For VioVayo as part of the 2018 Yu-Gi-Oh! mini exchange on Archive of our Own.
"Come, Nyssa, O, my beauty! lo! I puff
Away the lamp's faint life; its sickly strife
But hurts and dims the gentle, silent blaze
Of stars that crowd, like eyes, to gaze at thee,
Thy beauty, and at me, my love – for that
Is not more great than this my passion, vast
As all the drowning ocean of sweet space
That floods our breasts, and breaks upon far reefs
Of eminent sharp stars.
And gloomy, too,
My love is, as the midnight-sea unsailed
Of any moon. For, sweet, men die for love;
But who, save me, hath murdered for his love?
Yet I have bathed these hands up to their wrists
In hot, swift blood for just my love of thee,
That these same red-stained hands might clasp thy waist
And know the silken softness of thy hair."
Extract from "Gyges' Ring", A Dramatic Monologue by Rupert Hughes (Public Domain)
Ryo Marufuji wasn't unfamiliar with love. Love was putting up with your best friend's antics, or guiding your younger brother to personal growth. Love was the swell of pride in your chest at seeing your signature monster unfurl its shining wings. Love was treasured memories, unspoken understandings, and mutual respect.
This was something new.
This was a maddening itch within the soul, a burning intensified by contact. A dark voice that whispered temptingly that Hell Kaiser took what he wanted, and he should be no exception. A silent earthquake that rocked his core, drowning out the voices around him, making him ache to rake his fingernails down skin and-
"Ryo?"
A hand waved in front of his face and he blinked.
"Ryo, are you ok? You kinda zoned out there." Fubuki pouted in concern.
"I'm fine." Ryo looked around the dining table and offered a quick, tight smile which did nothing to allay the worried expressions of those gathered. He could stand it no longer. The implication that the once-great Kaiser Ryo was beaten, weak, was evident in their hushed voices and snatched glances. Even his one-time confidante, Asuka. Even Judai.
Ryo pushed his chair back and offered a stilted bow. "If you'll excuse me, I think I'll take a walk." Fubuki rose too, but Ryo put a hand on his shoulder to return him to his seat. "Good night, all."
It was impossible to be alone on the cruise ship. Everywhere Ryo went there were lights, noise, people. The upper decks were far too busy, as partiers were starting to head to the bars and casinos and clubs, so he found himself returning to the stateroom.
He was sharing a room with Sho, and if that wasn't enough, Fubuki and Manjoume were in the next room. He was lucky at least that the stewards hadn't unlocked the connecting door. The others were still at dinner, Sho guilelessly hanging off every word of Judai's tales of adventure. A tightness clutched at Ryo's chest. All the medication he took for his heart couldn't touch that.
Ryo swung the doors open to the balcony and hung over the rail. His hair lashed about his face, salt spray-stiffened. The waters below seemed barely perturbed by the ship's passage, lapping up against the hull and smoothing over the scar of the wake. No memory of their presence would be gouged into the moonless ocean.
What had it been worth, to wash up on that shore? He'd perished in a blaze of his own creation, searing his existence into hearts and worlds, paving the way for Judai to reclaim his birthright. It had been a perfect end. But now, granted a chance to live beyond his limits, the magazines said the Kaiser was past his best. They said he was fit only for retirement. They said he should make way for new talent.
So many reasons to die. What reason to live?
And yet, his hands clutched the rail, his feet remained planted firm upon the gently rolling deck.
They had made port in Safaga in the early hours. The sun rose on the convoy of coaches as it wound through the dusty terrain. It was less barren than Ryo had imagined, as squat shrubs or occasional trees broke the monotony of the road. The coach driver, though, cheerfully announced that some of the trees were fake.
Fubuki had taken it upon himself to sit next to Ryo but, after a little light chatter, had fallen asleep against the window. Manjoume and Sho squabbled in front of them. Asuka and Judai on the other side tried to listen to the tour guide. Even dressed in a dull olive-green shirt, Judai stood out against the landscape through the window, his presence magnified, his profile magnetic, more vibrant than the waters of the canal beyond.
