Seto gripped his wine glass tightly, standing against the wall of a crowded ballroom, glaring distastefully at the glittering circles of people in front of him. Row after endless row of food sat in steaming silver pans on a high table, covered with an elegant white cloth. Sharply-dressed hotel staff stood behind the tables, spooning out carefully measured portions for the guests as they drifted by.
A woman floated past him, smiling demurely and nodding, her thin diamond earrings glittering at him. Seto ducked his head down politely, feeling irritated. His presence at this event was mandatory, due to a recent marketing contract he had signed, so he did this to himself.
Did he need the contact? No, but it was nice to have, so here he was, rubbing elbows with the so-called "elite" of his opposing companies and their competitors.
The atmosphere was polite, but tense. It was clear that everyone was trying to put up a cordial front, undoubtedly having shouted at each other from across a meeting room table at one point or another.
He definitely saw a few familiar faces in the crowd; a few of his long-time competitors had nodded at him multiple times as they passed by, clearly intimidated by his presence.
Seto smirked and sipped his wine, his hand casually tucked into the pocket of his white trousers, which complimented his dark red dress shirt, paired intentionally with his silk white blazer. He leaned back against the wall, sighing heavily, extremely bored.
"Mr. Kaiba, you look rather nice tonight. White is a color that suits you." Said a fat man with a thinning bald spot, dressed in a slick black suit, approaching him on his left.
Seto nodded politely at the man, privately agreeing with him, "Thank you."
"If you don't mind me prying..." The man began and Seto felt his eyelid twitch.
If you start with a sentence like that, you're definitely trying to pry, Seto thought darkly, but he smiled and nodded politely again, responding with, "I don't mind."
A lie, clearly. Was being left alone tonight too much to ask for?
"Well, I'm glad..to hear that." The man stammered, "I'm asking on behalf of my beautiful daughter, she's standing right over there."
The man pointed a sausage-like finger over to a lovely dark-haired woman, dressed in a stunning white evening gown, surrounded by several suitors. Her black hair hung down off her shoulders in tight curls and Seto watched her laugh casually when a young man to her left attempted to kiss her hand.
Oh, one of those. Seto thought, horrified, but he nodded again, knowing full well where this was going.
"Isn't she lovely?" The man sweated slightly, smiling nervously at him, and Seto forced a smile in return.
"She sure is." Seto responded, trying to keep the sarcasm out of his voice.
"I'm glad you think so!" The fat man gasped, "Well, she wishes to...perhaps, meet with you ...on...any day! For coffee, tea, dinner, ...lunch! You name it. Whenever you're free." The man said, sounding slightly breathless.
"I'll think about it." Seto replied, smiling politely. If he remembered correctly, this man was an angel investor, responsible for the rise and downfall of various indie start-ups.
So, he has money, big deal. Seto thought sourly, sipping his wine lightly. It was starting to get too warm in the room, and the man was standing too close, watching his every move.
"Y-you'll consider it?" The man said brightening up considerably, "You're a fine young man, you know!" He smiled nervously and bobbed away into the crowd, undoubtedly rushing to find his daughter to report the good news.
"You know, I met Cecilia at one of these parties..." A familiar voice drifted languidly from his right. "You should really give these girls a chance...Kaiba-boy."
Pegasus..! Seto gripped his wine glass even tighter and forced himself not to react.
"You consider this a party, Pegasus?" Seto sipped his wine aggressively, not making eye contact. He wasn't getting drunk fast enough, and the night was quickly spiraling downwards.
"It's a party ...of sorts." Pegasus replied simply, holding a similar glass of wine and smiling playfully at him. "If you keep scaring people away, you'll end up alone...like me. I don't think you want that, do you?"
Seto swallowed tightly, trying to keep his temper under control. He had already resigned himself to ending up alone; work was all he had, next to Mokuba, no one else mattered enough for him to care.
"I'm not interested in their cash cows," Seto responded spitefully. He knew he was being rude as hell, but he stood by this sentiment firmly. These women attached to their fathers were only in it to make their families richer and more powerful.
"Ouch, don't ever let them hear you say that." Pegasus replied, smirking and sipping his wine casually as he sang mockingly, "Here comes another one..!"
A thin, greying man was making nervous eye contact with Seto as he spoke with the excited, fat balding man.
Seto resisted the urge to roll his eyes. He was getting out of here. Pegasus was being an annoying asshole as usual, and he could feel the room getting hotter and stuffier by the second.
"I'm leaving." Seto said shortly, addressing Pegasus indirectly.
"You can't escape this Kaiba-boy. The future success of your company may depend on it, if you want to keep it...in the family...if you get my drift." Pegasus raised his glass in a gleeful toast and Seto glared back at him.
"Thanks for the unsolicited advice, as usual." Seto said, clenching his fist at his side as he moved towards the exit.
"Excuse me." He said roughly, accidentally bumping shoulders with another short, stoutly businessman.
"No problem, Mr. Kaiba." The man nodded, "My daughter sends her regards, she's right over-"
"Oopies!" A shrill voice cried out and Seto felt an ice cold liquid splash across his face and chest, a few drops finding their way down the collar of his shirt.
This is not happening! Seto screamed internally as he stood very still, staring at a slender brunette wearing a glittering red strapless dress, who had intentionally tripped in front of him.
"Oh gosh, I'm so sorry! Daddy, please go get a napkin quick! He's wearing white! Oh no!" She cried dramatically, pressing her hand to her brow, pouting her extremely red lips at him.
Seto said nothing. He couldn't feel anything other than the wine spreading slowly down along his silk blazer, aware that everyone in the ballroom had turned to stare at them.
This bitch...is so...shitty! Seto tightened his grip around his wine glass, briefly considering splashing his wine into her pouty face, just to see how she would like it.
His jacket was ruined, along with any chances of him having a peaceful night.
The stoutly man had returned with a long, white cloth. He quickly pressed it into his daughter's hands, "Here sweetie, dab, don't rub. Looks like he's wearing silk." The man bobbed his head apologetically, "She's a klutz, aren't you dear."
"Yes, yes I am! Daddy, you're so mean!" The girl gasped, "You must be Seto Kaiba, I've heard so much about you...I'm so sorry! I'm so embarrassed..!" The girl reached out to dab the dark red wine stains on his lapel. Everyone stopped staring and returned to socializing in their circles.
