Okay. I realize that it's been more than a year and a half since I updated, and most of the people reading this have probably given up long ago. But...as a surprise to everyone, not least of all myself, I'm actually not finished with this! Several things have catalyzed my return to this story. One of them was the reviews I got recently from both Jjinks and Cgflower, and I suddenly realized, hey, people are actually still reading this! Another thing was that I went back and reread these chapters and realized that, for all that I think I write much better now, this is a pretty darn good fic, at least in my opinion. I spent hours working on the plot, researching, and it's depressing to think of never finishing it. So I'm going to apologize for the long wait, and hopefully, crank out some more chapters.

Now, I have to put a bit of a warning up - it's been ages since I've written for either Yugioh or Inuyasha. Fullmetal Alchemist has eaten my life, and while I wouldn't have it any other way, this means I'm out of practice. You may notice a bit of ooc-ness and stuff for a bit; bear with me, I'm getting my hand back in.

For those of you who don't really want to reread the whole thing, I'll give you a short recap of what happened up until now:
Ryou discovered that his yami was actually the son of Inuyasha and Kagome, named Ryu, who lost a fight with Naraku and escaped with seven shards of the Shikon no Tama. Inuyasha vanished, and Kagome was thrown back into the well, this time with no option of returning. Ryu kept moving west, lost his memories, and didn't even know that he was a quarter-youkai; eventually, known now as Jiang, he ended up in Egypt, and founded a band of mercenaries, the Sand Vipers. In order to prevent Egypt from losing a war, he gave the priest Akunadin the Shikon Shards to use in creating the Millennium Items, with the condition that he would receive one of the items in return. The Pharaoh refused to give him one, and Jiang, now possessed by the ghosts of KuruEruna, swore vengeance on the Pharaoh and that he would take all the Items for himself. The Items were out of balance, and so they backfired on their users, and in the end, both Jiang's and Atem's souls were trapped inside their Millennium Items, where they stayed.
In modern times, Ryou found out about his demon ancestry, and the reawakening of the Shikon Shards has caused demons to become active again, all over the world. After being attacked and tortured by a dark Miko, Malik began exhibiting latent miko-like powers. It turned out that Sesshoumaru, who had been Ryu's teacher, ended up leaving him Toukijin for himself, and the gang meet up with several of Sesshoumaru's descendants, including Susan, the current bearer of Tenseiga. Kagome befriends the gang, and ends up as Malik's girlfriend, in an attempt to move on from Inuyasha, who has been gone ever since the last battle with Naraku. Kagome also informs them of the corruptive properties of the Shikon no Tama, whose shards in the Millennium Items are dangerously corrupted, and are responsible for the corruption of both Ryu and Malik. It turns out that when Yami Yugi banished Yami Malik, he tore out a large part of Malik's soul, and so the Millennium Rod - and the Shikon Shard within- actually became a part of Malik, keeping him alive, while simultaneously corrupting him once again and turning him evil.
It becomes imperative to destory the Shikon no Tama before the demon situation is too terrible, and to do that, they must first destroy the Millennium Items, which will effectively kill Atem, Ryu, and Malik. In order to prevent that, it is decided that the three hikaris will return to ancient Egypt to retrieve the bodies of Atem and Ryu right after they die, and then they will use Tenseiga to restore them to life.
If you don't want to read the whole story again I can understand that, but I would reccommend rereading from chapter 24-ish on, just to remember the details of what happened in ancient Egypt, otherwise you probably won't notice all the pretty time-loops I managed to work in.
I also want to apologize for the fact that this chapter is a bit on the short side.

Thirteen Days

For a moment, they felt as if nothing was happening. Ryou looked up, feeling slightly empty without his yami's constant commentary, but before he could say anything, he felt a sudden lurch. The floor fell out from under him with sickening suddenness, and he was in free fall. He couldn't actually feel wind, but he felt the pull below him. Colors blended together around him, creating an ever-changing vista; it hurt his eyes, which tried desperately to find something to focus on. Strobe lights flickered constantly around him, adding to the general chaos. Suddenly everything stopped with a jolt, and then he was moving up, horribly quickly, the colors still flashing around him.

