Title: Dance of Darkness
Disclaimer: I own nothing. Characters and rights belong to original creators.
Warning: Female Ryou, Female Yugi
Summary: She wanted to be a dancer when she was young. A famous ballerina that danced along a stage in front of crowds of millions. But this wasn't what she envisioned. Instead of dancing alone and free, she was trapped and entangled in the strings of her sins. She was a puppet being lead by her ruthless puppeteer. [Fem!Ryou]
She wanted to be a dancer when she was young. A famous ballerina that danced along a stage in front of crowds of millions.
She had dreamt of standing on a darkened stage with only a single spotlight falling on her. The stage itself would be covered within shadows, the curtains raised high. Faces of nameless people would stare back at her with awe and excitement blossoming on their faces. A hush of silence would greet her as she stepped into her first position, everyone eagerly awaiting the dance that was sure to come.
She would be wearing a dress of pure white. A simple outfit that would match her hair and unblemished skin. She imagined her face would be lightly covered in make-up. Every strand of hair would be perfectly placed. She would be an image of inhuman beauty, just like her mother.
The music would begin around her, and her body would moved in graceful bounds and leaps. The dress she wore would flare out and her hair would spin around her figure. She would look just like an angel to her viewers. Innocent and beautiful to watch while she danced. She would be free to fly alone in the hushed space surrounding her. The spotlight would follow her every move so that no one could miss it.
That was what she dreamt when she was young. When she was still ignorant.
But now that that dream became reality, she could see how wrong she was.
Everything was how she imagined it to be. The dress was still white, her hair and make-up were still perfect. The spotlight lit up her figure and faces of nameless millions hushed as she moved into her first position.
But instead of awe and excitement, their faces held fear and horror. Her limbs were not freed, but rather held in place with golden strings that cut into her wrists, ankles, and neck. Crimson streams poured from her opened wounds and dripped carelessly onto the stage floor. It tinted that white dress she wore with reddened stains. Her own face, she knew, was torn between two expressions - fear and resignation.
A harsh tug on the string wrapped around her neck made her choke and tilt her head back.
High above her was her ruthless puppeteer. A man who looked so much like her, yet so different at the same time. He held his controller tightly in one hand while resting his cheek against the other. A cruel grin spread across his lips as he caught her brown irises with own crimson ones. The expression on his face was easy to read. It said one thing: "Let the Dance of Darkness begin!"
The music began and the strings tightened.
Her body was yanked to and fro without her command. More and more crimson steams poured from her wounds and a pained scream erupted from her lips.
This got a reaction from the crowd. Nameless people from the audience moved forward to help.
She tried to call out to them, tried to warn them away. But the strings pulled tighter and tighter, and all she could force out were screams.
Her puppeteer laughed as people climbed onto her stage. He directed her towards a women who grabbed one of her strings and tried to yank down. Her own bloody wrists clamped on to the other's. "Will you dance with me?" she whispered.
Her body moved without her command, and the nameless woman was pulled into the flawless leaps and twirls with her. Again her bloody wrist raised without order and rested against the golden strings. The nameless woman could do nothing but choke as the strings were wrapped around her neck. A feeble struggle later, and she fell onto the floor dead.
Bodies littered on the stage floor, and her puppeteer laughed again. "Would my Yanushi [1] like to dance some more?""No!" she wanted to yell. But as a puppet, she had no voice. Instead, the words that fell out of her mouth were the ones he desired. "Of course, my Yami [2]."
The grin on her puppeteer's face faded as another spotlight lit up the stage.
The newcomer was a small girl with star-shaped hair of multiple hues. Her skin was fair, and her eyes were warm and kind. She wore a dress too, this one designed like that from ancient Egypt. Golden sandals were tied to her feet and jewelry adorned her body. She too had golden strings attached to her limbs, but there not one ounce of blood on her. Her expression was one of happiness and excitement as she got into her first position, her head tilting back on its own accord as she looked to her instructor.
Said instructor looked much like the new girl. His controller laid against the top of the stage, untouched but still in arms length. His expression was gentle and adoring as he looked down at the puppet. His baritone voice spoke with such gentleness: "Are you ready to dance, my Aibou [3]?""Yes, my Yami." the girl's voice was light and the smile that graced her face spoke volumes of innocence.
Jealousy coiled in the body of the snow-haired girl. How come this puppet got a kind instructor that gave her freedom, while she was stuck with a ruthless one? How come this puppet was treated like porcelain, while she was battered and bruised?
The music changed tune and the newcomer began to dance.
The golden jewelry adorning her jingled with every move she made, and her instructor smiled happily down at her.
Again the ruthless puppeteer tightened his strings and forced the other girl towards the newcomer. A shriek cut through the air, and purple eyes met that of brown.
"Ryou! Ryou! Why are you cut?!" said the newcomer with a worried tone.
Words that were not her own poured from her mouth. "I want to dance, Yugi. Please dance with me."
The kind instructor moved his hand towards the controller and lifted it with care. The Egyptian dancer moved with guidance around the other. White cloth swirled through the air.
In mid-leap, Yugi looked up to her instructor with a nonverbal plea. The controller didn't waver as something silver fell into the smaller's hands.
Keeping it out of the taller's sight, Yugi saw that it was a small knife. She spun around her friend and moved to cut her strings holding the snow-haired girl captive. The first string that fell was that around her neck.
The ruthless puppeteer snarled in anguish as his puppet slowly shed her strings. He could do nothing but watch as she fell to her knees on the floor, arms coming up to wrapped defensively around her torso.
Yugi stopped her dance and fell besides Ryou, her hands gently caressing the tear-stained cheeks of the other girl. "Ryou, are you alright?"
"I don't want to dance anymore, Yugi. I want to go home." Ryou cried.
The ruthless puppeteer made to reach towards her, but other instructor gave him a cold look in warning. The attached controller twitched and Yugi rose to her feet. "You won't dance again, Ryou. Not against your will."
With her hand clasped in that of Yugi's, Ryou rose to her feet and followed the other girl into the kind instructor's embrace.
The lights of the stage went out, and the audience rushed to their feet with hollers and claps.
It may not be exactly what she dreamed, but at least her dance stopped with a happy ending.
Fin.
[1] Yanushi - Landlord
[2] Yami - Darkness
[3] Aibou - Partner