On the approach to Luxor they passed through the final police checkpoint, with a reminder not to take pictures. Ryo patted Fubuki on the shoulder. "Time to wake up, sleeping beauty. We're almost there."
Fubuki stirred and stretched his shoulders, yawning, before flopping his head on to Ryo's shoulder. "Kiss me then, my prince."
Ryo shook him off, not unkindly. "Might I remind you that this trip was your idea, and here you are ignoring a road lined with a thousand sphinxes because you didn't spend last night sleeping."
"Woah!" Fubuki ignored the bait and pressed up to the window to take a look as the coach drove past. "Imagine walking up that aisle to get married."
"Yes, I suppose it would suit your ego. But do you really want to risk being upstaged by the scenery?"
Fubuki pouted and cupped his chin in his hands before bursting into a smile. "A gold-embroidered suit and a twinkle in my eye would fix that! And maybe they could make it into a canal filled with lotus flowers, and I could arrive on the prow of a crystal boat…"
"Does Manjoume-kun know you have this all planned out?" deadpanned Ryo. Manjoume's head jerked around at the mention of his name.
"A guy can dream." A flash of Fubuki's white teeth against his tanned skin set Manjoume's smile to simpering, a faint flush crossing his cheeks. Ryo felt a jealous pang which he decided not to examine too closely. He picked up the guidebook from where it was stowed in the seat pocket and flicked aggressively through.
The sky hung a muted grey-yellow over the tourist caravan as they pushed on foot up the stone steps towards the temple. The day was not yet at its hottest, but the exertion was already taking its toll on Ryo. Beads of sweat dripped uncomfortably down his back and stuck the checked cotton sleeves of his shirt to his arms. His breath came hard and noisily, and he couldn't ignore the unnatural speed of his heartbeat. He resigned himself to relying more on his stick, and paused for breath part way up the steps, using his phone camera as cover.
Fubuki, already at the top of the steps with the others, bounced back down. "Come on, Ryo, don't take pictures of the coach park. The good stuff's up here."
"I'll meet you shortly," said Ryo with a forced smile.
"Hey, you don't look so good. Do you want to go back?" Fubuki rested his forehead against Ryo's to check his temperature.
Ryo stepped back. "No," he said vehemently.
"Well then, want a piggyback?" Fubuki removed his wide-brimmed canvas hat and dropped to an inviting crouch.
"Most definitely not!"
"Ok," Fubuki bit his lip as he straightened up, and studied Ryo's face seriously. "Take it easy, then. We've got so many awesome things planned, I wouldn't want you to wipe out on the first outing."
"I'm fine," said Ryo through gritted teeth.
"If you say so!" Fubuki squashed his hat on Ryo's head and skipped back up the steps, whooping to cover Ryo's shout.
The small break had helped. Ryo managed to make it up the rest of the steps. At first sight the Temple of Abidos seemed small and squat, nestling beyond fragments of collapsed pillars, but Ryo quickly recognised it as an optical illusion from the wide and deep approach of the forecourt. He hung back from the main group, the better to appreciate the construction undisturbed, and admire the flame of Judai's hair against the unyielding stone. Pharoah peeked out from Judai's backpack and locked judgemental eyes with his observer. Ryo wondered idly what the sentence for smuggling animals was. It wouldn't matter, Judai seemed to exist beyond legality these days.
Birdsong emanated from the temple as they approached, the occasional dark shape flitting between the pillars but largely unseen. It was cooler within the temple, and darker. Ryo removed Fubuki's hat to get a better view of the reliefs stretching the full height of the columns and into the beams supporting the massive roof. The carvings were deep and easy to make out, despite the weathering and flaked paint.
A shaft of sunlight struck the base of a pillar ahead. Ryo watched the tour group pass through, shading their eyes at the sudden brightness, while Judai skirted around the opposite edge of the pillar. The tour guide passed occasional explanation backed by the excited chittering of tourists.
