Giving One's Word

by Higuchimon

Pegasus' guards, the dark Bakura's schemes, or his own growing emotions...Honda doesn't know which of these is the most dangerous to deal with as he and Bakura search for safety in Duelist Kingdom.

Disclaimer: I own nothing involved in this story unless I invented it myself. This is written for fun, not for profit.
Fandom: Yu-Gi-Oh
Title: Giving One's Word
Romance: Honda x Bakura Ryou
Word Count: 5,229
Genre: Romance, Drama||Rated: PG-13
Notes: This takes place in the manga-verse, when Bakura and Honda are running around in Pegasus's dungeon after finding Mokuba.
Feedback: All forms eagerly accepted. Concrit is loved the most, but everything is welcome.
Summary: Pegasus' guards, the dark Bakura's schemes, or his own growing emotions...Honda doesn't know which of these is the most dangerous to deal with as he and Bakura search for safety in Duelist Kingdom.

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Damn it, he would give almost anything to have Jounouchi there right now. But, no, Jounouchi needed his sleep. If he couldn't have Jounouchi, Honda would at least want to be able to pick locks: a skill that he'd never been able to master, no matter how much he tried.

He stared at the lock from across the cell and wondered if it would be possible just to will it into opening up. He stared at it, putting all of his loathing for Pegasus, Pegasus's goon squad, and for the lock itself into it.

The lock ignored him.

"Damn it! This is pathetic!" He was Honda Hiroto! How he had even missed the one guard who came up behind him and locked him in here? He'd damned well better see the outside of this place after the finals!

A sudden thump startled him and he looked up to see the guard, gun still in hand, collapsed on the stone floor. In the shadows behind was a figure Honda couldn't quite see. "Who's there?" His stomach churned; Bakura couldn't still be wandering the castle, could he? And if he was, he couldn't have just done that.

Could he?

A low, oddly familiar laugh echoed, and Bakura Ryou stepped into the light. At least, Honda thought that was who it was. He looked like him anyway. But it was hard to reconcile the gentle boy he knew with the sharp-eyed face that picked the guard's key ring off his belt and came over to the barred door. "Need some help?" Had Bakura ever sounded that confident in himself?

Never mind. Now wasn't the time to be picky. "Get me out of here! I found Mokuba, he's right over there." He gestured to the cell next door. "We need to get back to the others."

"Of course." That voice. It was Bakura's and yet not, just as the way he moved was and yet wasn't him. Was it…no, it couldn't be. That would mean Bakura had put on the Millennium Ring again. Honda didn't want to think about that. Nightmares about being a lead figurine had haunted his mind for months after the fact. Being close to the person who had done that wasn't high on his list of priorities.

The key rattled in the lock and the door slid open. Honda was on his feet in a second and reaching for the key ring, only to have it pulled back out of his reach. "Let me," Bakura said (if it was Bakura). "You'll need to carry Mokuba."

Honda couldn't argue with that. He watched as Bakura opened the other cell where Mokuba lay half-slumped in his chains. "Think the key to those might be on that ring?"

"That's where I would put it." Bakura's reply was crisp and tart. "If I were writing stupid guards into the game."

That did it. Honda yanked the key ring from Bakura (not caring who it was) and started to try it on the manacles. "Yeah, well, maybe Pegasus is stupid, then." He didn't believe that the key would be on the ring either, but he had to try something. He couldn't just let it go by without checking.

Moments later, the key ring clattered across the room and Honda let loose with a variety of profanity, most of which he'd picked up from Jounouchi. "Neither one fits it!"

"Pegasus must not have stupid guards, then." Bakura sneered, and once again, Honda wondered. Maybe Bakura was just a little different under stress? He didn't want to think about that Ring being back around his friend's neck. He opened his mouth, about to ask nevertheless, then closed it again as Bakura stepped closer to Mokuba, his body blocking Honda's view.

"What are you doing?" He managed to ask that instead, and got an answer when Bakura stepped aside to reveal Mokuba's wrists were out of the chains. "How did you do that?"

"We don't have time for that now. We need to get out of here before more of those guards show up." Bakura gestured to Honda and the other teenager scooped Mokuba up, draping him over his shoulder. No matter how worried he was, Bakura (whichever one it was) was right about that.