It's like bouncing, thought one part of Ryou's mind. And those lights, they're like days. Three thousand years…that's about…a million….days….He reached the apex suddenly, and then he was falling again. His muscles hurt from constantly bracing himself, his stomach roiled, his eyes sore. He might have screamed at some point, but he wasn't sure.

---

Sensation returned slowly. Ryou was sprawled on the ground, tired and sore, feeling like he was burning up. He cracked his eyes open, only to shut them immediately when he met the glare of the sun. He realized that he was lying on sand. When he tried to move, his muscles ached, and he flopped back down immediately, lacking energy. Suddenly he heard a groan from beside him. Ryou slowly turned his head, to see Yugi.

"I feel like I've been run over by a tank or something."

"We should get up," answered Ryou, but made no move to do so.

A third voice joined in. "We're going to dehydrate if we stay like this."

"Hi Malik," said Ryou.

"Now really, let's get up," said Yugi, and started pushing himself off the hot sand. Slowly, laboriously, the three hikaris stood up, shook out their clothes, and brushed sand out of their hair.

"I guess we should start heading for the city," Yugi suggested, when they had all stood looking around awkwardly for a few minutes. Squinting at the sky, Ryou finally pointed to their left.

"That way, I think."

They started walking. A few minutes in, Malik cleared his throat a little.

"You know, there's a problem. We're not going to be able to stay in contact properly here. No phones or anything, you know."

Yugi and Ryou exchanged a glance. Malik had a point. If there was trouble, which there undoubtedly would be, they needed some sure-fire way to contact each other.

"Knowing you, you've probably thought of something," said Ryou.

"You're not going to like it…" Malik warned.

"Kadima, spit it out," said Ryou.

"Well, I have the Millennium Rod with me. If you'd let me into your minds a little, I could-"

"Are you crazy?!" gasped Yugi. "You want to mind-control us?!"

"No! Not to that level. Just to connect our minds enough so that I can follow you, and you can send thoughts back to me. So I could be a sort of relay between you and Ryou," Malik placated.

"I assume that you purposely waited until we were safely away from our yamis to suggest this," sighed the youkai.

"Yeah, like I'd dare suggest it with them around," Malik rolled his eyes. "They'd probably kill me. Or at least try."

"Aren't there any other alternatives?" Yugi asked nervously.

Malik grinned, still walking. "Sure. I won't link to you, something bad happens, and we all die here."

Though Ryou hated to admit it, Malik had a point. If they were linked through Malik's mind, they would have a reliable way to stay in contact. And Ancient Egypt was definitely a dangerous place. He was rather worried about giving the current Malik a foothold in his mind, but it didn't look like there were many options. With an abrupt ache, Ryou missed having his yami in the back of his mind. Normally he would have asked him, but now he would have to make his own decision…Well, he would have to trust the Egyptian. "Fine," he finally said, hearing Yugi's timid agreement a few minutes later. Malik stopped walking, and nodded, taking out his Item.

"Listen, I promise I won't hurt you. Just try not to fight, ok?" Malik raised his Item, and pointed it at Ryou's forehead. For a moment, Ryou didn't feel anything, and wondered if perhaps the magic wasn't going to work. But then he shivered, as he felt another presence, trying to get inside his mind. Instinctively he pushed against it, hearing from far away Malik's voice, "Ryou, I said don't fight it!"

With conscious effort, Ryou forced himself to stay still as the intruder slowly slid into his mind, touching his thoughts, flexing imaginary muscles, testing the space. Just when the ghostly feeling of something crawling around inside his mind was becoming unbearable, and Ryou felt the overwhelming urge to scream and do whatever it took to get rid of the intrusion, it was almost gone, leaving only a faint presence in the back of his mind, reminiscent of what he was used to feeling with his yami.

