:: Disclaimer :: I do not own or claim to own any of the Yu-Gi-Oh characters featured in this fanfiction!! They are owned by the amazing Kazuki Takahashi and the anime by Studio Gallop. I do not own the music or lyrics to 'Watashi to Warutsu wo' either, which belong to Chihiro Onitsuka.

:: A/N :: Hello everyone! This is not the first time I've written a story, but I believe this is the first time I've had enough determination to try and finish a story, updating regularly. Yu-Gi-Oh has always been one of my favorite series, and one of the reasons why is because there are so many different ways to interpret the relationships between characters, so many different pairings to build off of...I love writing fanfiction for Yu-Gi-Oh because of the flexibility it gives me.

To be honest, I've never been a fan of the Seto Kaiba x Ryou Bakura pairing until just a few days ago. This is an alternate universe story where I created the setting before I searched for a pairing to slip into the storyline, and...this is how it came out. This world that I've built has been thought over many times in my head, and I've tried writing a variety of stories using the setting, but this is the only fanfiction that's been developed enough for me to post so far.

This story's title is derived from upon a song, 'Watashi to Warutsu wo' [Waltz With Me] by Chihiro Onitsuka. I'll be featuring slightly edited translations of the song lyrics to guide the story at the beginning of every chapter. Various other music, mostly by Chihiro Onitsuka but by a variety of other artists as well, have also heavily influenced the writing of this story, and I'll mention them here in the author notes sections as I continue writing.

A quick warning to all that this will include homosexual relationships. As of right now, there won't be any sexual content, but I can't promise about the future. If I do include any scenes, however, I'll be sure to warn everyone ahead of time. Also, I'm really not a believer of love at first sight, so while there might be hints and cute moments, don't expect any outright statements of love anytime soon. There also may be side pairings coming up later on that I won't reveal right now. You might not particularly support them, but please, don't bash any of the pairings.

I apologize for the lengthy author's notes, but I just felt like I should introduce the story a bit before you begin reading! Thank you all for taking the time to read this story, and without further ado, here is the first chapter!

Chapter 1

"The clock stops moving…"

Rain. It washed all the walls of his mind so that they were a cleansed, pure white, and he loved it. Only when the waves of water were pouring over his body, soaking every inch of his skin, plastering his ashen hair to the sides of his pale face, did he ever feel clean. And so, Ryou loved the rain. It was his savior, stopping the clocks, stopping his thoughts altogether, and it helped him preserve his sanity in a world that was crumbling a little more every day. The rain was pure, the only thing that reached this sullied earth unpolluted by the up-worlders.

So it wasn't the first time he had spent hours wandering through the dark alleyways, simply letting the comfort of the cool, pouring rain soak him and wash away the predicaments his life had cursed him with. It wasn't even the first time he noticed one of the less fortunate collapsed on the muddy pavement, uncertain whether the body was simply in a state of sleep or whether it had already seen its last moments of the misery long before Ryou laid eyes on it. In fact, the bodies on the ground weren't an uncommon sight here. And they definitely didn't concern Ryou in any way.

At least that was what he had always thought. It was a belief he'd always lived by, a survival tactic that would ensure safety for him in this chaotic land of despair and danger, where murderous crimes were everyday occurrences.

But tonight, that would change. At first, Ryou barely noticed the young man as he walked past since he was so used to ignoring the various bodies along the roads. A sudden movement and a small groan from the piles of trash lined across the brick building walls, however, made him retrace his steps to see who had made the sound in the previously silent alleyway.

A rather handsome, if dirty, man was sprawled across the wet concrete, wearing a large, deep blue trench coat, heavily soaked from the rain, his messy hair, which might have been a rich, dark brown color if it hadn't been soiled by the dirt and muck lying all around him, lay across his face and on the ground beneath him. His physical build and facial attributes showed that he probably wasn't much older than Ryou himself, but if he had been standing, he would have been at least a good fifteen centimeters taller. His eyes were closed, a large bruise stained his left cheek, and his brows were knit together in a fitful sleep. A small flush across his cheek revealed signs of a slight fever, and Ryou deduced it was likely the result of staying long hours outside in the freezing rain.