They planned this..! Seto realized, his anger rising quickly. He really needed to get out of here, now if only this bitch would get off of him.
He grabbed her wrist and slowly pushed her arm away from his chest, "Thank you," Seto enunciated, glaring at her, "I will be leaving to take care of this myself."
"Go with him sweetie," the man encouraged, "A fine young man like Mr. Kaiba should never been seen alone..!"
Seto bit the inside of his cheek, attempting to restrain himself from shouting at the man.
"Yes, Daddy, I'll do that!" The girl gasped, hooking her slender arm through his elbow. "I know just where the bathroom is!" And she half-dragged him through the ballroom, earning many dirty looks from surrounding groups of women who paused to stare as at them as they passed by.
Seto felt his feet sliding across the carpet as she yanked him forwards forcefully, staring intently at the glittering clip in her hair, ignoring the dirty looks, estimating it probably cost about the price of a small car, given how enormous the diamonds were.
They exited the ballroom and stepped into the empty hallway. She dragged him over to the elevator and stabbed the up-arrow button with a long, diamond-encrusted nail.
"I'm so sorry..!" she cried, sounding not one bit sorry at all, "I hope you're not angry..!"
I am not going anywhere with this bitch! Seto thought furiously, untangling himself from the girl, "I'm not angry," he said, livid. "I'll be-"
"Come in here with me!" she squealed as the elevator doors opened and she yanked him inside, almost tripping on her own heels. "Let's take that off, it must be getting so uncomfortable with it being all wet and everything..!"
Seto felt a lump rise up in his throat. This girl was trying to strip him...in a hotel elevator?! This situation was getting worse by the second.
"No," Seto said roughly, backing away from her and quickly hitting the "P" button on the elevator panel. He needed to get the hell out.
"Oh, please, let me." The girl begged, her fingers skillfully undoing the silk knot around his neck and Seto grabbed the tie from her forcefully, realizing the elevator was still going up.
She grabbed the other end and tugged playfully, "You wanna play tug-a-war?"
No! Get off me! Seto screamed in his head, his stomach churned and twisted with an unpleasant combination of nausea and anger.
"Stop." Seto said firmly, placing a hand over hers and trying to pry her iron-like grip from off his tie.
Actually, I could just leave the tie here, Seto thought viciously, I don't give a shit anymore.
The elevator doors opened slowly and she made a move to pull him out, but Kaiba stood his ground, wrenching her off and giving her a vicious shove just as she let go of his tie.
"Come with me-...ahh!" She shrieked as she teetered backwards on her monstrous heels, landing flat on her ass, right by the elevator door, with her legs spread, her dress hiked up around her hips, giving Seto a full view of her red panties. They even had little tiny red bows siting at the edges.
She turned a deep shade of red, almost matching her dress perfectly, "Like what you see?" she asked boldly, looking haughtily up at him from the floor.
Disgusted, Seto stepped back into the elevator just as the doors slid shut behind him.
"No, please! Come back! I'm so embarrassed!" She screamed, sticking her stiletto in through the tiny crack of the door, causing the panels to slide open again. Cursing, Seto shoved his foot forwards, kicking her the base of her sharp heels back out, and letting the elevator doors close fully once more.
He could still hear her shrill cries echoing down the elevator shaft as he traveled lower and lower. "I like you..!" her voice echoed down at him from above.
And I don't care..! Seto responded furiously in his head as the elevator reached the parking level, I'm so done.
He strode out through the doors, sliding his blazer off furiously, nodding at the valet who stood up very straight and then bowed deeply before rushing off the fetch his car.
He stood under the dark green awning, watching as his car's headlights flashed back at him headlights from the distance, Pegasus's words echoing unpleasantly in his head.
"...If you want to keep it...in the family...if you get my drift."
Was he actually suggesting he have children with these kinds of women?! Seto shuddered at the thought as his car pulled around in front of him.
"Your vehicle Mr. Kaiba." The valet said, bobbing his head politely. Seto reached into his wallet, slipped out a crisp bill and handed it to the valet who accepted it with both hands, shaking nervously.
He tucked himself into the driver's seat gracefully and sped off into the night.
Seto gripped the wheel tightly as he floored the engine, feeling his anger rise along with the deafening roar of the throttle. He hated these events with a burning passion because they always ended up reminding him that he was alone by choice.
This was why he preferred one-night-stands with strangers in foreign countries who had no idea who he was. First, there was the language barrier, and second, there were no unforeseen consequences-just heartless sex.
With these women here in Japan...Kaiba thought shrewdly as he pulled his car smoothly around the freeway exit. They always wanted something in return because they had obligations to their own families, who always had something to benefit from his company. It was never the other way around. And when the women reciprocated...
Seto flinched as he briefly recalled going as far as taking one woman on a business trip with him, which ended in disaster because he had refused her on a night when he was feeling extremely exhausted.
He parked the car into his garage quickly alongside his collection of expensive luxury cars, hastily locking the doors as he hurried up the steps into his mansion.
Isono was nowhere to be seen and Mokuba was already probably asleep.
Seto stormed up the grand staircase and locked himself in his room, slipping off his shirt and stepping out of his trousers, carefully hanging them on the rack to be taken out and dry cleaned.
Walking quietly over to his closet, Seto pulled on a set of lounge wear with his logo stitched in the upper right pocket and strode over to the mini bar flanking the wall beside his large, steel desk. He poured himself a heavy glass of whiskey and downed it two gulps, desperate to feel nothing.
When you attend garbage events, they serve garbage alcohol, Seto thought viciously, pouring himself another glass and tossing it back carelessly. The liquid burned his throat and made his eyes sting. He felt the liquor pooling in his stomach as a slow numbness began spreading throughout his body.
Finally, Seto thought brutally, taking the bottle with him to his desk and setting it down heavily on the surface. He flipped his laptop open and sat down, the words blurring across his vision slightly.
Seto suddenly noticed a stack of leather files on the corner of his desk. Had that been there the whole time?
What the hell is this...? Seto growled to himself, reaching over and picking the top one off the stack. It was oddly heavy.
Seto flipped it open and the first thing he saw was the glamour shot of a beautiful blonde woman with a dazzling smile. Seto froze. He knew what this was. The question now was, did he want to turn the page?