Honda turned and checked out the area; there weren't any more guards there but there would probably be a shift change sooner or later. It was already past four in the morning; every moment counted.

"Honda?" The voice was just a bit different, more uncertain. "What are we doing down here?"

That is him. That's Bakura Ryou. Honda was certain about that now, no matter who it might've been before. Questioning him about it would have to come later. Getting out of here was higher on the priority scale.

"Getting out of here. Come on." He hurried up the stairs, taking a chance that their footsteps could alert other guards. Bakura followed him, clinging close to the side of the wall, and remaining as quiet as possible.

Honda didn't move as fast as he could have. He had Mokuba over one shoulder and Bakura on his heels; if he moved with too much speed he would lose one or the other of them. He risked a glance or two over his shoulder to be certain that Bakura hadn't lost him as they made their way up the spiral staircase.

Why am I so worried about him? He hadn't ever asked the question before, but the answer slid and slithered around in his mind. Yes, they were friends, but he didn't look after most of his friends like that. Yuugi had the Puzzle and could take care of himself, or rather, the other Yuugi would take care of him. Honda counted himself lucky that he'd never been on the receiving end of a penalty game himself. Anzu was tough enough to handle a lot of trouble on her own, and Jounouchi was Jounouchi.

But Bakura was different somehow. Different in a way that Honda hadn't encountered before. Different that had something to do with that thing that lived in the Millennium Ring.

We owe him our lives. If Bakura hadn't sacrificed his life to save their own, they would still be in those lead figurines, probably for the rest of time. Honda paid what he owed.

That wasn't all of it, though. Still that difference avoided showing itself, no matter how he thought about it. That difference led him to watch Bakura's chest for signs of the Millennium Ring and notice how his top clung to him instead. That difference made him listen for Bakura's breathing to keep track of how close he was and wonder what it would be like to hear it closer to him, when it was just the two of them.

He glanced back again, then looked ahead of them. It took just a fraction of a second for him to realize what he'd seen, and another for him to react to it. He shoved Mokuba at Bakura and swung three steps down the stairs, fist leading the way.

"Honda!" Bakura yelped and stared as the guard following them bounced down the stairs, once again out cold. "How…how did you see him?"

"I didn't." Honda shook his head as he took Mokuba back then gestured to the wall. "I saw his shadow. He was right around the curve there." He didn't want to say that he'd also seen the shadow reaching for Bakura. Every scrap of logical thought he'd ever had had vanished when he'd seen that.

Bakura said nothing else and Honda wasn't going to ask any questions about why. Questions could come later, when they weren't on this godforsaken island owned by a madman who could tear people's souls out of their body with a fake eye.

Images of other places they could talk slid and slipped through Honda's mind. The park, a couple of coffee houses, long quiet stretches of beaches. Most of them didn't care about what you did, as long as you were quiet doing it. Honda tried not to think about this in detail. Details would just get messy.

He froze again, hearing voices ahead. Adult, male, he identified that much in a heartbeat. Probably some of Pegasus' guards. That meant more problems to get through before they could rest anywhere.

Honda leaned into the shadow cast by a corner and tried to think. He hadn't slept all night and while adrenaline kept him going, he wasn't much good for planning right now and he knew it. "What the hell are we going to do?" There had to be an answer. He just didn't know what it was.

Bakura dropped down next to him, somehow hiding even better than he was, despite his pale white hair. Honda wondered where that came from. Granted, Yuugi's hair was even stranger, but there was something distinctly different about Bakura's.

"I don't think I could distract them again," he murmured, his voice just reaching Honda's ears. "They didn't believe me that much the last time. I think they might have alerted the guard you met down there."

That would just be his luck. Honda sighed and banged his head against the wall. "Damn it. It's going to be sunrise soon and we need to find Kaiba." He would have thought that Pegasus would have put the brothers into a cell together, tormenting them with being so far apart yet so close to one another. Yet he hadn't. He really wasn't that stupid of a guy. Honda wished otherwise. It would make dealing with all of this a lot easier.