Not that it was any his business what condition the man was in, but Ryou was more sympathetic than most residents of the town should be, and he took pity upon the plight that had befallen this man. Kneeling down, Ryou picked up a hem of the man's coat, examining the thick fabric between his fingers.

Whoever he is, he's definitely not from anywhere around here. Ryou silently thought to himself as he felt the soft, wet cotton of the coat and the gray shirt lying underneath. He's an up-worlder. No one from the valley would have clothes like this.

If Ryou were sensible, he'd steal the clothing, or at least the coat, and leave the man out here to fend for himself. It'd probably almost be kind; if the guy survived, he'd be taught quickly the way of life around here, a lesson he'd have to learn sooner or later, and if he died…well, he wouldn't have any use for the coat anyways. Besides, the weather was beginning to cool now in mid-autumn, and after a few months, most of those without shelter would disappear, either lucky enough to have found a temporary residence to hibernate in for the coming season of cold, or cleared off the street and left to rot in the makeshift graveyard outside of the town. This man was no different; he'd disappear and Ryou would never see him again. Ryou needed thicker clothes just as much as the next guy down for the coming winter, and in this constant survival-of-the-fittest town, taking whatever was in front of him would probably be the most intelligent course of action.

But as the man groaned again and wrapped his arms around himself, shivering, Ryou just couldn't bring himself to rip away the bit of warmth from he who had nothing left. In fact, even as Ryou cursed himself for thinking in such a dangerous manner, he wanted to help the up-worlder who had fallen so low, who was unaware of this god forsaken place that he was now trapped in. The reasons the occasional up-worlder was sent down here were many, but that didn't change anything. Nothing could possibly be enough to merit the horrors of a sentence into the valley this town lay in. Most the up-worlders didn't survive their first three days here. And those who did would lose their innocence, their very souls to darkness of the valley.

While some of the residents here, especially Amelda and Valon, believed that the good-for-nothing spoiled brats of the upper realm deserved to be left for the rats, Ryou had always taken pity of the innocents who knew nothing of the sufferings of those in the valley, the innocents who were thrown from whatever lives they'd led before into a world of pain and misery. No one deserves a fate like that. Ryou thought quietly to himself, remembering the madness that he had seen far too often in the eyes of the newcomers to this valley of sorrows. Before he knew what he was doing, Ryou took the few steps to close the short distance between himself and the young man who was still lying unconscious, and sat down beside the him, running his fingers through the muddy, brown hair as he began to let his thoughts wander.

He's just a boy. He's not even a fully grown man…but why should I care anyways? Ryou could almost laugh at himself for being enough of a fool to let this stranger, this up-worlder work his way into his mind and conscience so deeply, so quickly. What am I going to do now? He certainly couldn't afford to bring this man into his already very messed-up excuse for a life; that wouldn't do either of them any good at all. He chuckled a bit. Marik and Rishid were right when they told me I was far soft and naive for my own good. But what can I do? I can't just leave him here…

His thoughts continued to drift about his dilemma, and before he knew it, the soft pitter-patter of the steady rain, light in contrast to the downpour that had taken place just a few minutes ago, had lulled the adolescent to a shallow state of sleep, hand still buried in the stranger's hair.

CRASH

Ryou woke from his doze with a start as he heard the clang of metal hitting the hard cement ground, followed quickly by the 'nya' of a cat that had just knocked over a trash bin. For a minute, he forgot where he was, and wondered why he was soaked to the bone and sitting on the ground, leaning against a hard brick wall right next to piles of reeking trash. Then, as he looked down to a very handsome face framed by wet, brown locks, he remembered the predicament he had put himself into hours before. He also noted that sometime while he had been asleep, the brunet he had been sitting next to had rolled so that his head was positioned across Ryou's lap.

