Disclaimer - I don't own Yugioh.

Notes - This is a bribe/giftfic for Jo, the best Otogi writer in the world. I hope you enjoy it, dear!

The Battle Ship was eerily silent, the hallways cold and dead, as if no one had walked them in eons. Shizuka shivered, hands rubbing her upper arms, trying to generate some sort of warmth. Her breath puffed in front of her face as if she was outside in a snowy meadow rather than in a blimp, and goosebumps covered her bare arms. She wasn't sure where her normal clothing had gone – her shirt and vest and jean shorts were missing, a rather slinky black dress taking their place, much fancier than anything she'd ever owned before, leaving her feeling exposed and vulnerable.

And alone. Where was everyone?

Her feet were bare, toes frozen, the carpet covering the floor threadbare and worn out, pieces of it decaying. There was no sound but her own breath, no movement but her own, and it was becoming harder to put one foot in front of the other. There was nothing she could do but continue walking; previous attempts had already proven that the doors were all locked, and even when she pounded on them, no one answered her pleas. Then she had gotten the distinct feeling of being watched, and she had ceased making all unnecessary noise, and had stopped trying to open the doors.

"Onii-chan?" she called out tentatively, then winced when the lights suddenly flickered, pausing to huddle against the wall. She could hear the laughter bouncing down the halls, ricocheting off of every solid object in search of life, seeking human flesh. Seeking her.

The laughter was familiar; she remembered it from when her brother had fallen after his duel, refusing to respond to any outside stimulus, lingering on the verge of death. She remembered it from the duel with Mai, where she, too, had fallen to darkness, her mind trapped. She remembered the otherwise blank eyes lighting up with glee, drinking in the pain and fear and sorrow and gleaning a sick, twisted pleasure from it. He had tortured her brother, tortured Mai, and whenever he looked at them, any of them, she knew he had very specific, very gruesome plans waiting to be unveiled.

And now he was looking for her.

She was the only one left. The notion came sudden and sharp and she shook her head as if to deny it. "Onii-chan," she murmured again, though a flash of rational thought told her he was lying in a room, hooked up to machines, fighting to stay alive. For just that instant, the picture was crystal clear in her mind, but then it was gone as soon as it appeared, the light dwindling, leaving her again shivering and frightened.

She was the only one left.

Another bout of laughter pushed her back into movement and she hurried down the hallway, wondering why it never seemed to end, never even seemed to turn a corner, defying the laws of physics and appearing to extend past the blimps' perimeters. It seemed to make sense to her, somehow, why she could only go straight, saw the same doors pass by over and over again, and the laughter continued to dog her relentlessly.

Wait, why did it make sense to her? Wasn't she just confused a moment ago as to why there were no turn-offs, why there were no extra doors, why she didn't come across another sign of life? Thought was difficult, every fragment sliding through her fingers like sand, slipping away and leaving her back where she started. She was the only one left, everyone else was dead, the corridor would never end, and she was being hunted.

The walls seemed to close in on her, growing darker the further she walked, until there was barely any illumination at all. Something wet and decidedly slimy stained portions of the walls, and she could have sworn she saw it shifting, moving, casting slender tendrils further along the cracked and peeling paint, as if it, too, were seeking something.

She began to slow her pace, sticking to the center of the hallway, staying as far away from the walls as she could. Very briefly, she wondered if she was still trapped in that virtual world, if none of them had ever escaped at all and they were still being toyed with, moved around like pieces on a chessboard. But that would not explain his presence, and he was most certainly there with her, somewhere, stalking her.

The hallway ended abruptly in a blank wall, smooth and featureless, a small plant sitting in the corner, brown and wilted. One moment the hallway extended past her into darkness; the next minute she was forced to stop, staring dumbfounded, wondering how the wall could have just appeared out of thin air like that.

She had nowhere left to go.

"Pretty bird," a voice crooned behind her, full of malicious intent.

Shizuka gasped, turning around, to come face to face with…nothing. No one was in the hallway with her, nothing save for that disgusting slime and the rotting plant.

"Such beautiful fear," it breathed against her ear and she spun again, staring around wildly. The wall seemed to mock her, blocking her way, leaving her nowhere to go but back, and she knew, deep within her heart, that if she turned and went back the way she came, she would die. Shizuka shivered, feeling tears sting her eyes, her breath quickening.

"I can practically taste it…" The voice oozed over her like oil, coiling around her heart, squeezing. Ghostly fingers trailed up her arms, across her shoulders, brushing against her breasts, and when she shuddered in revulsion, the laughter only grew louder. She couldn't seem to stop looking around, her eyes wide, seeking whatever was touching her, feeling confused and scared.

Something slid through her hair, tugging gently at the long strands, the touch almost affectionate if it hadn't been so mocking, so tense, so on the verge of violence. She knew whatever was touching her was a hairs breadth away from grabbing a fistful of hair, jerking her head back, exposing her throat, exposing her to whatever tortures it had in mind. Shaking her head as if to dislodge it, she choked out a sob, hands swatting at thin air, trying to push away her invisible assailant, but her hands closed on nothing.

"So delicious…"

Hands, very solid and very real, suddenly grasped her hips, dragging her backwards, towards the dead end. The ghostly fingers never left her hair, instead tightening their grip as she had feared, strands tearing free. More hands touched her all over her body, dancing across her skin like ice, leaving goosebumps and small, angry red welts in their wake. Shizuka screamed, squirming and kicking, but her assailant had supernatural strength, and the lines of blood she drew across his dark skin didn't seem to affect him.

It was a 'him' now, no longer an 'it', his dark skin and maddening voice easily recognizable. "Malik," she gasped out; no, it was the Other Malik, the dark one that had taken over the way Bakura had been possessed, the one who had tried to kill Mai and her brother and wanted to kill the rest of them as well.

