A few author's notes before we begin...

I've rewritten this story several times, and I think I finally have it where I want it.

My keyboard has massive issues. Some of the keys don't like to work correctly, the main culprits being "g" and "t," so I sincerely apologize for any typos I didn't catch.

I do not own Yu-Gi-Oh or it's characters (sadly). If I did, there would be a little less card games :P (mostly because I have tried several times to write duels and I fail miserably every time .)

Passion's A Prison
Chapter 1: Tears in the Rain

A frightened young girl ran through the streets of Domino City as fast as her legs would possibly carry her. Her knee-length, powder-blue dress was torn in several places. The cut running down her right arm was smarting terribly. Both of her knees were scraped and bleeding from her frequent stumbling and her feet were killing her; she was still wearing her two-and-a-half-inch-heeled shoes. It was pouring rain and she was soaked to the bone, the wind whipping her sopping hair all around her. The cold night air seemed to shred her lungs with each breath she took, but she did not dare slow down.

She tripped for the umpteenth time, spraining her ankle and snapping the heel off of her left shoe. She shrieked in pain, stopped for a fraction of a second, and took off running again, only to run straight into something solid. Looking up, she realized it was a person.

"I am so, so sorry," she panted. "Are you okay?"

"Shizuka?" wheezed the man.

She backed away, still gasping for air, terrified that this man knew her name.

"Shizuka," said the man, regaining his voice. "Shizuka, it's me. What's wrong?"

"B…Bakura?" she gasped. "Bakura…Is that you?"

"Yes," he said, stepping into the light. She looked him in the eyes and realized that it was the good Bakura. "Shizuka, are you okay?"

"I-I think so," she said, starting to calm down now that she knew who she was talking to.

"Good," said Bakura, obviously relieved. "Now, c'mon, let's get you out of the rain."

He pulled out a black umbrella and opened it. He put an arm around her shoulders and pulled her toward him under it, an expression of concern crossing his features as he did so.

"You're bleeding," he said. He looked still more worried when he noticed her limp. "What happened to you?"

She looked around at all the people bustling around them, all the attention they were attracting.

"Not here," she said quietly. "I'll tell you later."

He nodded, looking at her suspiciously, and led her across the street, his arm still around her shoulders. For such a gentle person, he had a surprisingly firm grip. Yet she wasn't afraid of him; his grip wasn't painful or threatening. Though it was firm, his grip somehow seemed gentle, kind. For the first time in hours, she felt safe…for the most part. Part of her was still terrified that he might find her again. That man, the reason she ran away, the man who did those terrible things to her. She could still hear his cruel laughter, ringing in her ears, could see him heading towards her, a horrible, hungry look on his face, a knife in his hands, its blade gleaming in the moonlight. She shuddered at the thought, and Bakura's strong hand gripped her shoulder a little more tightly, reassuringly. He smiled softly at her, his brown eyes glowing with kindness.

They turned a corner as thunder roared across the dark sky. The rain poured harder still, a few hailstones here and there. Finally, the two of them reached their destination. Bakura gave her still-bleeding shoulder a reassuring squeeze before letting go and retrieving a key from his pocket. He opened the door and gestured for her to enter. Shizuka thanked him softly and entered the house. He entered behind her and closed the door. He set his umbrella in the corner of the room and turned to face her.

XxXxXxXxXxX

"Shizuka," Ryo said, uncomfortable in the silence. She flinched violently and looked up. "It's okay," he said quickly, not wanting to frighten her. "Come with me."

She hesitated for a moment, but followed. Ryo grabbed the first-aid kit from the kitchen as they passed on the way to his room. His bedroom door was locked, as always when he was not in it. He unlocked it and pulled it open for Shizuka, gesturing for her to enter. She did so. She stood silently next to the bed, frightened, looking as though she were waiting for instruction.

"Sit down," he said gently. Shizuka obliged. He opened the first-aid kit and pulled out a roll of medical tape. "Let him see your arm," he said, again as gently as he could. She extended her right arm, and he noted that her hand was trembling slightly, but not from cold.

"Are you alright?" he asked while he bandaged her arm. She nodded. "Answer me honestly," he said, a bit more firmly than he would have liked, as he tied off the end of the bandage. Shizuka flinched. "I'm sorry," he said quickly, knowing he had scared her. "But please, tell me honestly: Are you okay?"

She hesitated again.

"I…" she began shakily. "I don't know."

He put his hand on her shoulder for a moment before kneeling on the floor to bandage her knees.

"This will sting a bit," he warned her as he opened the antiseptic. She winced a bit as he poured a few drops on her left knee. When he attempted to wrap the medical tape around it, however, she jumped and pulled her leg away.

"I'm sorry," he said, sincere, concerned. "Did I hurt you?"

"No," she said. "No, I'm sorry. I'm just..." she laughed quietly. "Your hands are cold."

"Ah," he said, nodding as she relaxed and allowed him to continue. "Sorry. My hands are always cold. They have been as long as he can remember. I get it from my mother. When I was little, I thought she was a vampire or something."

She laughed. He moved onto the right knee and warned her again of the antiseptic. He was more careful bandaging her right knee, knowing she could hurt herself if she jumped like that again.

He stood when he was done and headed to the door. She stared after him. The pained look in her crystal-green eyes made it all too clear she did not want to be alone. That combined with the bandages and the torn, bloodstained dress had him back at her side with an arm around her shoulders.

"I'll be right back," he promised softly. "I just want to run in the other room for a minute. Anzu left some clothes here the other day and asked him to wash them for her. I'm sure she wouldn't mind if you borrowed them for tonight."

She nodded and relaxed, convinced he was not abandoning her. He stood and walked to the door again, giving her one last reassuring smile on the way out. He left the door open so she could still see him.

The laundry room was across the hall. Anzu's clothes were clean, dried, and folded inside the bag she'd handed them to him in, sitting on the counter just to the right of the door. He pulled a freshly-cleaned white towel out of the drier; it was still quite warm, he figured she'd like that.

He stepped back into his room and set the clothes and towel down on the bed next to Shizuka. She looked up at his approach.

"You get dried off and put some dry clothes on," he said to her. "I'll be right outside."

She nodded, still looking a bit apprehensive. He smiled at her and closed the door, leaning against it, deep in thought. Why was she so frightened? Why had she been running? Who gave her those cuts? Why wasn't Jonouchi with her? She never went anywhere alone. What had she been through to scare her so thoroughly?

As he wondered this, Shizuka came out into the hallway wearing Anzu's clothes. The jeans were a bit too long, but he had expected that; Anzu was taller than Shizuka. She had her long, wet red hair pulled to one side, letting it fall to her waist in front of her shoulder.

"Hi," he said softly. "You okay?"

She nodded. But she was still shaking, and her face was very pale.

"Shizuka," he said, "are you hungry?"

"A little," she said shakily.

He tried to remember what food he had in the house. Probably nothing she would like.

"Do you want to go to McDonald's or somewhere? I don't have much here."

"Okay," said Shizuka. She got to her feet, still seeming a bit unsteady. They headed to the door, where Ryo picked up his black umbrella again. He opened the door, opening the umbrella as he did so. Shizuka headed out in front of him, and he locked the door as we left.

Tada! What do you guys think?