by it, but he saw it best not to overcomplicate things with questions and explanations right now.

Finally Yami produced the single sheet of paper and unfolded it hastily. He had blocked Yugi mentally just in case, although he could feel his hikari still trying to gain access. Bakura finished reading before he did and clapped a firm hand across Yami's back with a laugh, wandering out of the room afterwards to pass on the news. He was all clear. The relief made his knees feel weak, but he still couldn't hold back a grin as he passed the paper to Yugi.

Dropping down on the edge of his bed, Yami barked a laugh as he heard Joey 'whooping' from downstairs. Absently picking up Mog, he twisted the worn ear for a few moments out of habit before regarding the gift. He felt he could return this to Kaiba now, feeling he'd come well past the point of needing such a comforter. He'd do that later on his own, and thank the man again for his support. He was certain it might be difficult for Kaiba to hear and accept, but he felt immensely grateful for everything that had been done for him and wanted to express that.

Putting the worn stuffed animal down, he welcomed the hug that Yugi gave him before standing. He didn't know quite what to say. These results had been the last thing that was really worrying him, and now he could go back to rebuilding some relationships and then everything would be back to normal. He wouldn't be back duelling tomorrow, but sometime soon. He felt more confident of that than anytime in the last few months.

"Congratulations Yami," Ryou said softly, smiling as he did. "There's some more post for you downstairs though, if you'd like to go look."

Curious, Yami made his way out of the room and downstairs. Ryou and Yugi followed, beaming, the letter still in Yugi's hands to show Sugoroku. They found Joey, Bakura and Sugoroku inside the kitchen, barely visible around multiple woven sacks of letters and parcels. There were several opened letters stacked on the one remaining bit of space on the table. Joey held one out to Yami.

As the spirit read, Sugoroku came to his side. "When he found out what had happened with Yami Malik, Pegasus delayed sending you this until I called him with a better time. It took a long time to get them all out of the van, I can tell you! And from what I can tell, they're all like that letter you're holding."

Yami wasn't one to get misty eyed, but this certainly got him close. Handing the letter to Yugi, he picked up another envelope from the closest sack. This one was pink and smelt vaguely of perfume. It's message was similar; wishing him luck and saying that the duelling world missed him and hoped to see him back soon.

Glancing around the room at the smiling faces, and taking stock of the faces who weren't present but perhaps should have been, Yami consideredthe moment. With this kind of support, with this family and extended family, he knew he was going to be fine.

The End

(Really. I actually mean it this time.)

Bit of a corny ending, I know, but I've been so damn mean to the characters it kinda felt right to have a sappy bit to finish things off.

I'd really appreciate feedback, good or bad, and certainly constructive criticism in general. Thanks again for sticking with me through this.