"Ahhh!" Ryou Bakura gasped in pain. A sharp branch had ripped through his shirt. His left arm was now bleeding- he could feel the warm fluid leeching into his clothes. He knew he should bandage it before he ran into another branch and opened the gash further. But he kept running- deeper and deeper into the darkening forest. He could just make out the faint but strong voices behind him. The sun was setting fast and he must be farther into the trees before actual dusk fell.
'Oh no... what an idiot I am- if only I'd kept my mouth shut! Then I wouldn't be in this mess-!'
The pale boy was panting heavily- his body had always been somewhat frail, and he had trouble breathing while running.
'I can't outrun them- they're going to find me and murder me!'
He'd already given the group of bandits his coin pouch- but then he'd made a fatal mistake.
He had recognized the leader of the group from his 'Wanted' posters. He was a vile bandit who went by the name 'Ushio the Grizzly'.
And like an idiot, Ryou had blurted it out loud; right when they had been about to leave him alone with his empty cart and empty pockets.
It was hard, running through the blackening woods, trying to dodge trees and stones he couldn't even see. But the indistinct threats coming from somewhere behind him spurred him to make haste-
"WHAAAAA!" Ryou cried out in horror as the ground beneath him disappeared. He felt his heart freeze as physical reality seemed to twist, and he began falling into the Earth.
*WHAMPH!*
Ryou held back a whimper- he'd fallen hard on his left ankle. It felt like it might have been broken. But he knew if the thieves heard him cry out, he'd be dead in minutes.
Instead, he stayed silent, carefully observing his surroundings. The light was dimming, but he could make out a series of rough, muddy walls dug almost parallel to the ground. It looked like he'd fallen into a hunter's pit. A deep, Earthen hollow that would likely prove impossible to escape.
'...crap.'
There was nothing Ryou could do but sit on the damp dirt and listen anxiously to the noises above him.
The voices soon disappeared- it seemed that he had managed to elude the murderous outlaws. So now he could die a slow death of painful starvation and/or dehydration.
Wonderful.
The teenaged male shivered- whether from fear or cold, he wasn't certain. But the pain and exhaustion began to take over, and his mind drifted back to the beginning of last week.
His father had left him behind to 'guard the house' for him. Yes, that was his role- he was supposed to 'guard the archeological treasures' of their home while his father left him alone yet again.
Which was rather like ordering a mouse to guard the crown jewels.
The fair-skinned youth curled up into himself, clutching his bleeding arm.
He didn't understand why things had ended up this way. They had more than enough money to live comfortably without his father leaving every other month, but the man insisted. He had an obsession with 'treasure hunting.' Although the elder claimed it was an 'occupation;' Ryou knew it was beyond even that.
Dried pine needles poked into his uncovered skin, and the damp earth was rapidly taking his body heat.
He shivered as he drifted off into a painful sleep.
The boy's dreams were frenzied and violent. He thrashed about as the nightmares grew, until he finally kicked too hard and his ankle spasmed in fury.
"GAAAHH!" He yelped in agony as his ankle throbbed. Ryou held the leg still and waited for the pain to fade. He gasped as he gingerly felt the injured joint- it was almost too tender to touch. On the off-chance that he figured out a way to climb out of the pit, he still wouldn't be able to manage it. Not for several days- too long to survive in the pit.
Struggling not to give in to hopelessness, he laid back down and awkwardly hugged his sides. He tried to ignore the pain as he attempted to fall back into his unpleasant slumber.
The harsh morning light shot above the top of the pit, and the warm rays did not reach the miserable youth. Covered in wet dirt, blood, and pine needles, the body almost blended into the pit with perfect camouflage.
"Hnn? And what have we here?"
...Of course, an experienced trapper would already know something was in the pit.
Ryou's head twitched as there was a sudden, loud noise from somewhere right next to his right ear.
"Hey."
Another loud 'Thump!'
"Hey! Wake up!"
Someone was throwing large rocks into the pit. They hit the ground around Ryou with heavy 'thuds!'
"The next one's going at your head!"
The voice threatened the still groggy youth. The despondent boy shook his head and tried to sit in a half-kneeling position. Each time he shifted his left leg it gave a sharp jab of warning. The despondent youth peered upwards at the (supposed) trapper.
Had Ryou been in less pain, and more lucid, he would surely have yelled in fright at the being leering over the edge of the pit. Clearly not human, the trapper had a wild, thick mane that seemed more like an animal's pelt than hair. His canines were like elongated fangs, glistening in the morning sun. His eyes were a deep, blood-red that seemed to be glowing with malice. His pale hands appeared human, but ended in rather wicked-looking claws that were thicker than fingernails.
The man-like creature was one of the wild beasts said to live in the forest- a species of cunning, solitary predators known as a 'demons.'
And he seemed most displeased with his latest catch.
"You- You're a demon!" Ryou gasped as his mind slowly caught up with his eyes.
The demon rolled his red eyes and snorted. "Yes, I've noticed. And you're a human- what are you doing in my game trap? I don't need a scrawny scrap like you scaring off all the other prey!"