His attention flickered toward Bakura for a moment. He wasn't just protecting Mokuba here. Bakura needed him too. The evil spirit of the Ring wasn't going to do anything useful. Honda was certain of that.

I still would like to know why it got me out of there in the first place. He wanted to know yet he didn't want to ask. Asking would acknowledge the debt he owed to it. Always repay your debts. His father had taught him that for as far back as he could remember. I don't think Dad took insane soul stealing maniacs into account, though.

"I think I know a way." Bakura's voice sent a chill down Honda's spine. It was that voice again, smooth and slick and confident. "Stay here with Mokuba."

Honda nodded; he'd seen many horrible things in his life, and done just as many. He didn't want to see what this guy had in mind for those guards. He glanced up and caught a glimpse of a wicked smirk twisting Bakura's lips, one that erased all the doubts he had about who it was.

I wish he'd stay or go, one or the other. Switching around like that is driving me crazy.

Yet again, something he wasn't going to say. Honda also knew when to pick his battles. He kept a tight grip on Mokuba, ready to run at any moment, either forward or back. The guard from below was either still unconscious or had left by some other route. Honda hoped for the first option, since if the second one turned up, they were out of luck in every kind of way he could think of.

He listened; the guards had to have seen Bakura by now, didn't they? Or could he be doing something so they couldn't? He opened his mouth, uncertain of even what he was going to say or do, but closed it again as darkness surged around, a thick black fog of emptiness and cold.

"What the hell…" Honda scrambled to his feet, keeping Mokuba close as he did. "Bakura? Where are you?" Screw the guards hearing him. If they could see him in this, when he couldn't see three inches away from his own face, then they deserved to catch him and he'd damned well stay in the dungeon this time.

"Honda. Come here." Bakura's voice was several feet away and sounded a lot closer to the guards than Honda had thought he would get. He hurried up, stumbling over the last stairs and not knowing how he managed to keep Mokuba in his arms.

He didn't know how, but he could still see Bakura without any effort at all. He couldn't see anything else but him, though, and the Millennium Ring shone with a faint golden light around his neck. Honda pitched to a halt and tried to think of something coherent.

"You." That was as good as he was going to get right now. Honda tensed, keeping Mokuba close for safety. "What did you do?"

"Created a way for us to get out of here. Come. Unless you wish to be here when the guards can see again." There was no question on that. Bakura turned and walked away and Honda followed, cursing to himself.

If there were more guards around, Honda couldn't see any of them. All he could see was Bakura, strolling along with a confident, unruffled air that sent more and more of those chills down his spine.

"What do you want?" He finally managed to ask something that he hoped would get some answers. "And where's Bakura?"

The grin that he got in return for his questions wasn't one designed to make him comfortable. "I'm right here, Honda. Can't you tell?"

"That's not what I meant." He wished that he didn't have to keep such an eye on Mokuba. Punching this evil Bakura in the face would be delicious. Maybe next time. If there was a next time. "Where's the real Bakura?"

"If you mean my host, he's taking a little nap right now. You don't have to fear for him." The dark spirit that controlled Bakura's body kept on walking. "But you do anyway, don't you?"

There was no way he could answer that. At least not how the spirit might've expected. "He's my friend. What's wrong about worrying about him?"

"That isn't what I meant. You worry about him more than the others." Honda couldn't deny that, either. He'd thought the selfsame thought not that long ago. He refused to have it acknowledged by the other though.

"So what? He has you around his neck. Good enough reason to worry about him, isn't it?"

Bakura chuckled for a moment or two. "I don't think so. When have I ever really hurt him?" There was a moment of hesitation as he lifted up his right hand and glanced at the long healed scar there. "Not without cause, at least."

Honda snorted. He hadn't ever had a conversation like this before. "You can try whatever lies you like. I don't buy any of them."

"Now, Honda. Is that any way to treat someone who has saved your life more than once tonight?" Bakura glanced back at him. "I could have left you in that cell, or let the guards find you. I wouldn't have any problems escaping from them. Can you say the same?"

Few things could seal Honda's lips like the truth. He walked along in silence for a few more moments. "Just tell me what you want." Whether he liked it or not, he was going to have to deal with this one.