Yes, why the hell not. His night was already shitty, why not ruin it some more with potential arranged matches. Seto slid a slender finger down the side of the laminated sheet, dreading what he would see next.
To his relief, it was just a page of text, detailing her name, age, eye color, and even her weight. At the very bottom was a list her connections, and Seto read through an impressive row of big-name companies.
The paragraph in the middle was something she had written, detailing her talents and passions in life.
Great, Seto thought sarcastically, "I aspire to create my own jewelry line." Please, be more original, I'm so dazzled by your aspirations. Next.
He shut the file and tossed it aside, reaching for the next one in the stack. To his horror, the smiling image of the girl from the elevator beamed back up at him.
Wow, this photo is heavily edited, Seto thought ruefully, recalling her ugly pouting face. He flipped to the next page with force, searching for her name.
It was Annabelle.
Gross, vain, disgusting bitch. Seto thought, pushing the file further away from him.
There was a soft knock at his door and Isono stepped into the room.
"Mr. Kaiba! Wasn't expecting you back until..morning!" He coughed politely into his handkerchief.
"What are these?" Seto asked rudely, throwing the leather file across his desk, watching it slide off the end and clatter onto the floor, face-down.
"Ah..those..!" Isono was visibly distressed, "They...came in for you, while you were out today. I meant for you to find those in the morning."
"Well, I hate them." Seto responded spitefully. "That file right there? That woman, did that."
He pointed angrily at his stained blazer hanging on the coat-stand by the door.
Isono stared at the ruined blazer and ducked his head down apologetically, "Master Kaiba, these women are all actively interested in you. If you so much as blink an eye towards them, they will be happy. Mr. Pegasus has suggested-"
"Pegasus?" Seto asked roughly, standing up so quickly he almost spilled his drink. "Let me guess, this is about "keeping it in the family"... isn't it."
Isono looked extremely guilty as he shuffled in his stance, "If you were to produce an heir...it would relieve some pressure on young Mokuba. The future of Kaiba Corporation would be secure...thousands of jobs...depend on you."
Seto clenched his fist as he swayed slightly on the spot. This was ridiculous. He didn't need a fucking family to keep his company relevant.
"Leave." Seto said numbly, staring coldly at Isono.
Isono bowed and exited the room, quietly shutting the door behind him.
Seto sat down angrily in front of his computer, the words blurring across the screen heavier than ever before. He threw back the rest of his drink hastily and poured himself another glass.
He knew he should be counting but he was too angry to care.
Seto stared back at the screen, clicking around aimlessly on the web, not really seeing anything he was looking at. How did he want to end the night? He could beat off to some really disgusting porn and forget all about it in the morning while he suffered from the world's largest hangover.
Yeah that's a good idea, Seto thought angrily, sipping the whiskey as his cursor hovered in the search bar above the browser.
Wait, he had an even better idea. He glared at the stack of marriage proposals on his desk and back at his screen.
Were mail-order wives a real thing? Of course it fucking is! Seto laughed at himself, delirious and drunk off his ass. He masked his I.P address and the screen went blank for several moments as his computer rebooted and a separate browser popped up.
There we go, Seto thought gleefully, what do people call this browser these days?The Dark Web? Seto laughed again, this time actually spilling his drink slightly over the back of his hand.
Ah shit, fuck it, Seto shook the liquid off his hand and started clicking down a list of nondescript links.
He arrived at a website displaying various crisp images of flashy firearms, explosives, and military grade weapons. His eyes widened as he scrolled down, entertained.
He clicked away and arrived on a blank page with an empty bar, requesting a password. Nope, Seto thought and he clicked away again.
He aimlessly let his browser scroll all the way down to the bottom, and he felt his head grow heavy as everything just kept refreshing. The screen was becoming extremely difficult to read and Seto figured he should just head off to bed, just before his cursor landed on a link in a strange language.
Seto clicked on it lazily and was brought to a page with a nasty green colored background with blazing orange text messily pasted all over the place.
Wow, what language is this?! The characters looked so strange. Whoever scripted this page obviously doesn't know what they're doing, Seto thought arrogantly, his cursor brushing across a link buried in the mess. He clicked on it, delving deeper into the page.
Suddenly, the green background and orange text disappeared, replaced by tiny thumbnails of bare shoulders, bare chests, hands, feet, crops of hair, and faces.
Seto froze.
What was this..? Organ theft?
He kept scrolling for a bit and realized with a trickling horror that this was human trafficking in its purest form.
The thumbnails detailed what you would be paying for, feature by feature. Girls and boys with lighter colored hair were worth more, whereas people with darker tones were worth considerably less.
He swallowed nervously, scrolling down slowly. He could read a few words in English, mostly simple words like "pretty" and "young". There was a large red button with the strange text written across it, sitting underneath each set of photos, and Kaiba assumed that was the "buy" button.
He leaned back in his seat, feeling slightly nauseated. Either the pictures, or the alcohol, was making him feel this way. Seto continued scrolling down out of morbid curiosity.
The faces were getting to him, making him feel uncomfortable. There was wide variety of genders and ages, but no one over the age of 30, Kaiba mused, how odd. Perhaps this trafficking ring specialized in younger ones, because the price would increase as the age went lower, apparently to as young as three.
Seto felt truly sick now and his head was spinning terribly. He decided he should stop drinking for the night, considering how the risk of vomiting had now reached an all time high.
There was an obvious line-break in the middle of the page and suddenly, several beautiful young girls and boys stared out emptily from the thumbnails, looking dark and troubled, some looked even younger than Mokuba.
As he continued scrolling down, Seto noticed the features of the people in the photos were steadily becoming more and more attractive, with the price tag rising higher and higher as a result.
Seto shivered. It was like he was looking through a tiny window, directly into their eyes, feeling their suffering, but he kept scrolling. He wanted to see it all before he clicked away. He reached the very bottom, and noticed that this photo was larger than all the others...and it was just of a pair of knees.
The price tag is ridiculous, Seto snorted as he counted the commas and zeros, I could buy so many other useful things with that kind of money. Like another car, for example.
He clicked on it anyway. Was this their most prized asset? It sure seemed like it. The word "virgin" was emblazoned across the top in every language known to man.
Seto held his breath and scrolled down. He was greeted with the same set of thumbnails, but only of hands, feet, and a pair of very alluring violet eyes, framed with very dark, long lashes.