"…and if you'll look way up there, you'll see what some have claimed as evidence of advanced machinery in ancient times…"
"It's Gyroid!" Sho's voice burst out from somewhere in front. Ryo looked for his brother's paler blue hair among the crowd.
"…researchers have found it's actually one carving on top of another, and as that wore away, the composite image formed…"
"And there's Submarineroid, and UFOroid!" Sho's excitement was reaching fever pitch.
"Guys, I think I found Panther Warrior!" Fubuki's voice came from further down the hall. The duelists scattered, running amid the pillars, looking for the ancestral remnants of their livelihood.
All except Ryo and Judai.
Judai slipped away, unseen by the others, back out of the temple and down the steps. Ryo followed quietly, not making any great effort to remain unobserved, but not wishing to disturb Judai in his mission. The heat had now set in for the day but leaving the temple seemed easier to Ryo than entering it had been.
Judai paused at the bottom of the steps and inclined his head, looking this way and that. Some invisible signal must have responded in the currents of warm air and he set off towards the shadow of the hills. Ryo followed quietly as Judai left the main path, tracking some unknown force through the dust. The blocky buildings fell further into disrepair as they went: a roof missing, a wall caved in, bright blue plaster still adorning fragments of a former house.
After the abandoned village, the foothills held remnants of a much older settlement. Ruined stone walls led up towards dark entrances curved into the hills. There was no birdsong here, just the oppressive closeness of the day. Judai knelt, his head bowed in contemplation. Ryo leant against a cool outcropping of rock, crossed his arms, and watched for a while.
Eventually Judai spoke.
"Something terrible happened here. Can you feel it?"
Ryo stepped forward to stand next to Judai. He remained silent.
"I can." Judai looked up at Ryo, his face set hard. "The sand smells of their blood."
Ryo put a hand on Judai's shoulder. "It must have been a long time ago."
"That doesn't make it any less important." Judai knelt forward and ran the grit through his fingers. Ryo's hand slipped away. Judai inclined his head, directing a question back towards Ryo, but not enough to show his face. "How did it feel, when you were fighting in the underground? When your opponents fell?"
"Alive," said Ryo. The memories were still fresh and he didn't have to think for long to describe it. "Validated. Greater."
"And after?"
"I take no pride in those feelings, if that's what you're asking." Ryo watched the heat haze shimmering along the base of the hill. "My opponents meant nothing to me but a stepping stone on my path to victory."
"You don't regret it, then?"
"What use is regret?" Ryo folded his arms. "The path I took cannot be changed. And the path ahead may be more clearly seen in light of my experiences."
"You learned from your mistakes," Judai said softly.
"Not all of them," said Ryo. "I did agree to accompany Fubuki on this trip, after all."
Judai laughed, short and sharp. Forced as it seemed, the sound still put a smile on Ryo's face. Judai scrambled to his feet and locked his eyes with Ryo's, smiling wide, the impact almost staggering Ryo. "We'd better get back so we don't miss the bus. He's booked us all for musical dinner theatre tonight."
"Oh no," Ryo's smile dropped in mock – or real – horror. "He's going to sing."
Dinner was, to start with, not an unpleasant affair. Fubuki had bullied everyone into dressing up for the occasion, and Ryo had to admit that they all scrubbed up well. Judai in a white dinner jacket was especially pleasing on the eye. Ryo suspected that he had borrowed it from one of the cruise staff.
The food was edible, if not completely to Ryo's taste. Entertainers on stage performed songs from Broadway shows. The background noise cut down on the amount of small talk Ryo would otherwise be forced to make. The gang had questioned his and Judai's absence from the temple earlier, scolding them for missing the underground duel arena and the register of kings with its erased cartouches, but had seemingly been satisfied with a grin from Judai and an embarrassed explanation that they had gotten lost.
It all went to pot after dessert. With the food cleared from the table, and spirits high, the band struck up the opening chords of something that made Fubuki stiffen next to Ryo. A male soloist began a determined but simple melody. Ryo tried to place it from the recordings Fubuki had inflicted upon him. He got it, at last, with the word "barricades."