Ryou sighed as the problem at hand began to make his head ache. As he looked up at the sky, he realized that he'd dozed off for quite a few hours; the cloudy but bright light of day had already passed into late twilight, and in a few more minutes night would fall. The rain had stopped, and a cool wind was blowing, rustling the trash bags nearby and sending a shiver down Ryou's spine through his wet, long-sleeved shirt. The chill of night air would be here soon, and he had to make a decision regarding the unconscious body on his lap right away.

Stalling for time before launching into a full scale internal debate with himself again, Ryou swept the brown locks away from the boy's forehead and placed his hand there to check whether the fever might have subsided. Almost immediately, he retracted his hand with shock. He's burning up! He could very well die if I leave him out here! Ryou bit his lip, knowing that he had to make up his mind fast, but no longer knowing what the right thing to do was.

It wasn't too late just to walk away…to pretend he never found the man, forget about this evening, and just go back home. Yes, that was the only sensible way out of this dilemma. Just walk away… Ryou thought to himself as he picked himself up off the ground, letting the man gently roll off his lap and resting back on the concrete. He was ready to begin dragging his feet towards the small, worn down apartment room he called home.

A sudden tug at the hem of his shirt made him jump, then whirl around. Ryou's chocolate brown eyes widened as they met deep, azure blue ones, a pair of glaring, angry eyes. Ryou remained unmoving in shock at the sight of those eyes, the eyes of a fighter who wasn't ready to give in to death. His hands clutched at Ryou's shirt with surprising strength for one who had appeared so weak just moments before while he was unconscious.

"Mo…ku…ba…" Three syllables left the man's lips before his fever-glazed eyes shut once again, and he collapsed against the building, his grip on the shirt loosening and finally letting go, leaving Ryou still frozen on the spot, staring at the man whose desperate eyes and raw voice still echoed in his mind.

By the time he finally moved from his standstill position a minute later, Ryou had made up his mind. His mouth was set into a determined line, and he brushed away the voice in his head telling him that this really wasn't a very good idea. Bending down, he grabbed the brunet around the waist, bringing the man into a standing position. Ryou braced himself as he kneeled down on the ground, grasping the man's wrist and bringing the taller man's raised arm around his own neck and over his shoulder. Ryou wasn't stupid enough to believe that he could try a one-shoulder carry of the man who was clearly taller and considerably heavier than him, especially with the added weight of the water. Besides, it would take quite a while to walk back to the apartment, and even if he could find a way to lift the man onto his shoulder, Ryou doubted he could keep it up for the duration of the trip home.

With the man's legs over one shoulder, arm and head over the other, Ryou switched his earlier grip on the stranger's waist to the back of his knee, and then carefully lifted himself up and began trudging his way forward through the puddles and mud, being careful not to let his feet slip, towards his apartment. Ryou used to have little upper-body strength, but a summer of harsh training with Rishid had toughened him up fast. Ryou smiled and quietly thanked his friend for it; never had he needed it as badly as he did now.

Half an hour, several streets, and three flights of dangerously unstable stairs later, Ryou fumbled with his many keys, finally finding the right one and managing to unlock the apartment door without dropping the man whose body was still carefully balanced across his shoulders. As he stumbled into the small room, Ryou saw a candle burning on the time-beaten table in the middle of the room. He frowned. He was sure that he hadn't left anything burning while he'd gone for his little outing, and even if he had forgotten to blow the candle out, it should have burned itself out already. As he looked to the small moth-eaten couch on against one of the walls, he noticed there was an unfamiliar jacket lying on it.

I have to get both of us cleaned up before I start worrying about someone invading my apartment and lighting candles. Besides, even if the visitor was a thief, there isn't anything to steal in here. Ryou thought, somewhat thankful for the light source since otherwise the apartment would be pitch-black and rather hard to navigate through, even if it was only two rooms and one small bathroom. He walked the few steps across this 'living room' to another door leading into the bedroom and adjourning bathroom. Kneeling again, Ryou carefully lowered the taller man onto the floor near the bed, and then went to the other side of the room to light a few oil lamps that were considerable brighter than candles, and dug through the drawers to pull out a set of clean clothes. Walking back, Ryou opened the cabinet to retrieve a few relatively clean towels, careful not to slice his fingers on the rough wood as he shut the cabinet. He placed both clothing and towels on the bed neatly.