Seto clicked on the images of the hands, trying to guess the age of the mysterious person for sale. He noticed was how the skin was smooth and an exotic, deep-toned olive color.
Interesting, Seto mused as he looked down at his own hands, trying to imagine Mokuba's hands. Judging by the size and shape of the nails and how smooth the skin was, it was probably a girl, several years older than Mokuba, but a few years younger than himself...probably.
Seto hummed, tapping the edge of the keyboard, amused.
The world is pretty shitty, he concluded. He closed out of the browser and shut his laptop firmly, standing up unsteadily and stumbling over towards his bed.
Yami sat on a dirty bed with grey sheets that reeked of sweat and urine. He looked around the room feeling extremely disoriented and hungry.
There were other beds similar to his, lined around the room hugging the walls, but they were all empty.
They had been that way for a long time. He drew his knees up to his chest protectively, trying not to touch anything around him.
He had been in this moldy filthy room for seven days and eight nights. He had counted, by watching the sun filter in through the tiny slit near the ceiling.
Large cracks ran down the stone walls, with heaps of mold creeping through every visible gap. Yami rocked back and forth, angry at himself for not being more careful.
He had been caught, stealing a peach from the marketplace display. He had been watching the stall for an entire day, and had even waited until the owner ducked down behind the boxes of peaches, helping another customer.
He remembered running and running, as the peach customer and his men chased him into an alleyway and pinned him down, tying a cloth bag over his head. The rough, burlap fabric had rubbed into his cheeks painfully as he was thrown into the back of their vehicle.
He remembered them driving for a long time. He had tried counting the minutes and seconds, the turns and stops, but had failed. The only thing he knew was that there were men were sitting on either side of him, and every time he moved or spoke, they would choke him.
Yami touched his neck gingerly. The bruises had faded, but the memory was still fresh. He remembered being dragged out of the vehicle and then forcibly held down as something stung him in the middle of his forearm, and then...nothing.
He had woken up in a room similar to this, but it was full of other children and teenagers. At first, he thought he was at an orphanage, after all, he had just been dragged off the street with no ties to any family, nor did he carry any form of identification.
He was not allowed to leave the room, because a guard stood imposingly by the door at all times. The kids who did get to leave the room always came back crying, dirty, and smelly. And it was always a different smell too, and Yami couldn't place what it was.
There was a girl in a bed next to his, who would glare at him. When he spoke to her, the only words she would say was, "You're next."
Yami had gone around the room asking questions, but was given dirty looks and someone even shoved him onto the floor. He hadn't tried talking to anyone else after that.
On the second day, he was pulled out of the filthy room by a thin bearded man. He was brought into a clean room, where a balding man with a fat stomach was sitting on the pillows covering the floor.
"Come sit here, next to me," The man had said nicely, and the thin bearded man had dragged him over to sit down. Yami tried to appreciate how clean the room was, but before he could, the balding man was on top of him, pressing his knees down painfully with a thick, hairy arm.
"Where do you like it?" The sweaty man had asked, "I will do it to you just the way you like it, then I can show you ...what I like."
"Do..what?" Yami remembered asking, feeling suddenly more afraid and confused than ever. Did the man want to wrestle? Fight? If so, this was an unfair fight.
"You don't know?" The man had said, and the thin bearded man coughed, asking if he knew what sex was.
"Yes," Yami replied, remembering being startled by the question, "Sex, happens between a man and a woman...to create...babies."
And as he finished speaking, the balding fat man suddenly looked evil, and he loomed over him, sweat trailing down his disgusting chest as it heaved with excitement. "I see," The ugly man had said gleefully, "I will be showing you a different kind of sex, you're in for a treat."
And Yami remembered feeling extremely terrified, "How can you do that?! I am not a girl!" he cried as he punched the man in the face. The man had yelled out in pain and pressed a sausage-like hand to his face, gasping and wheezing while Yami tried to struggle his way out from underneath him.
The thin bearded man was now talking through a mobile phone, whispering something, and Yami had called out to him, "Help me!" But the thin bearded man ignored him.
The balding fat man was breathing heavily, wheezing with anger as he gripped Yami's wrist so tightly his whole arm hurt. "I've never had a virgin before, and never one as beautiful as you...! Come here. I paid for a full hour."
Paid?! Yami had remembered thinking, still struggling to get away. The disgusting fat man was now sitting on top of him. The sweat from the man's thighs were soaking into his clothes.
Suddenly, the thin bearded man hung up the phone and rushed at the fat man, pulling him into a tight choke hold. Yami had watched with deep horror as the fat man's face began turning a ripe purple as the thin bearded man dragged him, kicking and struggling, into the farthest corner of the room.
Gasping and wheezing, the fat balding man had tried to throw a retaliating punch at the thin bearded man, but he had already stepped aside, picked Yami up, and moved him towards the door.
"I paid...for a full hour!" The man panted, red and purple in the face with anger, "It's your own fault your establishment messed up your sorting!"
"You did not pay a full hour with a virgin," The thin bearded man said stiffly, "As compensation, we will give you two of your choice, to make up for this mistake."
"Come back!" The fat man had cried, but Yami had already been whisked away into another room. The building had an upstairs, and Yami had tried to remember the halls and doorways, but he was dragged by too quickly to read the labels on the doors.
He was thrown into a room, this time with carpet. His knees stung as he stood up painfully, angry and irritated at being thrown around so much. The thin bearded man had moved forwards to speak with a man sitting at a large wooden desk.
A large bed sat in the corner of the room, and Yami ached to be on clean sheets. He just wanted to be clean...everything so so dirty. Would they let him bathe? Would this man, who seemed to be the boss, let him have clean water?
Every time he had asked someone about water, he had either been hit, or had been told "water privileges are to be earned." What did he have to do to earn water?!
The man was so disgusting, Yami felt like he needed a whole ocean of water to be rid of the filthy sweat smell...and then that's when Yami had realized, the smell coming from the other teens in the room was...from...men like him.
Now, Yami wanted to run. He wanted to escape. He tried to run out the doors, but men with guns grabbed him by the arms and dragged him back into the room.
"Come here boy." The man at the desk had commanded. "No one touch him."