"…the right to be free…" Fubuki murmured.
"Fubuki," Ryo leant in to say. "This isn't a singalong performance, you know."
But it was too late. Fubuki stood, gesturing with clenched fist, passionately joining in with the singers on stage. Ryo kept his arms firmly planted on the table lest Fubuki decide to use the tablecloth for an impromptu flag. "Sit down," he hissed.
Fubuki continued, lost in song. To Ryo's chagrin a number of diners at nearby tables joined him. The song was mercifully short, at least. Fubuki clapped and whooped approval as the band launched into another song.
This one was upbeat and the lyrics, though nonsensical, seemed much more suited to a vacation theme. The singers on stage clapped their hands high, encouraging the audience to do likewise. The call came to "Sing along if you know the words!" – and Fubuki apparently did.
Ryo exchanged a pained glance with Asuka. She sank down further in her seat.
Fubuki pulled Manjoume to his feet. While Manjoume evidently didn't know the meaning of "Changity-chang sha-bop" any more than Ryo, he let Fubuki twirl him around, red-faced.
"Or at the high school dance…" Fubuki ensnared Judai next, Judai's obliging smile imperceptibly uncomfortable.
"Where you can find romance…" Asuka saw it coming too late, and her refusals counted for nothing as Fubuki pushed her bodily at Judai.
"Maybe it might be l-" Ryo got up and walked out, the gleeful chorus ringing in his ears.
Ryo sat on his bed, his long legs stretched out and his back straight. Discarded duel magazines piled up neatly next to him. Looking through his deck used to be calming, but now it was incomplete, and the gaps vexed him greatly. Such of the Cyber Legacy he had left was behind the game, but Ryo couldn't bring himself to discard it.
His phone sat ignored. Sho had texted him after he had left the restaurant. Ryo could imagine the relief on his face after Ryo had said no, he didn't need anything, he just wanted to be left alone. Sho was a polite, even patient, nurse to Ryo. A cordial companion he was not.
The knock on the door, then, was probably not Sho. Ryo ignored it, but it repeated, more insistently. Rhythmically, even.
Fubuki.
Reluctantly, Ryo answered the door, his body placed firmly in the way to avoid an intrusion into his space. Fubuki was alone in the corridor. "Fubuki. I assume the… festivities have concluded?"
"Yeah." Fubuki squinted at Ryo. "You left without saying anything, are you ok?"
"Was that display really necessary?" Ryo countered.
"We were having fun," said Fubuki. "Weren't you?"
"No."
Fubuki's eyes widened. "Were you jealous? If you're keen on Asuka I can work on her. Or if you're lonely you could come over to our room. Jun and I are going to watch a movie. Titanic or The Poseidon Adventure, maybe."
"How appropriate," said Ryo. "The ocean bed beckons."
Fubuki pouted as he tried to determine Ryo's meaning. "Anyway, we got you something since you missed part of the tour earlier. Here."
"I couldn't possibly accept." Ryo pushed the bag back at Fubuki. Whatever it contained was probably best left a mystery.
"I insist," said Fubuki, and with a little more scrambling of hands the bag ended up in the possession of Ryo.
"Thank you," said Ryo, with hesitance.
"I'm sure it'll look great on you." Fubuki gave a thumbs-up. "Good night, then."
"Good night."
Ryo shut the door and took a steadying breath before opening the bag a crack. Whatever it was, it was violently yellow. He dipped his hand in and pulled out a t-shirt emblazoned with "Welcome to Egypt! Home of Duel Monsters". Under the slogan was a cartoon camel, wearing sunglasses and an impractical-looking duel disk. The camel was in the process of summoning a very off-model Dark Magician. Ryo turned the t shirt around. The reverse held an equally vibrant display of the camel's hindquarters.
Ryo stuffed it back into the bag and buried the bag way at the back of his suitcase.
As this is a giftfic, criticism is not requested at this time.
