DISCLAIMER: This is a work of fanfiction produced for entertainment purposes only. Yu-Gi-Oh! and all related characters are the creations of Kazuki Takahashi.

AUTHOR'S NOTE: Yami means Darkness and Hikari means Light in Japanese.

Hikari Eyes
By Shadow's Mirror

Ryou bit his lip and looked into Bakura's scowling face. "Please, Bakura? I really need to get this homework finished but I can't paint just anyone."

"No. I'm not going to pose for you. Naked, maybe, but not in that ridiculous costume. Go ask Joey. He's used to getting dressed up. Although you might have to change the blue tights for a dog suit."

His snicker was cut off as Ryou did what Bakura had been dreading him doing throughout the entire exchange. He turned on The Eyes.

The boy's already large brown eyes seemed to take up even more of his face and a sheen of moisture shimmered over the fathomless chocolate pools which were suddenly filled with a curious and fascinating mix of sorrow and hope. The effect was startling and wrenched at the heart of anyone who saw it.

But none more so than the Yami of the Hikari who used it.

"Oh fine. But you are going to owe me big for this, Ryou!" Bakura winced even as the words left his mouth but he was helpless to resist any longer. The Eyes. The impossible-to-say-no-to Hikari Eyes.

Where on Earth had Ryou learned that trick and how was it that he, Bakura, was so unable to resist it?

Bakura was still in the ridiculous blue thing that Ryou claimed was a period, English costume when the doorbell rang. Despite the yami's best efforts, Ryou insisted on getting the door. Bakura sighed heavily as Yugi's voice floated back to him from the front door. He sighed again as Yugi followed Ryou back into the kitchen. He'd known it. Of course one of the group would end up seeing him looking so silly. He glared his best glare at the diminutive tri-colour haired boy, but Yugi just smiled at him.

"Hello, Bakura. Since Ryou is doing his art homework now, I was wondering if I could ask a favour."

Bakura saw it coming. "No."

"But Bakura, you don't even know what I was going to ask." Yugi pouted a little.

Yes. Bakura did know. Just like he knew there was no way it was going to happen. "Absolutely not."

"My darkness..." Ryou pouted at him as well but Bakura didn't care.

It would be a sunny day in the Shadow Realm before he let Yugi paint him in that ridiculous outfit as well. "No way."

A pair of big brown eyes shimmered at him but Bakura tried his hardest to resist and was even possibly holding his ground a little, until he noticed the pair of equally big lavender eyes also shimmering at him.

No way, no chance, no how... could he possibly resist two sets of Hikari Eyes at once! He sighed and slumped a little. "Try to be quick about it will you? This lace collar thing is itchy."

Yugi was still happily setting up his drawing pad when there was another knock at the door. Again, despite Bakura's best efforts (including snarling, growling, scowling, glaring and something that might possibly have been a pleading whimper), Ryou went to get the door. At the sound of the two voices that followed, though, Bakura perked up a bit.

When Marik and Malik followed Ryou back to the kitchen, Bakura was smiling smugly. "My heroes. So which mall are we terrorising today..." he paused as he spotted something that looked ominously familiar, "...and why does Malik have one of those sketchpad things" He sighed as Malik grinned at him and started setting up beside Yugi. "Oh no."

"Thanks for this, Bakura! You really saved me! I tried it with Odion but... well..."

Bakura winced and held up his hand. "Please don't finish that sentence. Ever. The thought of Odion in an outfit like this would give me nightmares for a month." He shuddered.

Malik looked at Bakura as if he'd just sprouted a second head and it was wearing a white wig with a jewelled tiara and a moustache that twirled as he spoke. "Of course Odion wasn't wearing that outfit. Ryou got the last one the costume company had. I had to settle for a horse outfit. The back end. They were all out of front ends."