Yami moved forwards to the desk slowly, staring at the phone on the table. Could he call the authorities? Would they come into this terrible place and save him? The thin bearded man saw his gaze on the telephone and had immediately walked behind the desk, ripping the cord out from the wall, holding up the end for Yami to see.
"You don't know what sex is, boy?" The man behind the desk asked sternly.
"I do know what it is," Yami had remembered replying indignantly.
"How do you have sex between you and me?" The man had asked.
Yami contemplated his answer carefully. If he answered correctly would he be released? If he answered incorrectly, would be killed by the men at the door, by not know what sex between men entailed? He had decided to ask that question before saying anything else.
"Will you kill me if I answer incorrectly?" He had said with a trembling voice, and all the men in the room had laughed at him.
"No." The man at the desk said, "Now tell me all the ways you know of. Sex."
Yami paused and constructed his answer carefully. "Sex...with a man? You..wrestle.." Yami had said, recalling the way the man had pinned him down, "Just the way that man did with me earlier. And I..we…wrestle back..and we kiss..."
And all the men in the room had laughed at him, louder this time.
"May I have water? A bath? A shower?" He had asked hopefully, and to his great surprise, the man behind the desk nodded.
He was dragged away and brought into an empty shower room, with many spouts lining the walls. The thin bearded man stood by the entrance the entire time, watching him lazily.
Yami had hurriedly scrubbed himself beneath the cold water, desperate to be clean, but when he finished, the bearded man handed him the same set of filthy clothes. Being clean was pointless.
He was then dragged him back into the room with the desk and they took photos of his legs, hands, and face. Was he getting an ID? Who were these men anyway? He had been too afraid to ask, for fear of being hit or kicked again.
A few days ago, he had been forced to change out of his clothes and into what he was wearing now; a pair of thin grey shirts and shorts, and was locked into the room he was sitting in currently.
He had been alone ever since, and occasionally, someone would come in to leave a plate of food on the bed for him. Yami's stomach growled slightly, wishing it was more than just bread and a bruised apple. He had a feeling they were keeping him thin and weak on purpose.
He thought of nothing but food and escape, and where he would acquire food next if he managed to get out. Was he going to remain a prisoner forever? He had resorted to sleeping on the floor because the bed was too disgusting.
Suddenly, the door burst open and two burly men dragged in a young boy, kicking and screaming. The noise gave Yami a huge fright and he sat very still, watching the boy bite one of the guards, and was subsequently hit across the face.
Yami flinched, feeling his pain. The guards glared at him before slamming the door shut behind them and locking it with a loud, echoing click.
The boy began sobbing and crying so loudly, his voice was becoming hoarse.
Yami was starting to get a slight headache from the boy's cries, and his pity was fading as the crying went on longer and longer.
The boy was surprisingly clean, his fingernails and light brown hair were nicely cut and shiny. Yami couldn't stop staring at him. He looked to be about a few years younger than Yami
"Please stop crying." Yami said quietly, hoping he could somehow calm the boy down. Perhaps now he had a companion, and this was someone he could escape with! If only he would stop crying for a moment, they could talk and plan together.
The boy ignored him and continued to sob loudly into his sleeve. He was wearing an interesting set of clothes. A shirt with a collar and shiny buttons, even shoes with nice laces. This boy looked wealthy! Was this boy kidnapped from a wealthy family?
"Do you miss your family?" Yami asked, carefully standing up and making his way over to the boy.
"I-I don't have..f-family." The boy hiccuped miserably, "I'm going to die h-here. I will ki-kill myself before I work for those men!"
Yami frowned, confused, "Work for? What do you have to do for those men?"
The boy stopped hiccupping and wiped his face quickly on his sleeve, staring at Yami incredulously, "You don't know?! ...Wait, what is your number?" he asked suddenly.
Yami was getting frustrated, "What are you talking about?" These questions were pointless. They needed to plan their escape!
"Your purchase number!" The boy insisted, holding out his arm and showing him a set of little round numbers tattooed across the pulse point on his wrist.
Yami froze and slowly raised his arm, realizing he had never noticed this number on his wrist before, the numbers were so tiny.
"65-832." He replied, curiously looking at the tattoo on his skin. His skin began to crawl. He scratched at it and the skin became red. Horrified, Yami stared at the set of numbers. Was this inked into his skin without his knowledge?
What was a purchase number? When had he gotten this? Perhaps from the time he could remember nothing after they had pulled him out of the vehicle.
"I don't remember getting it either." The boy said, almost as if he read his mind. "They drugged me when they kidnapped me off the street. I am the one before you. I am 65-831. We don't have names, we are only numbers to those men. We make them so much money, it makes me sick."
Yami swallowed nervously, "Money? I don't remember seeing money anywhere..."
The boy blinked and stared at him. "You don't know where you are? You..haven't been...u-used yet? How long have you been here?!"
Yami thought the boy was speaking oddly and he answered truthfully, "Seven days, eight nights."
The boy's eyes widened even more and Yami noticed they were beautifully almond shaped, "You've been here that long and you haven't been used?! You are a virgin! Like I was..!"
"Yes everyone kept saying that." Yami said, irritated, "I don't know what the big deal is." When was a good time to broach the topic of escape?
The boy swallowed visibly and another tear rolled down his cheek. Yami was afraid he had said or done something wrong. "No, please don't cry! I didn't meant to make you cry..."
The boy hiccuped again and shook his head, "I feel..sorry for you. So I will help you."
"Yes!" Yami exclaimed excitedly looking up at the tiny window near the ceiling, "Let's help each other! We can escape!" Perhaps they could climb up on each other.
The boy shook his head sadly again, "No. There is no escaping from here. There are men with guns everywhere and you will be beaten when you're caught. You probably have a better chance of escaping when you are with your owner."
Yami sat down on the filthy bed beside the boy, trying to understand, "Owner." He repeated. He was secretly glad he got the boy to stop crying.
He would keep speaking with the boy, and when the boy was finished telling his story, they could leave together.
"Yes," The boy said, smiling sadly, "And you are prettier than me, so you will probably be sold for a lot of money, and probably to a woman if you're so lucky. I hear women are better owners, but only slightly. They still do terrible things to you, like tie you up just to stick a plastic penis into your hole and watch you cry."
Yami felt like laughing. The boy was being ridiculous. Did people really do things like that?! He was going to be sold..?! Like ...a slave?!