"Ryou? Ryou! Are you ok? Malik, I'm going to kill you if you've done something to him!" Yugi was shaking Ryou, trying to get a response. Ryou slowly managed to focus on the world once again, steadying himself.

"I'm fine Yugi," he comforted, before turning to Malik, who also had a slightly worried look on his face. "Geez, Malik, that was nasty!"

"I tried to be as gentle as I could," the Egyptian retorted, a bit self consciously.

If that was gentle, Ryou thought, I pity his mind slaves…He felt a flash of hurt from Malik's presence in the back of his mind, and bit his lip. Living in each other's minds might prove to be a rather trying experience.

---

Finally, they reached the city. Straggling mud-brick houses appeared, and –finally- trees and plants. The three looked around curiously, drinking in the strange sights and sounds.

"Wow," Yugi gasped, the reality of the situation suddenly dawning on him. "We're in Ancient Egypt! We're really 3000 years in the past!"

"Shhhhhhhh!" Malik hissed. "Why don't you yell it any louder?!"

"Geez, Malik, stop being so uptight!" Ryou retorted. "We aren't going to get another chance like this, ever. We might as well enjoy it."

"Yeah right, enjoy fifteen days of pre-plumbing stink and lice. Fun."

Ryou exchanged an exasperated glance with Yugi. It seemed like they would be hearing a lot of this in the next fifteen days.

They wandered aimlessly at first, just trying to orient themselves in the new environment. Here, in the slums at the edge of the city, their strangeness didn't stand out so much. They were just three more strangers among the riffraff. When the sun started sinking, however, they decided it was time to regroup and get planning. They were on a tight schedule after all, and they didn't want to get stuck out after dark.

"We need somewhere to spend the night, and food. Not to mention a lead on Ryu."

"We should split up," Malik decided. "I'll go bargain for food, you guys scout out taverns and hostels." He handed Yugi a few of the golden pieces of jewelry they had brought along for barter. Don't forget to keep me updated on where you are, so I know how to find you, he inserted into their minds. The two other hikaris jumped, still unused to the mental link, before nodding.

Ryou watched as Malik vanished into the crowd, before turning to Yugi.

"I guess we'd better set off," he said nervously.

Despite the many people around them, Ryou felt almost alone. Everything here was different, strange, and (as Malik kept reminding them) potentially hostile. It took intense concentration to just follow conversations.

"So, what do you think an inn would look like?" Yugi asked nervously.

"I dunno, I guess we should look for a sign or something…"

"Like that?" Yugi pointed to a wooden sign hanging off a building. Neither Japanese could read what it said, but it looked promising. Or rather un-promising, if you looked at the kind of riff-raff going in and out of the establishment.

"Keep your knife handy," Ryou muttered to Yugi, as they advanced on the building.

The inside was, dark, dingy, and smelling of people and alcohol.

Ryou went up to the person he assumed was the bartender, or something like that, and asked about rooms.

"How much for room for three?" Ryou didn't like the way the man was looking at him, registering his accent. He liked even less the fact that they would be paying in gold jewelry.

The man named a price, which Ryou had almost no way to judge. He and Yugi exchanged glances, then accepted. They gave in exchange a simple gold ring. At the way the Egyptian's greedy eyes lit up, Ryou had the feeling they had paid much more than necessary.

The room was definitely nothing to write home about. It was square, on a second floor, with one window and three straw-filled mattresses on the floor.

"Do you think they'll try to rob us at night or something?" Yugi speculated. "I didn't like the way he was looking at us."

"We'd better stay on our guard." Ryou looked out the window, over the wonderful view of mud houses and desert. "Should I tell Malik where we are, or do you want to?"

"Go ahead."

Malik? Ryou thought tentatively, trying to send the thought to Malik the same way he did to his yami.

Yeah?

Relieved at the response, Ryou gained confidence. We found a place. It's-

Just send me an image of how to get there, I'll find it. Malik sounded rather impatient.