Bakura wasn't the only one who blinked at that fact. Ryou and Yugi also looked surprised. Unlike Bakura, who was familiar enough with Malik to know not to ask for more details, however, the two lights were too innocent to recognise the potential danger.

"Why were they out of front ends? Surely they should have had even amounts of both." Yugi tilted his head and looked curiously at Malik, who shrugged in response.

"I thought so too, but apparently someone had stolen one of the front ends. Why someone would want just the front end of the horse I have no idea."

Bakura winced as a vague memory poked him. It was the memory of a particular night when he and a few of the others had been a little too excited after a successful duel tournament and had snuck off with the top half of one of the tournament's half-time entertainer's costumes. As he recalled, the horse's front end had ended up on top of the arena's flagpole. He knew because he'd been the one to get it up there.

Since Malik had been the one to suggest putting it there in the first place, either he was faking innocence now or the memory of that night had been overwhelmed by the sugar rush that had inspired the night's events in the first place.

Bakura made a note to never again drink anything Malik recommended. Malik wasn't that good an actor and Bakura valued his memories too much to risk losing them. He then cleared his throat in an attempt to get the conversation safely back to the previous topic before it went anywhere nearer to the events of that night. His light had somehow never managed to find out about it and hopefully never would. He'd be rather cross with Bakura if he did.

"So as I was saying... Marik, since you're here, how about you do the posing? You like dressing up. Why are you shaking your head? Of course you do. Remember last week when you dressed up as a china doll?"

Marik pouted at him. "I was Little Bo Peep. You were supposed to be my sheep. You owe me for not getting lost. So you can wear the funny costume and I'll watch my light paint you."

"Oh. Right. The sheep thing." He winced. "You know Marik, if you want someone to be a lost sheep, you really should tell them about it before you get upset when they don't get lost. Or look at all like a sheep. I really don't like this costume but I'm sure you'd love it. Tell you what, you pose and I'll go get us all some ice-cream for afterwards. How about it? You love ice-cream." He was sure this would work. Marik never turned down ice-cream. "Why are you shaking your head? Again." There was a first time for everything. Naturally this particular first time would come now.

"Sister Isis said I wasn't allowed any ice-cream before dinner because we're going out to eat at a place that has lots of desserts and they're all yummy and she wants to order them all and will need help eating them." Marik grinned happily.

"Oh. Of course she did. You know... I'm more surprised at the fact she'd need help with that than it being your reason for not wanting any ice-cream now." Bakura had seen Isis eat dessert before.

"They have twenty-two desserts. Even Isis has trouble with more than ten." Malik helpfully filled in the missing detail that made sense of it all.

"Ah." Bakura nodded and then sighed. Time for one more attempt at getting out of this. "Marik, are you sure you don't want to wear this? It's quite comfy and rather pirate-like. You could pretend you were Blue-Frilled-Suit the Pirate." As far as inspiration went, Bakura was now running on empty.

Marik looked curious. "If it's so good, why don't you want to wear it?"

That was a surprisingly astute question from Marik. Drat. "I have nothing against the suit. I just don't like being in it. I think this whole painting thing is silly and I really don't have time to just stand around and pose while I'm painted."

Malik began to pout at him. Really pout at him. Bakura could see it coming. The light's eyes were beginning to widen, the sheen was beginning to appear. A glance at Ryou and Yugi confirmed that they, too, were starting to do the same thing. He quickly looked away before it could affect him. He could still feel them doing it, but without seeing it, the effect was nowhere near strong enough to sway him.

Ha! He had won! Victory against The Eyes was his at last!

Bakura's internal celebration was cut short as he realised rather belatedly that he was now looking directly into a pair of very wide, very shimmery, very unfathomable and filled with both sorrow and hope, eyes. He sighed heavily.

"Fine. I'll do it." He struck a pose and scowled at the one whose eyes had just forced his compliance.

"You know Marik, the reason they're called 'Hikari Eyes' is because only Hikaris are supposed to be able to use them."

The End