The boy proceeded to bathroom, lighting several lamps inside, and turned on the water in the shower stall. He was lucky his room even had running water; many apartment buildings on the block didn't provide such luxuries, yet Ryou still wished that he could borrow the tub in the bathroom of the Ishtar mansion to clean the man up. He sighed. This would have to do for now, and he could send a message to Marik or Ishizu tomorrow asking for a favor. It wasn't going to be pleasant explaining what had happened and why there was a stranger sitting in his apartment, but the four of them, Ryou, Marik, Ishizu, and Rishid had more or less grown up together, and they cared for each other like family. Ryou was sure he could convince them to help.

While the water warmed up, Ryou went back to the small bedroom and set to work, first dragging the man, whose breathes were rough and shallow, face flushed from the fever, into the small bathroom. He proceeded by stripping the man, removing the trench coat fairly easily, then beginning peel away the wet clothes from the brunette's creamy skin, not as pale as Ryou's own, but still giving the impression of a being rarely touched by sunlight. Right now, though, it held a red tint, radiating heat and reminding Ryou that he needed to work quickly to get the man cleaned up. The pile of wet clothing on the cold tile flooring grew, and soon included two shirts, a belt, pants, socks, and even the pair of leather shoes that the man had been wearing. Gasping as he saw the entire body covered with cuts and bruises, Ryou began questioning where the young man had come from and how in the world he had been injured in such a way. What was more shocking than the fresh wounds, however, were the numerous scars covering the pale back and torso, from knife cuts to whip marks that would never fade completely. He forced his mind not to linger on it. Everyone has a story. Your own is more than enough for you to worry about. Ryou thought to himself.

Moving on from the scars, Ryou felt his own face blush slightly as he worked on undressing the lower regions of the man's body, and he averted his gaze as he removed the last bits of fabric and carried him under the spray of warm water. After almost fifteen minutes of scrubbing and cleaning the various cuts and scrapes on the pale skin, Ryou finally twisted the shower tap tight, shutting off the rapidly cooling water, and dragged the brunet, who had managed to remain unconscious the entire time, onto a stool in the small bathroom. A shiver ran down both their spines as their feet touched the cold marble floor. Ryou toweled off the short brown hair, then dressed him in a white bathrobe and carried him, with great effort, onto the mattress of the full size bed that took up most the space in the bedroom saving enough room for a large, ancient-looking cabinet and a set of drawers.

Ryou shuffled through his cabinet and found a bottle of fever-reducing pills hidden deep in his drawer of shirts, usually saved for emergencies, and he took one out. Walking over and picking up the bottle of water he always kept at his bedside, Ryou poured the tablet along with water down the man's throat, and watched as he swallowed, luckily, without Ryou having to force it down. After pulling the rough, worn down but warm blanket over the man, Ryou stared blankly at the sleeping form on the bed for a few minutes before he realized that he too was wet and he had yet to change his own clothes. Heaving a sigh, he went to the bathroom and took a shower, the water considerably colder now than it had been previously. Ryou was lucky to have had hot running water at all in the apartment, so he wasn't about to complain that it ran out too quickly. He pulled on a set of pajama pants and a loose t-shirt after drying off, and snuffed out the lamps in the bathroom as he left.

Exhausted and not wanting to dwell on the events of the evening anymore, Ryou checked to make sure the medicine he had given to the man was doing its job before blowing out all the lamps and various other lights he had left burning. He closed the bedroom door, walked to the only other room in the apartment, collapsed on the scratchy old sofa, and fell asleep quickly, forgetting completely about the strange letter on the dining table even though he had just blown out the foreign candle minutes ago.

A cry of pain…a tear stained face and wide eyes filled with fear.

"Heh. We'll be taking good care of him now, so have a nice trip down to hell."

"LET HIM GO! Don't you dare drag Mokuba into this!" He spat in the larger man's face, glaring.

A kick in the face, followed by the smell and taste of blood in his mouth…

"Don't worry. You won't be around to see what we do with your precious little brother." The cruel eyes turned towards the other men in the room. "Show this dog where he belongs."