Ryou imagined the place at him and then snapped out of the semi-trance, when a thought occurred to him. Hey, when we talk to you, do you just zone out in the middle of the street?

No, I'm used to having other people's random thoughts in my head. Anything else you want to ask? Apparently Malik didn't feel like talking, so Ryou 'backed away' from the connection.

"He should be here soon," Ryou relayed to Yugi. Yugi sighed, and sat down on one of the mattresses. It was itchy, and smelled rather strange. He could also hear half-imagined rustlings coming from it.

Yugi gulped. "I'm not sure what's worse, sleeping on this mattress or on the floor."

Ryou sat down on the floor. "There are probably bugs either way."

---

They had become spies. It seemed that the best way to find information about the whereabouts of the Tombrobber would be to wander and listen to gossip, and try to catch mention of him. They were also following Ryu's directive of "I'm pretty sure I saw Ryou in a tavern somewhere." It was nerve wracking, to say the least. All three were on edge, feeling alienated in the country around them, the knowledge that there was no help for them within centuries eating at them. Tempers became short, especially as by the second day they still hadn't found Ryu, and they were all too aware that they now had only thirteen days left.

Towards evening of the second day, something finally happened. Ryou was sitting in the barroom of an inn, when suddenly he felt a familiar aura. It was so faint that he thought he was imagining it at first, but when the tanned white-haired man walked in, Ryou knew they had found his yami.

I found him! He just walked in! Ryou relayed triumphantly to Malik.

Don't shout, geez. There was a pause. Keep watch on him, ok? I'll see what we can do about shadowing him.

Right.

The thief was fidgeting now, and Ryou was getting nervous. Did he see him? Recognize him? Jiang turned around suddenly, and met his eyes. Ryou jumped, and guiltily dropped his eyes, his heart pounding. He kept a close watch through the corner of his eye, trying not to draw anymore attention, until the thief finally got up and left the room.

He's leaving.

I'm on it.

Well, if Malik would take care of the shadowing, there wasn't much more he needed to do around here. Ryou hung around for a few more minutes, pretending to enjoy his foul beer, before paying and making his way out.

As there was no real rush to get back to 'the base', Ryou decided to take the long way around, and maybe see a little more of ancient Egypt while he could.

The disappointing part, he mused, was that the smell really distracted you from noticing the splendor. He was glad they had undergone the painful set of inoculations; he really didn't want to know what nasty diseases he might have gotten (though, again, Malik would probably be happy to remind him).

The streets were getting darker, and now shadier sorts were wandering about. It wasn't that Ryou was worried about being attacked, but he didn't want to cause any commotion, or draw attention to himself. Better head back now.

Yugi was waiting in their room, a look of extreme boredom on his face. "Any luck?"

Ryou sighed, running a hand through his hair, which was already full of sand. "Malik didn't tell you? I found Ryu today."

Yugi sat bolt upright in excitement. "So Malik's following him?"

Ryou nodded tiredly. "Yeah. Better that he do it, he's got all that nervous energy to use up."

His friend nodded in agreement, and leaned back against the wall. "I think we need a better plan of action. True, Malik's following your yami, but we're just sitting here doing nothing. Remember, we need to find a way to keep tabs on my yami, too!" he scratched his head pensively.

"Hmm," Ryou thought for a minute. "So you're saying we should try and infiltrate the palace?"

"Well, yeah…" Yugi suddenly looked abashed. "I guess that sounds sort of ridiculous…"

"I'm sure we'll figure something out," Ryou said comfortingly. "After all, all of this already happened."

Yugi looked slightly happier, and scratched his head again. Ryou frowned.

"Yugi, I think we're getting head lice."

Blinking wide purple eyes at him, Yugi froze mid-scratch. "…Darn."

---

A/N: Normally, I am not one to beg for reviews. But in this case, given the length of time since last update, I would like some sort of reassurance that somebody's still reading this... so please? Even if it's just to tell me I messed up the characterization or something?