"Listen!" The boy said desperately, his tears beginning to dry on his face, "You look so confused. So just listen to what I have to say, and remember everything! This will save your life! I wish I had someone to tell me these things before I was sold, then I would have had a chance at escaping."
Yami nodded and tried to smile at the boy, "I am listening."
"Everything depends on how tight your hole is. People come in here and pay for sex, with us. Boys and girls like you and me I'm sure you've seen them." The boy said shakily, "I'm going to be kept in that room now, with everyone else..oh god...it's so filthy in there, I don't think I can do it! I would rather die!"
Yami reached out to pat the boy gently on the shoulder but the boy recoiled and flinched, "Don't touch me."
Yami withdrew his hand quickly and apologized, "I'm sorry."
"Next..." The boy said shakily, "When you're sold, they will put you on an airplane with guards. There will be guards everywhere at all times, BUT TRY TO ESCAPE! Any way you can! You will fly into a foreign country where your owner lives. You will not be able to read or speak the language, but listen when people speak! Everything will be different, so remember roads and signs, try to learn how to read the language."
The boy paused, looking at Yami with his large wet eyes, "If you do learn the language, escaping would be so much easier later on. Your owner will keep you stupid. Mine never let me near books, magazines, or even the TV."
"I will do that." Yami said, trying to reassure the boy, more than anything. But then he realized the boy kept saying "he".
Yami's curiosity deepened when he asked, "You were sold to a man? I thought men wanted sex with women..."
Where was this boy getting his horrible stories?!
"It doesn't matter ...man or woman...as long as you have a hole..." The boy said sadly, "My owner, was old, fat, and disgusting. But he was very wealthy and also had two wives! He had many places to hide me. He owned boats, planes, and houses in different counties. He would take me out to see the forest, the ocean, and places filled with animals! Can you believe I've been around the world? I've seen the ocean in different countries!" The boy exclaimed, growing tearful again.
Yami shook his head, becoming more and more afraid by the second. The boy seemed to be telling the truth. And if these stories were made up, how could a boy as young as this, describe such dramatic and terrible events? Was it possible to be that wealthy? Wealthy enough...to buy another human being?
"He will touch you," The boy continued, staring straight ahead into the wall, "Right after you arrive. And he will insist you clean yourself. After you've cleaned yourself, he will spread you and dirty you."
"You keep saying 'dirtied'" Yami said slowly, "What do you mean by that?!"
The boy ignored him again and continued speaking, "Your owner will make you clean yourself every time he wants to dirty you. He will spread you open against your will and ram his dick in your hole. You will bleed and cry, but he won't ever stop. If anything, crying and bleeding makes him happy. Then, after you've been thoroughly hurt, he'll take you to the doctor and tell them you did it to yourself. Like you were stupid enough to hurt yourself back there with an object."
"M-my hole?!" Yami asked, horrified. That was where shit came out! Did other people find that pleasurable?!
"But don't bother telling the doctor you need help escaping. Everyone around you will work for him ...or her." The boy said, in a dark monotone voice. "Sometimes, the doctor even gave me needles and brightly colored pills that made me numb and forget pain...but the pain always came back. My owner would abuse my hole after these doctor visits too. He knew I couldn't feel it, so it was...merciful."
"How-"Yami began, but the boy cut across him angrily.
"I said listen!" The boy almost shouted, "This will save your life! Don't question, just listen!"
There was a loud banging at the doorway, causing them both to jump and glance at the door with similar looks of terror. "SHUT UP!" Came a loud voice and a heavy sounding fist rattled the thick metal door.
The boy lowered his head and hiccupped, frantically whispering now. "If you manage to find an officer, hold onto their arm and don't let go! You will be saved. I've heard many girls escaping their owners that way. I never managed to do that because my owner often kept me at home or on his private boat. And whenever we went out, we were surrounded by his guards!"
Yami nodded stiffly, trying to memorize every word the boy was saying, even if he didn't understand what they meant.
"Also, get accustomed to strangers touching you, watching you, and having sex with you." The boy said, tears rolling down his cheeks again. "My owner...he passed me around to his good-looking rich friends, sometimes even for weeks on end. I would be treated the worst by the most handsome men I've ever seen! They would pay him money, and rent me for their sex parties."
Yami was horrified at this news and he shook his head, "Do you think...I will be sold soon?" He didn't want any of this happening to him, if any of it was even true!
"Good-looking rich people are the worst." The boy continued, ignoring his question, "Because you won't even be special in their eyes. You're just a new toy ready to be played with and then thrown away when they're bored. They might even have more than one toy! Someone other than you, also bought from here, or somewhere else. But wait until they get married, and return you, here." The boy gestured around the room sullenly. "Like my owner."
Yami couldn't believe his ears. This boy had been...returned?! People would buy more than...one?!
"The sad thing is, I was even beginning to like him a little," The boy's voice rose, trembling with emotion, "Even if he was a heartless, fat, ugly pig. I was even thinking I could live with being a toy forever, if I was provided for, even if it was painful, I could endure it. But instead, he got married and threw me away. Now I've been dirtied. I will work forever as a slave in the other room, having strangers touch me and fuck my hole."
"I'm..sorry." Yami managed, unsure of what to say. Everything sounded terrible, too terrible. Was his owner going to throw him away as well?!
"He would buy me cold treats and get me whatever I asked for, if I was being good!" The boy cried, his face still shining with tears, "I thought it was too good to be true! The worst was when he was angry. He would come into my room...and..."
The boy swallowed, "And I wouldn't be able to walk for the next three days. On those days, in-house doctor would come and see me. I was locked inside the room like a pet, never allowed to leave, and only taken outside for trips when I was good at taking his dick."
Yami nodded again, gripping the soiled sheets tightly with anxiety. "What was the worst thing that your owner ever did to you?" He asked, dreading the answer
The boy ignored him again and kept speaking, "If your hole is damaged, he will make you use your mouth to suck on his dick until he feels satisfied. If you bite down, he will slap you or hit you. He may even have friends or servants hold you down while he dirties your hole for the first time, especially if you struggle like me. They like the struggle, so never struggle once you're caught, you will only be hurt more."
Yami was shaking from head to toe now. He had been trying to imagine in his head what that would even look like, and he couldn't. He just felt cold all over.