He wasn't even aware of the pain when they closed in on him and began beating him…he laughed. This was nothing compared to the tortures of Gozaburo so many years ago. Then however, he felt something cold slam into the back of his head, and his vision began blurring.

"Nii-sama!!!" The one thing that mattered to him, the one thing he wanted, needed to protect, dragged away from him…It was the last thing he saw.

"MOKUBA!!"

Kaiba awoke with a barely contained scream, sitting up and breaking out in cold sweat as he gasped for breath. His brother's cries still echoed in his head. He squeezed his eyes shut, taking a minute to slow his rapidly beating heart and to regulate his breathing. It might just have been a bad dream, but Kaiba knew that reality wasn't far from it.

As he opened his eyes again, he realized that he was on a bed, sitting on a slightly lumpy and scratchy mattress. There was also a blanket that he had shaken off when he woke so suddenly lying off the side. Looking around, he noted that he was in a very small and dingy, but neatly organized room with two doors, one of which he supposed lead into a bathroom of some sort and the other of which likely linked the room to the rest of the house. Light bled into the room from a crack in the multi-colored chunks of cloth meant to act as curtains in front of what Kaiba suspected was a large window. He shivered as the sweat on his skin began drying off in the cold air of the room, and he realized he was wearing nothing but a white bathrobe.

A loud creak of a door opening made Kaiba jump and he spun around, staying on his guard as he looked at the man who had just entered the room. Surprised blue eyes met wide brown ones as the two stared at each other for a bit. A very pretty face, which Kaiba might almost have mistaken for a girl's had it not been for the Adam's apple apparent in his neck, framed by long, somewhat messy white-gray hair that extended below his shoulder blades onto his upper back, stared back at him. He instinctively became wary of the stranger, even though the chocolate eyes had warmed as the initial shock wore off, leaving them shining with only kind intent.

"You're awake! I didn't expect you to be up quite so soon…you had a pretty high fever and I was expecting you to be asleep until tomorrow morning, or at until least later this evening." The boy walked the short distance across to the room to the window, but after he pulled the makeshift curtains aside, Kaiba realized it wasn't a window at all, but rather a glass door, cracked in quite a few areas and with more than a bit of dust and grime stuck onto its surface, leading to a small balcony.

"...Who are you?" Kaiba finally asked after almost a full minute of awkward silence on his part. He had more questions, as he didn't remember anything that had happened after he was knocked out and Mokuba was dragged away from him, but he decided that starting a conversation by asking what the hell was going on would be rude to the boy that had clearly helped him out.

"My name is Ryou Bakura." The boy smiled warmly and walked over, holding his hand out. Kaiba extended his own and the two shared a firm handshake.

"Kaiba. Seto Kaiba." A curt reply came from his lips as he released Ryou's hand. "Where…?" He began to ask, but was cut off by the sudden slam of a door outside. Both the boys turned at the sound of feet shuffling closer and multiple plastic bags crinkling.

"RYOU!!" A voice from the other room called, footsteps coming closer. Before Ryou could reply, the bedroom door burst open revealed another young man around the same age as Ryou, but who looked significantly more mature than the wide-eyed, white-haired boy. He was dark-skinned, and had a head of messy ash-blond hair. He grinned as he spotted his friend, but that grin faded quickly into a confused and perplexed expression as he noticed Kaiba. Kaiba just stared back into the gray-blue eyes tinted with a flash of violet, not sure what to say to the man who had just barged in.

Sensing the unease between the two, Ryou quickly introduced them. "Umm, Marik, this is Kaiba-san, and Kaiba-san, this is Marik…"

"I'd say it's a pleasure to meet you except I can't be sure that statement would be true." Marik turned to Ryou with a casual smirk on his lips. "Who is he and why is he in your bed?"

"Hey! It's not like that!!" Ryou blushed furiously even as he attempted a glare at his friend for making such a comment, but Marik simply laughed. Ryou quickly changed the subject before that line of conversation could continue any further. "Marik, I had no idea you were coming today! Give me some notice next time!"

