Invisible Me

Author’s Note – Wow! I can’t believe how many people are leaving reviews. Thank you guys so much for your support and please keep it coming, not only for me but for other writers out there as well. Hopefully, I’ll be able to keep the chapters coming for your reading pleasure. So far, everything in life is going well, so the muses should be fairly cooperative (I hope). Hugs go out to DracOnyx, Silvershadowfire, and ladywolf_Terri!

Disclaimer - I don't own YuGiOh!!!

Chapter Four – Egg Rolls and Plot Holes

Ryou had just placed the order for five people, making sure to include vegetarian entrees for the platinum blond hikari, when Marik and Malik knocked on the door to the home he shared with his yami. Bakura, seeing that Ryou was busy for the moment, opened the door to admit their friends.

“Hey, you two.”

Ryou answered, his voice warm and friendly as he answered his fellow hikari.

“Hi Malik, Marik. Come on in and get comfortable. Téa should be here after a while. She had to go home and change before she could come over. Knowing her, it won’t take her long.”

The four of them sat down, idly discussing how their day went. Bakura kept an eye on the clock, which told Ryou that the yami was starting to get impatient. However, before a comment could be made in regards to that, there was another knock at the door. Ryou got up and found Téa standing on the porch, panting slightly.

“Téa, did you run all the way from your house?”

“Yeah, I didn’t want to keep everyone waiting for too long.”

“You haven’t. Malik and Marik got here a little bit ago.”

“Oh good.”

“Come on in. The food should be here in a little bit.”

Téa followed the white haired teenager into the living room, smiling warmly at the other three occupants of the room.

“I hope I didn’t keep you waiting for too long.”

Bakura leaned back in his seat, watching her as she sat down in a small wing backed chair.

“You actually made it before I thought you would. What did you do, run all the way here?”

“Actually, I did. I didn’t want to keep any of you waiting too long.”

Marik propped his feet up on the coffee table and looked over at the small dancer with a violet gaze that missed nothing.

“I hear you got the part the bitch wanted.”

Téa gave a small satisfied smile as she answered the darker half of the Egyptian pair. It was obvious that she was extremely pleased with what she had accomplished today.

“Oh yeah. Sachi thought she was going to get that solo and honestly believed she deserved the limelight. Needless to say, she was extremely upset when she left rehearsal today.”

There were a few chuckles from the males, all of whom were glad to hear that the pharaoh’s latest interest wouldn’t have something to brag about the next time the group was together.

The conversation stayed light for a while until after the food arrived. The group sat around the kitchen table as Téa relayed what she’d overheard in the dressing room before rehearsal. Low growls were heard from Bakura, Malik, and Marik when she told them about Sachi’s opinions regarding the two smaller hikaris.

“Who does that bitch think she is? This group has been together for a long time. She can’t just barge right in and reorganize everything. Yugi and Ryou belong with us. Without Yugi, none of us would be here right now.”

“Which is why we’re getting rid of the bitch, hikari of mine.”

Ryou picked at his cashew chicken for a moment before breaking his silence. Throughout most of the meal, he’d been listening to what the others had to say and he quickly realized something that could seriously become a problem.

“You know, even if Yami dumps this one, he’ll find another girl or guy within a few days and Yugi will be hurting all over again.”

Biting into his egg roll, Bakura froze and looked over at his hikari. He hadn’t thought of that before and knew that something was going on behind those warm chocolate colored eyes.

“What are you thinking, Ryou?”

“I think that some of us should focus on getting rid of whatever partner Yami has, while those closest to Yugi should encourage him to try and get Yami’s attention. We can’t actively throw the two together. Yami might try to treat him the same as he has the others.”

“Which would kill Yugi.”

Ryou nodded at Bakura’s comment and continued.

“So we have to do what we can to encourage Yugi and keep the playing field empty for him.”

Marik grinned, catching on to what Ryou was trying to say. He approved of it, knowing that Yami had to see Yugi for himself. If the teenager was constantly thrown into Yami’s path by one of them, he might not react in ways that the amethyst eyed hikari would want.

“Okay, so Bakura and I will see to it that every bed partner he picks up manages to find it uncomfortable to stay with him. Malik can help as well, but he’ll also help Ryou encourage Yugi to fight for what he wants.”

Bakura took another bite out of his egg roll, relishing the delicate flavor of meat and vegetables.

“We can also encourage him in our own way.”

Téa nodded, her agile brain running through ideas on how to bring the yami and hikari pair together.

“What about organizing some events strictly for yamis and hikaris? If we choose the right activities, Yami shouldn’t suspect something was up.”

Malik played with his vegetable fried rice, looking thoughtfully at the hand that held the chopsticks.