"Nothing from you. You have nothing that I could want, except for one thing." The darkness still enfolded the two of them, and for all that Honda could tell, they were the only two beings in the entire world. Or three, if you counted Mokuba. Considering he was more like baggage than anything else at the moment, Honda wasn't.

"What's that?"

"Your silence. Tell no one that you've seen me tonight. I will let Yuugi know when I am ready for him to know." A hint of a smile teased around Bakura's lips for a few moments. "I suspect it will be soon, once he's defeated Pegasus."

"You think he's going to?" Honda didn't like it when the obvious villains supported the hero. In all the movies he'd ever seen, that never ended well.

The smile wasn't a pleasant one now. Bakura didn't think it ever had been, yet there was still an extra sense of predation about it. "If Yuugi is indeed who I think he is, then I know he will win."

More mysteries. More questions that Bakura couldn't be certain he wanted answered, since they would lead to questions of their own and answers that would keep him up at night. Answers that would show problems he couldn't deal with by punching them. Maybe if I had a deck of cards I could do something. He'd tried to duel before. He tried not to think about the results.

"Will you keep silent? I am prepared to pay." At first Honda said nothing, until the second part of what Bakura said sank into his mind and he stopped in his tracks.

"You're what?" The thought of money hadn't crossed his mind, and Bakura thought he could be bought? He was going to find Yuugi and let him know what was going on as soon as he could. He just wouldn't tell Bakura about it.

Bakura stopped and looked at him, that twisted smirk so vivid on his face now. "I said that I am prepared to pay, in coin I know you'll find worthwhile."

Honda shook his head; what other answer could he give? There wasn't anything Bakura could offer that he would want. He didn't move as the other stepped closer, pushed Mokuba to the side, and pinned him against the wall. He later wasn't sure if he didn't move because he was too surprised or because he just didn't think what was about to happen would happen.

Bakura's lips were dry and firm, with a curious mixture of inexperience and skill that Honda had never encountered before. His own few encounters with kissing were nothing like this. He stared into Bakura's eyes and was surprised to see Bakura looking back at him, innocent and as shocked as he himself was.

"H-honda?" Bakura's voice trembled on the name, but he didn't move back. "Honda, what's going on? What is he doing?"

"It's all right." Honda did his best to reassure the other, instincts coming to the fore that he'd never thought he had before. "Don't worry about it."

In the space of a heartbeat, Bakura Ryou vanished again and the other Bakura was there.

"That is what I offer to keep your silence. Leave Yuugi to me. I won't hurt him. I need him too much for that." Bakura's breath brushed past Honda's lips. It should have held the same scent as Bakura Ryou's, but it didn't. This was dry, dead air that he spoke with, flavored with contempt and callousness.

It held nothing of Bakura's life, despite having stolen it. Honda wavered. If he warned Yuugi, then Yuugi would know what was lurking in the wings for him. He could fight for it, prepare for it. If he didn't, then…then he could have …

His mind crashed to a halt. He couldn't do that. He just couldn't. "No."

Bakura's lips thinned for a moment. "What is your price, Honda? What do you want to keep one little secret?"

"You think I can just be bought like that? That you can hand Bakura over to me like he's some kind of a prize? He's not! He's a person!" Honda wanted to say much more, but Bakura silenced him with a shake of his head.

"We can speak about this later." The words had scarcely fallen from his lips before the shadows around them thinned out. Honda hadn't even noticed how far they'd gotten, though now that he could see around them more, they were much higher than they had been before. Possibly back up to the level of the dining room, though he wasn't sure how close they were to that.

Scattered footsteps and voices echoed around, far too close for Honda's personal comfort. They were in a hallway with a half a dozen doors scattered to each side, marked with suits of armor in between each one. He picked one at random and all but threw himself inside, still holding onto Mokuba like grim death. Bakura followed a few seconds later and closed the door behind them. This was a sitting room of some kind and Honda set Mokuba on a convenient couch before he sank down into a chair opposite to it.

A click from the door told Honda that Bakura had just locked it. Good enough; if a guard checked it, he would probably presume that they weren't in there anyway. He held back on a yawn; he needed to get some sleep or he was going to start making stupid decisions.