"So at every opportunity, stay away from him! And stay away from his servants. They'll pretend to be nice to you, but once you show the slightest signs or say anything about escaping, they will take you immediately to the owner to be ..punished." The boy said, breathing erratically. "If he's really feeling in a good mood after you pleasure him, he'll take you outside and buy you gifts. Those are the times, you can look for escape!"
Yami couldn't look at the boy anymore. The words coming out of his mouth were too horrible for him to comprehend.
"What is your name?" Yami asked softly.
"I-I don't remember..!" The boy cried, more tears leaking down his cheeks and staining his pants, "Sometimes, my owner drugged my food with white powder, or crushed pills, so I won't struggle as much when he puts his dick inside my hole! I've had so many men put needles in my arm, I wouldn't know what day it was when I woke up! In the beginning, I stupidly ate food that was drugged, and I would wake up with him on top of me, or I would wake up sore and bleeding, not knowing what happened!"
Yami's ears began ringing. The smell of urine and sweat in the room was becoming unbearable. He wasn't sure if he was dreaming, or if this was really happening. The owner had drugged this kid so much he had forgotten who he was...! Was that his future?! Would that happen to him if he wasn't careful?! Perhaps this information would save his life after all...!
The boy began crying in earnest again and Yami hastily got up off the bed, "Please, if there is anything else you can tell me..!"
There was banging and rustling from behind the door and the boy stopped crying, looking up, terrified, "They're coming for me!"
"Anything else?! Please help me!" Yami cried, his palms sweating as he clenched them at his sides.
"Yes. Three things you must always remember!" The boy whispered tearfully. "Protect your hole, learn everything, and escape! Your hole is your most precious weapon! The second he dirties your hole, you're worthless when you get sent back here! Any second he lays his eyes on you, he will try to dirty you, your mouth, your hands, your body.." The boy shuddered and hugged himself.
"Sometimes, my owner would make me think I wanted it." The boy continued, "He would sit and stare, and just let me come to him. Those times, he would let me do whatever I wanted...on top of him, so, if you don't like pain, that might be the best way..." The boy pulled his collar down to show Yami his hickeys.
Yami stared and stared at the dark bruising marks spotted around the boy's neck, numb with terror. That didn't sound like the best way at all.
"If you can escape..." The boy said miserably, "Live your life! Get a job selling bread or fruit! I wish someone had told me to...take advantage of your owner's wealth! Money is meaningless to them anyway, so make them buy you everything you want. B-Because...you may never have it again... like me, right...n-now!"
The boy sobbed into his sleeve just as two burly men burst into the room. The boy kicked and screamed as one of the men grabbed him and dragged him off the bed, yelling at him to shut up.
Yami backed away from them so quickly his head hit the wall behind him painfully. The other man grabbed him and yanked him forwards, forcefully, pressing him flush against his fat, sweaty body. Yami recoiled, disgusted, trying to pull himself back. He could smell the man's sour breath against his neck
"Let go of me! Don't take me there! I won't do it!" The boy screamed, kicking the man in the shins.
The thin guard slapped him across the face and the boy screamed louder, his eyes nailed to the door, trying to pull away.
"Look at how quiet this one is..!" The ugly guard holding Yami said gleefully, "You got the bad one. I've got the good one. I heard this one is pure.."
The ugly man breathed heavily over Yami's face and Yami looked away quickly, but the man's hand gripped the back of his hair, jerking his head back around so fast his neck hurt.
"Don't do that to new product." The thin man snapped, gripping the tearful boy roughly. "I want to buy a car for my wife, his owner paid handsomely, and quickly too. Fastest, most hassle-free payment we've ever received. So don't touch him."
The boy stopped struggling as soon as he heard these words, "How much!" he demanded. "I want to know!"
"More than you, that's for sure!" His guard said evilly, "Enough to buy fifteen more of these facilities!"
Yami's eyes widened in horror. How much money was that?! How could one person have so much money?! Was that possible?! And the money was being used to create more of this disgusting crime!
"I want to know the number!" The boy cried, shaking his fist at the guard, "I'm not stupid you know! I can read and write! I am expensive too!"
"Not...anymore..!" The thin guard leered, "You're not new anymore! You're here to service our regular customers now."
"I WON'T! I REFUSE!" The boy screamed hoarsely and his handler shook him viciously.
While the thin man was struggling with the boy, Yami's guard grinned at him, "You're a good boy, aren't you? You're going to be spread soon...how much of a virgin are you? How about a kiss?"
"Don't!" The thin man snapped, "The owner gets what they paid for."
"His owner paid for a clean hole," The ugly guard said evilly, his hairy arm tightening around Yami's waist, "Never said anything about his mouth being dirty." And the guard pressed his swollen lips onto Yami's bottom lip, sucking wetly while his other sweaty hand shoved violently up his shirt.
Yami's eyes widened as he tried to yell, and he reached his hands up to push the guard off of him, struggling in vain because the man was too large.
"Get the hell off the product!" The other guard hissed, kicking his co-worker in the shin. "You're going to be shot, for doing that to such an expensive piece!"
The sweaty guard yelped and gripped his leg in pain, releasing Yami.
Yami stumbled back, feeling nauseous and disgusted. He quickly wiped his mouth with the back of his hand, shaken and petrified. That was the worst feeling he had ever known.
"Don't do that to him!" The boy screamed tearfully, "Do it to me instead! I'm better!"
The guard's clammy grip wrapped around Yami's wrist once more and Yami didn't have the energy to fight back. It was all too much. He was frozen with shock and terror.
This meant everything that the boy had told him earlier had to be true, to some extent.
"Shut up." The boy's guard said, dragging him towards the door.
"No..! No..! I'm good! I'm really good!" The boy insisted, looking imploringly up at Yami's guard, "Buy me, right now! I'll suck your dick really well! My perverted owner taught me lots of tricks, I can even teach you some..!"
The guards paused as they looked at each other uncertainly.
"Don't listen to him." The thin guard said, eyeing his fat co-worker wearily. "You couldn't afford him, even if he is cheap now."
"I'll suck your dick..! Really well!" The boy cried tearfully, looking directly at Yami, "Listen! Are you listening?! Those are magic words! It'll save your life! Learn them in the language!"
The thin guard looked down and shook the boy by the arm viciously, "Shut up right now! What are you saying to him? Shut the hell up you filthy piece of shit."