“That’ll take some planning, but it shouldn’t be impossible. I’ll help Ryou with Yugi. Hopefully, we’ll be able to help him gain some confidence. He gets confident enough, he can win Yami’s heart.”

Bakura finished off his egg roll and tried to snitch one of Ryou’s, who calmly slapped his hand away before handing him the carton that held the extras.

“I don’t get it though.”

“Get what, Kura?”

“That stubborn fool of a yami that Yugi has. What’s causing him to go through lovers like this?”

Ryou and Malik shared a look, not too surprised that Bakura had picked up on the root of the problem. The thief was extremely observant and had noticed something that had been bothering all of them. All of them were quiet for a while before Téa laid her chopsticks down and broke the silence.

“I think he’s unhappy.”

Marik frowned, looking over at the brown haired girl.

“What does being unhappy have to do with anything?”

“Think about it. He’s overlooking the obvious answer and is trying to fill the void in his heart by bedding as many people as he can. I don’t think he knows what he’s looking for.”

“Okay, now I don’t get it.”

“It’s easy, Malik. You know his history. How many of his concubines or wives were actually chosen by him?”

Malik frowned, taking a bite of his broccoli before answering.

“None that I know of. The women were chosen by the council to strengthen political alliances.”

“Exactly. Yami knows something is missing, but he doesn’t know what it is. He’s wanting love, looking for something that will ease the ache, but he doesn’t know what it is he’s looking for exactly. He’s never felt the peace that comes from being held and loved by your soulmate.”

Téa blushed, thinking of her absent lover. She’d have to call Isis later when she got home.

Ryou’s voice broke her from her thoughts, bringing her back to the problem at hand.

“You may have a point there. If that’s the case, Yugi will definitely have his work cut out for him.”

“Maybe, maybe not.”

At that cryptic comment, all eyes turned to Marik, who was staring at his tea cup.

“What do you mean?”

“What I mean, Bakura, is the bond between yami and hikari. They’re already soul partners. Considering the pattern so far, it’s fairly obvious that the two are also soul mates.”

“Yeah, but this is Yami we’re talking about. He’s never done anything the easy way.”

“You make it sound like we’ve done things the easy way, Bakura. I recall Ryou nearly having to seduce you to get you to wake up to the fact that you loved him.”

The hikari blushed at Marik’s words, much to the yami’s amusement. He took a bite of his egg roll before answering the platinum tressed Egyptian.

“Yeah. Maybe Yugi will have to do the same thing, although I wouldn’t recommend it.”

Bakura turned to his hikari, a curious expression in his mahogany colored eyes.

“Why?”

Ryou took another bite and reached for the soy sauce, sprinkling it over his second helping of fried rice and broccoli beef.

“Yami has a habit of sleeping around. If Yugi gave in to him without a commitment, it’d just be another notch on his bedpost. Subconsciously, he’d treat Yugi like that and discard him. Yugi seriously needs to know that Yami is emotionally committed before agreeing to a physical relationship.”

Malik nodded, agreeing with his friend. He reached for the vegetable egg rolls and piled two more on his plate.

“Ryou has a point. We’ll need to stress that when the time comes.”

Téa knew they had a point and also added her agreement by a silent nod. Everyone had given a valid point tonight, and the dancer could only hope that something could be done to help her friend.

The meal went on as the group discussed creative ways to get rid of Sachi, taking mental notes and often planning ahead in case Yami chose another lover that wasn’t Yugi. They were bound and determined to do whatever was necessary to keep things unsettled for each of Yami’s lovers so that they wouldn’t want to hang around for very long.

As the group dispersed for the night, Ryou looked out of his front door, watching as Marik and Malik escorted Téa home. His thoughtful expression was caught by his yami, who walked behind him and wrapped him in a warm hug.

“What is it, love?”

“I just hope everything works out, Kura. I don’t want anyone hurt.”

“We’ll be careful, Ryou. You know quite well that I will not let anything happen to Yugi.”

Ryou turned in his yami’s arms, smiling up at him.

“I know. Feel up to watching a movie before going to bed? I’m a little too wound up to sleep right now.”

“Sure. We have any egg rolls left?”

Author’s Note – Things should get interesting from here on out. Someone brought it to my attention that forcing Yugi on Yami might not be the wisest way to get them together. So, I adjusted plot ideas and let my muses have fun with the idea of chasing away any lover that isn’t Yugi. Although, I think a muse of mine went a little overboard on the Chinese food because I’m wanting egg rolls in a major way now! Anyway, please be kind and review. Anyone who wants to be included on my update list, just put your email address with your review. Take care, everyone, and see you soon!