"What time is it?" He murmured the question mostly to himself but didn't bother to look at his watch just yet. Weariness tugged at his sleeves, urging him to close his eyes just for a few moments. He didn't dare. There was too much going on for him to rest.

"A little past dawn." Bakura answered him anyway, and Honda tilted his head enough so he could see the pale blue eastern sky through a nearby window. "The finals will begin in a few hours."

Before the day was over then, they'd all be on the way home. Someone would have won the prize. No, not someone. Yuugi. Honda was convinced of that. How he'd do it didn't matter. It would just happen. But that still left the problem of Bakura.

"What are you planning to do?" He would have to deal with that problem. It was here, he was here, and somehow that meant it was his problem for the moment.

"Do?" Hints of amusement tinged the stolen voice. "Why should I do anything, Honda? Right now, I have only to wait."

Honda turned to where Bakura leaned against the door to the room. "Wait for what?" He knew he had to sound stupid right now, but connections weren't connecting themselves in his mind.

"Just wait. I do not intend to harm any of your friends. As I said before, I need Yuugi too much for that." Bakura's eyes burned into Honda. Didn't he need to sleep? Or didn't the real Bakura? Shouldn't he at least look tired?

"Then why do you want to 'pay me' to keep quiet about you?" Honda asked, his eyes narrowed as he spoke. There was something going on that he didn't understand about this situation. He didn't think it was just because of how tired he was either.

"Because I will choose when I tell Yuugi about my presence in my own time. He has duels to worry about today. He does not need to be worried about me." Honda was certain that the word 'yet' hovered behind Bakura's lips.

Honda rubbed at his eyes and leaned back in the chair. He had to give Pegasus this much; the man hadn't stinted on furnishing his castle. The chair was twice as comfortable as Honda's bed back in Domino was. He wondered in the back of his mind if he could find a way to take it home with him.

"What I ask is why don't you want to accept what I offer?" Bakura didn't move from the door, for which Honda was grateful. He didn't think he could handle it if another kiss came his way. The last one had been intense enough. He closed his eyes for a few seconds and shook his head in the hopes some of the cotton packing it would fall out. What Bakura said next made him wonder if someone had snuck up behind him and shoved more inside. "He wants you as well."

Honda didn't need to hear that. Not at all. "What makes you think I can believe you?" He couldn't say he really knew the dark spirit but what he did know, he didn't like.

"What makes you think that you can't? What have I lied about, Honda? What purpose would it serve to let you borrow my host? I intend to reveal myself to Yuugi in due time. And I've promised more than once I won't hurt him." Honda wanted to answer, but the words refused to come. Everything was just so blank in his mind, and he didn't think it had anything to do with the spirit's power. He just couldn't think right now.

Two firm fingers rested underneath Honda's chin and tilted his head back. Honda wanted to pull away, but he couldn't seem to find the strength to do anything else. "Let me show you what you'll be getting. A free sample, of sorts."

Every part of Honda wanted to get up, grab Mokuba, and get the hell out of there. No part of him so much as moved an inch, not as Bakura swooped down on him and fastened their lips together once again. He groaned; whoever had begun the movement, it was Bakura Ryou who kissed him and he began to kiss back, desires he hadn't ever thought to acknowledge rising up harder and stronger than ever. This shouldn't be happening, and he wanted it to be all at the same time.

Bakura released his lips and Honda wasn't surprised to see his pale cheeks were now bright scarlet. "Honda. T-this wasn't my idea. I didn't want him to do this."

"I know." Honda cracked the words out of his throat. They couldn't do anything more than this. Mokuba was right there, almost within arm's reach, and he wasn't going to do anything in front of a kid.

A kid who was unconscious and whose soul was being kept in a card somewhere. He probably wouldn't even remember anything that happened while his soul was in that card.

Honda still wasn't going to do anything. Not here, not now, not with Bakura, not with Mokuba right there.

He tried to get himself straighter in the chair. Bakura didn't move from over him and Honda wondered if that was because of what the other Bakura wanted or because of what he wanted.

"You should sit down." Honda shifted a little more and tried to find a way to get comfortable. Parts of him were very not comfortable and the farther apart they were the better, he decided. They could talk about all of this some other time, preferably back in Domino.