Marik stared at him. "Didn't you read the note I left here yesterday? You were out really late so after waiting for you for about an hour I just scribbled a note and left."

"You were the one who left that there? Last night I was…busy and by the time I went to bed I was exhausted and didn't get a chance to read it."

"Oho…So my little Ryou was busy late last night, was he?" That comment from Marik resulted in more blushing from Ryou and another smirk from Marik.

Kaiba watched and listened in on their conversation, unable to join in and completely confused as to who these two were and why he was here to begin with. After a few more minutes of laughs and casual conversation, Marik and Ryou finally turned their attention back to him.

"Ok, so we've settled the fact that innocent little Ryou hasn't gotten a bed partner. So who is he, really?" Marik asked as he switched his gaze from Kaiba back to Ryou and to Kaiba again.

Ryou looked down for a moment, as if considering what to say, then turned and began whispering something into Marik's ear, looking more than a bit troubled.

"...You what?" All the humor that filled his voice drained out, and Marik's face paled. "Ryou, I knew you were a bit naïve, but…you know the way of life here better than anyone! I can't believe you would do something like that!" Marik shook his head in disbelief, frowning as Ryou hung his head in shame. He kneaded his temples in exasperation.

"...Ok, so whenever you feel like it could either of you bother explain to me exactly what you're talking about? Or better yet, where in this cursed world I am and why I'm here?" Sarcasm laced his words as Kaiba was beginning to get annoyed at the fact that both of them had been completely ignoring his existence and talking as if he weren't there at all.

Surprisingly, it wasn't Ryou who spoke, but rather Marik, who turned to him with a cold expression matching his own.

"You are in what was formerly the city of Midgard, a place of ruin and pain, a world of suffering that the clever, clever scientists of the up-world discovered and decided to use as an eternal prison for those who went against the new regime. That was the original purpose, but now various citizens who have enough power can use the corrupted government to have their enemies sent down here. At least that's what I've heard from the few up-worlders that survived here. Midgard's just a few miles beyond the mountains that overlook the upper realm, in a valley that extends to the sea." Marik explained as if he were reciting a passage from a textbook, his voice emotionless and his eyes dull.

"You are dead to the world above, wherever you cam from. I'm sure they're probably busy holding your funeral in the up-world if you have anyone to mourn for you. Either that or you've formally been declared a missing person. You've just lost your identity up there. Forever. Nothing leaves this valley. Not even as a dead body…Your time in the upper world has stopped."

He took a deep breath before continuing in the same flat tone, but as he reached the end of his explanation, there was a hint of anger and bitterness that burned in his voice. "You're here and alive right now because Ryou was an idiot and took in your pitiful self when he found you lying in the alley. Otherwise you'd be rotting outside in the wet mud like the rest of the creatures sent down to this valley of hell." He paused, waiting for Kaiba to absorb the information he was just told.

A few seconds passed in silence before Kaiba finally found his voice.

"...What the fuck is going on here? If this is some sort of sick joke, then you'd better drop it now." Kaiba snarled after digesting everything Marik had said. No one replied, and the only sound that could be heard was the ticking of the clock.

"...It's true…Kaiba-san, I'm sorry…" Ryou's voice trembled as he finally spoke, and he kept his head down.

Kaiba just stared, shifting his gaze from one boy to the other, and realized that this nightmare wasn't a joke at all. He bit hard on his lip for a moment, coming to terms with everything Marik had said. Then, to the surprise and shock of both the other men in the room, Kaiba began laughing, a cynical, self-mocking laugh.

"No identity, no escape…so this how you plan to erase me, Oshita." He muttered quietly to himself. "…a fitting punishment indeed for my excessive pride and carelessness."

:: A/N :: And that ends the first chapter! This was mostly an introduction to some of the characters, and it hopefully built a bit of background on the world this story is set in. More details will be revealed as the story goes on, but this is it for now! Thank you so much to anyone who reads this, and if possible, please take the time to review and let me know what you think! After all, it's truly the reviews that keep writers writing. Thank you again for taking the time to read this story!

~Ying Tao