The fat sweaty guard suddenly let go of Yami and elbowed his co-worker aside, "I've decided. I'll buy him. Look at him, so feisty and young. I'll take him home and make him cook and clean."
"Yes! Do that to me!" The boy cried desperately as the guards quickly switched places, "Anything is better than a life out there, having strangers dirty my hole! I will catch a disease and die here anyway! My life is over!"
The thin guard wrapped his cold hand around Yami's wrist, glaring at his sweaty co-worker. "Do as you wish, I am getting paid for this product. If you're spending your portion on this filth, I will deliver this one myself."
"We're all getting paid!" The fat sweaty guard said gleefully, licking the boy's ear wetly. "I will spend my portion now! I now have a servant in my home, how delicious."
The boy shuddered and grimaced, but composed himself and shot the guard a playful smile, "Do the other one," he demanded. "Buy me. Dirty my hole, right now, and that will seal our deal."
"Very well..!" The guard said joyfully, pushing the boy down onto one of the beds, "And you'll make me feel good? Better than a woman?"
"I know things even women don't know." The boy said cleverly, looking stricken and afraid, shooting desperate glances over at Yami.
Yami understood immediately. The boy was showing him how to survive.
"I'm leaving. I'm not interested in this." His guard said gruffly, pulling Yami roughly towards the door.
Yami stumbled forwards and heard a muffled scream. He turned around to see the boy, face-down on mattress, with the guard grinding his fat penis over the boy's thin pants.
"Walk!" His guard commanded, shoving him out the door and shutting it behind them, but not before Yami caught the look of pure terror and desperation on the boy's face, tears streaking down on his now grimy cheeks.
Kaiba rolled over and cracked an eye open, feeling his head pound heavily as the light grew brighter and brighter.
I'm dying, Seto thought miserably, This is what death feels like. I'm dying.
There was a soft knock at the door and Seto winced at the noise. Isono walked into the room carrying a silver tray with coffee and two slices of bread. He set it down gently on the nightstand beside Seto's bed and Seto groaned, massaging his temples in pain.
"Could you not..be so loud..?" Seto said irritably, his head throbbing with pain at every small clink the spoon while Isono stirred the coffee.
"Apologies," Isono said, frowning worriedly. "I know you were awake very late last night, Master Kaiba. Have you made a decision? "
"No, I haven't!" Seto snapped, "You can't just make decisions like these lightly. In fact, I believe Mokuba should have a say in this."
Isono paused and shook his head slightly, "I'm not sure that would be wise."
"Oh really..." Seto hissed, attempting to sit up. His head felt like it weighed a ton of bricks and his body was strangely sore. He had really overdone it last night.
Mokuba came rushing into the room, still in his pajamas, sounding excited, "I heard my name, Seto! You wanted to show me something?"
"Yeah," Seto said tiredly, swinging his legs over the edge of his large king-sized bed, "That file folder right there on the floor."
Mokuba frowned, confused. He walked over to Seto's desk and picked up the leather file; it felt heavy in his hands, which was strange. What was in this?
He flipped it open and a pretty brunette was smiled back at him from the shiny, laminated page. He turned to the next page, and almost dropped the file in shock. The girl's entire life was written down on the page, even her height, weight, and eye color. What was this?!
"I don't understand!" Mokuba cried, feeling himself shake slightly. He had a bad feeling he wasn't going to like the answer.
"It's a marriage profile." Seto said calmly, his head throbbing while he sat on the edge of the bed, sipping his coffee adamantly, "Arranged marriages. "Matchmaking" would the nicer term for it."
He turned and looked at Seto, confused, "Y-You wanna get married?! T-TO THIS GIRL?!"
Seto let out a haughty laugh and glared at Isono, "What do you think?"
Mokuba shut the file with a snap, feeling agitated, "I think it's stupid! Why do you need to get married?! You have me!"
Isono let out a polite cough and spoke, "It has been brought to Mr. Kaiba's attention that...perhaps in order to keep the success of Kaiba Corporation-"
Mokuba cut him off rudely, "Oh yeah, I know. But Seto doesn't need to get married...now!"
"Or ever." Seto added lightly, smiling into his coffee cup. "And there's a whole stack just like her, on my desk." He said, pointing at the tower of leather files sitting on the edge of his desk.
"Well, this is stupid." Mokuba repeated angrily, opening the file again, "This...Annabelle, who looks really dumb by the way. Look what she wrote in her bio, 'I can play the flute really well...' What is that supposed to mean?! She's good at giving a blow job?!"
Seto snorted into his coffee, almost spilling it onto his lap. "Where the hell did you learn that?!"
Isono began to visibly sweat, and he glanced nervously towards the door, looking as though he wanted to leave.
"Internet. Where else?" Mokuba responded savagely.
"Right.." Seto said plainly, making a mental note to tighten browsing restrictions on Mokuba's computer, although...he wasn't one to preach about good internet browsing habits.
He shuddered as he recalled the grim images on his screen from last night.
"I'm gonna go eat my breakfast downstairs," Mokuba said furiously, storming out of the room.
Seto watched him go with an air of amusement.
Isono spoke up again, quieter this time, "Master Kaiba, what was the purpose of that?"
"You can't just add a family member without the approval of the current members." Seto said simply.
"Th-This isn't a club, Mr. Kaiba..." Isono said, stammering, "Your company's future...if you have children while you're still young, you'll have the energy to raise and hone the child..."
"Leave." Kaiba said firmly, his head still pounding violently. "And get those disgusting files off my desk. I hate them all."
Isono nodded and quickly picked the stack of files up from Seto's desk and hurried quietly out of the room.
Seto set his coffee back down on the silver tray and leaned back into the pillows, staring up at the high ceiling, the dark violet eyes he'd seen last night on the seedy website was haunting him.
He pushed the image out of his mind and stood up off the bed, extremely unsteady on his feet.
Author's note:
Remember how I put out a poll last month at the end of Soleil Boulangerie, asking for a vote? Well, this fic won! (It was originally titled "dark theme" something or other lol)
AND HERE IT IS. Thank you to everyone who took the time to vote :
Your thoughts and reviews are appreciatedddd! (hugs and kisses)
Next chapter up Saturday Sept 7th.I'll update this fic every other week, but if you want a chapter every week, yell or ask nicely in the reviews section and I will comply.
-Ugli