He opened his mouth to say something else but forgot what it was only seconds later as Bakura sat down on his lap. "What the hell!"

Bakura said nothing, only remained sitting, his hands pressed against the seat arms. Honda tried to roll over, but for as light as Bakura was, Honda couldn't move underneath him right now.

"What are you doing?" Panic surged alongside of his blood as Honda tried to push Bakura off. He would've had better luck moving a small mountain off himself. There was no way that Bakura could weigh that much! He'd always given Honda the impression he had trouble staying upright when the wind blew too hard!

"Honda, I think he wants-" Bakura's flush deepened and he broke off with a quick shake of his head. "No! I'm not going to do that!" Honda guessed that the spirit had said something that he himself couldn't hear. Not that it mattered, since he wasn't going to do anything either.

"Not here." Honda pushed himself from underneath Bakura, or tried to at least. There wasn't enough room and not enough leverage to do what he wanted to. "Not with Mokuba there." Yuugi winning meant that Mokuba's soul and Kaiba's would be free. Honda did not want to have to stand in front of Kaiba Seto and tell him that he had…that they had...in front of Kaiba's little brother! No. Honda wasn't afraid of Kaiba. Honda just liked breathing.

Quick as a thought, Bakura turned and stared down at Honda now. "Not here, you say." The dark one's smile slashed across his face. "Then where? When?"

Honda's mind raced. Not here, not now. If Bakura would back down from that, then anything was possible. He wondered if he was missing something. They couldn't make out in front of Mokuba, since Honda preferred his body parts to remain attached to his body. He already had a good idea of what Kaiba intended to do to Pegasus and anyone else who kept Mokuba away from him. He had no plans on joining that number.

Which meant that anything they did would have to not be done there.

"Your place." He decided it in a heartbeat. "After the tournament's over with and we get back home." His family's apartment was out of the question. But Bakura lived by himself.

"We have a deal then." Bakura stood up and brushed himself off as Honda relaxed. Thank goodness, that was over with.

We have a deal then. "We have a what?" Honda's jaw dropped; he hadn't meant that! He'd just wanted Bakura off him for the moment!

That smile was still the spirit. "If we don't, then you can pick back up where you left off." He shifted closer to Honda who shook his head hard enough that he wouldn't have been surprised if it had fallen off.

"No!" Fine, whatever! "We've got a deal!" He wanted this to end. Now. More than that, he wanted to wake up and find out that none of this had happened at all.

This time, he could see the change between them. All of the alertness and danger vanished between one heartbeat and the next, replaced by a softer tilt to Bakura's face and a worried gleam to his eyes as he glanced down at Honda.

"I guess it's the wrong time to ask if you're interested in guys?" Honda groped for something that sounded right. He wasn't sure this was it, but it would probably do for now.

"It doesn't matter to me." Bakura replied. He settled down into a chair close to Honda, but not quite near enough so the two of them could touch. "But I thought Jounouchi mentioned a girl you liked a while back."

Honda flushed a bit and rubbed the back of his neck. "Ribbon. Yeah, I liked her. She moved away a few months ago, though. And, well…" He tried to find some way to put all of this into words. "I don't think it matters to me as much as I thought it did." He wasn't sure how true it was, but he had to say something. He couldn't just let the silence grow between them. Not right now.

He wasn't sure if he fell asleep or not. He must have, since the sun brushed against his face and it hadn't been anywhere near doing that earlier. "Come on!" He got to his feet and went for Mokuba. "We've got to get back to the others."

As he eased the door open, a firm hand landed on his shoulder and he turned to once more look into the eyes of the dark spirit of the Ring.

"Remember." One word and then it was Bakura Ryou with him once again. Honda swallowed, his attentions riveted without warning on how near those lips were.

He pulled himself around and started out, Mokuba once more held in his arms. He wouldn't say anything to anyone.

He'd given his word, after all.

The End

Note: I didn't want to say this at the top, because it would've spoiled some events in the fic, but this is obviously a little AU. In the actual manga, Honda was never certain if Bakura had put the Ring back on or not, so he wasn't sure if who he was with down there was Bakura or Yami Bakura. I, obviously, made it a little different.