"I'm sorry... I fell last night while I was trying to get through the woods." Ryou lowered his head- his body still ached all over.
The demon let out a hiss of impatience. "Well? Aren't you going to beg? Plead? Grovel?"
"Why?" The tired boy sounded as though he was already gone. His eyes looked dull and his voice was flat. He was exhausted and couldn't summon the energy to fight back, even with words.
The demon was almost struck dumb. "What?! What the hell do you mean, 'Why?!' So that I won't kill you, you fool!"
The human gave a grim laugh. "If I was still in the pit I would be dying of thirst and hunger. It would take several days of miserable torture before I would finally pass." Ryou shook his head sadly. "If you really plan to eat me, then I suppose I'll be dead far sooner. So it'll mean less suffering, I suppose."
The fiend sneered, showing off his sharp canines.
"You could try and escape, you know. Fight back."
"I can't run." The boy pointed to his badly swollen ankle. "And I couldn't beat you in a fight even if you had your hands tied behind your back."
The demon snorted in agreement. "That's true, but at least you would die fighting. Or would you prefer that your tombstone list you as some random, cowardly trespasser?"
The fragile youth ignored the barb, and looked upwards with hopeful eyes. The hickory-tinted orbs seemed to plead with the demon. "I know you owe me no kindness, but... would you hear my humble last request? Would... would you please grant me the mercy of a quick death? I've seen the suffering of a prolonged end, and I wish to leave this world with a peaceful mind... if possible."
The pale fiend frowned. "Gods, you're a soft-headed dolt. Why the hell are you even in my forest?"
The boy's reply held no expectation. "I was attacked by a group of bandits- they only wanted my coin purse but then I recognized one of them. So they set upon me and I fled."
"You didn't want to die then, but you want to die now." The beast deadpanned in disbelief.
Ryou gave a sad shrug. "Ironic, no? But, I think I was more afraid of what they were going to do to me before they killed me- one guy was talking about removing certain organs while my heart still pulsed."
The demon's face twisted in repulsion. "The things you creatures do to each other..."
With nothing better to do than lay down and wait for the angel of death, the boy decided to satisfy his curiosity. "Do demons not attack one another?"
The white-haired demon shrugged. "We fight, yes; but not for coins or sheets of paper. We only fight for land, or food, or mates. Some demons do collect stones and metal 'treasures;' but they're usually only looking at the visual qualities."
"Oh, like gems and gold?"
The other white-haired being nodded. "Correct. They can see the beauty in those things without the distracting need to determine the 'market value' and all that crap."
"Hmm, so everything has a different value to different demons... It does tarnish the art to try and put a number on it... it's rather admirable to put aside that fixation, I suppose." The trapped boy looked at the fiend in innocent curiosity. "But you said 'some demons'- do you not collect jewels such as those?"
"Oh, I'm very fond of jewels- but I'm not as fond of digging for them." The demon smirked. "No, I prefer to steal them from the bodies of the humans foolish enough to trespass on my lands." The fiend gave a nasty grin at the injured human, but soon his face fell flat. "I'm not fooled, you know."
"Eh?"
"I know you're just distracting me while your ankle heals. And then you're going to dart off like a rabbit, turning tail in shame."
The boy tilted his head in bewilderment. "But... I already told you- my ankle's probably broken. I can't run, and a few minutes of talking certainly wouldn't help."
Now the fiend seemed to be growing angry. "Do you dare treat me like a simpleton?! That ankle is far less broken than your brain!
"I meant no insult; I just mean that I'm weak and lost. You say these are your lands, which means you know these woods- what chance would I have of escaping your maw?" The hopeless human looked up at his captor. But the demon baffled Ryou when he suddenly grabbed his own head and growled. "Ergh... you are such an irritating fool! I don't actually eat humans, you dolt!"
Ryou blinked- he'd always been warned that demons were carnivorous monsters. "You- you don't?"
"NO! You're all disgusting, for one thing! And I don't like my dinner talking back, for another!"
"Oh."
There was an awkward silence in which the two beings each contemplated the other's logic. A low pulse of pain reminded the trapped human of his situation, and he looked upward again.
"Um, could you, erm, possibly help-"
The demon huffed and leaned down, one arm extended out. "Yeah, yeah. Get your scrawny hide out of there- I want to catch some real meat." With astonishing strength, the demon easily lifted the teen out of the Earthen hole with just one arm.
"Thank you." The young man was rather impressed with the demon's brawn, but wasn't sure how to voice this admiration.
"...you're welcome." Confused by the gratitude, the demon began to surmise that the boy truly was injured. He hadn't scarpered yet, for one thing. And now that he could see it up close, the human's left ankle was a rather nasty shade of red and blue swirls.
Giving another snort of annoyance, the demon scoured the forest floor before picking something up.
"Here." The light-haired fiend handed the boy a rather sturdy branch. It had a nice crook at the top, allowing it to be used like a crude crutch.
"Thank you, um- sorry, I don't know your name- my name is Ryou Bakura?"
Two crimson eyes blinked in slight surprise. "Um, Bakura. I am known only as Bakura."