"Such a pretty little sacrifice," he cackled into her ear, dragging her back against the wall, through it, and she screamed again at the feel of a blade against her throat.

"No…"

"You will see your brother soon."

She could feel her skin parting beneath the sharp edge, warm blood spilling down her neck, staining her pretty dress and leaking out her life. The pain was sharp, intrusive, and she cried out, her tears mingling with her blood.

"No!"

Shizuka's eyes opened with a violent jolt, her heart pounding in her chest. Looking around, slightly panicked, it took her several moments to regain her bearings, realizing that she had fallen asleep while sitting by Mai's bedside.

"My God," she murmured, her hand flying to her throat, feeling her skin whole and uncut. "It was just a dream…" She shivered then, feeling cold, curling up in her chair and staring at Mai's prone form, focusing on the rise and fall of the woman's chest until she calmed down.

Rubbing her eyes gently, Shizuka decided that she needed to get up and move around; if she stayed in that room, which seemed so much smaller than it had, she might go insane. Standing up and stretching muscles sore from huddling too long in a cramped chair, Shizuka leaned down to press a light kiss to Mai's forehead, smoothing strands of blonde hair away.

"I'll be right back, Mai-san," she promised as if the woman could hear her. It saddened her to sit vigil over the blonde, as if she would awaken at any moment; none of them had any illusions as to when that would happen. Dark Malik had to be defeated, or Mai would be lost forever, as well as her brother, and…

Shizuka froze, bits and pieces of her dream paralyzing her. Dark Malik. He had been there, he had been hunting her, and he was on the blimp right now, doing who knows what, probably skulking around the corridors, just waiting for innocent little girls to wander into his clutches.

"Stop being so silly," she hissed, shaking her head and forcing herself away from the bed. "A dream is a dream. You're not a little girl anymore." Indeed, after everything that had happened – the divorce, being separated from her brother, her imminent blindness and then the surgery, the duels, the Virtual World, the darkness – she felt like an old woman.

Nails dug into the palms of her skin, creasing it and nearly breaking through, and finally she felt stronger. "Your brother needs you," she reminded herself. "Mai-san needs you. You can't break apart over a stupid nightmare."

Her words bolstered her confidence and, having talked herself into a relative calm, she opened the door and left the room, flicking the light off. Closing the door behind her, Shizuka let out a relieved breath when she noted that the corridors looked completely normal, with expensive artwork lining the walls and soft, plush carpeting beneath her feet. It was well lit despite the hour; she doubted Kaiba had to worry about a large electric bill.

Shizuka wasn't entirely sure where she was headed, but she knew she had to keep moving, if only to keep herself from falling back asleep. She did not want any more nightmares, especially if they were going to be that intense; she preferred exhaustion over that. Still, she reached out occasionally to run her fingers over the wall, as if expecting…

Glistening tendrils reaching, squirming their way across the paint, corroding it as they moved…

Shizuka withdrew her hand, shuddering.

It was vaguely unpleasant being all alone in the hallways, though it was some consolation that there were branches and differing doors. Some of them were even unlocked; she discovered that quite by accident when she walked into a storage closet, nearly tipping over a pile of tissue boxes. Kaiba likely would not have been pleased if she made a mess in the middle of his blimp.

Not that he'd even looked at her twice, save for the time when she'd begged for him to land the blimp so that the sweet white-haired boy could get medical attention. He'd certainly looked at her then with a surprisingly calculating look, and she could have sworn she had seen amusement in those startlingly blue eyes of his.

She flushed at the thought, finding it far more pleasant than dwelling on the bits and pieces she could remember of her nightmare. Kaiba was a decidedly attractive boy, though entirely off limits, unlike Otogi and Honda…

Not that her brother would approve of her flirting with anybody, of course. Sighing, pushing such thoughts from her mind – she didn't want to think about her brother, not when he was lying all alone and hurting and possibly dying and she could do nothing about it – she continued her aimless walk, fingers still occasionally brushing over the smooth paint on the walls.

Flaking, chipping, peeling away to reveal old, rotted wood beneath, wood stained with smudges of things she refused to think about. Portions were gone entirely, the remaining splinters telling stories that would never reach human ears, the gaping holes leading to…

Shizuka stopped dead, staring down at the carpet in front of her, trying to even out her breathing. Adrenaline was pumping through her veins, prepping her to fight or flight despite there being no visible enemy, and she couldn't help but be amazed that one simple dream could affect her so much.

A dream at least partially based on reality. Dark Malik was not an entity to be messed with, and she had absolutely no desire to cross his path. In fact, wandering around the blimp alone in the dead of night wasn't exactly an intelligent thing to do, now that she considered it, not when he was around. Lifting her head, she decided she would go back to Mai's room, resume her vigil and wait until daybreak, when she could hear a human voice again.

Suddenly, arms slipped around her, warm and strong, clasping her around the waist. Recoiling and screaming, Shizuka tried to lash out, clearly panicking, her elbow striking back with a force she was surprised she could muster.

The arms left her.

"Ow! Shizuka-chan!"

Shizuka froze, her eyes growing wide. Slowly, she turned around, then covered her mouth with her hands, feeling aghast. "Otogi-san! Oh, I am so sorry, I didn't mean…"

"Remind me never to startle you," he said with a small laugh, absently rubbing over his ribs. His hair looked a little rumpled as if he'd just gotten out of bed, but his eyes had his usual merry twinkle to them, as if he knew a joke and wasn't sharing it with the rest of the world. "What's got you so jumpy? What are you doing awake, anyway? Shouldn't you be getting your beauty rest?"

"I…" Suddenly, her excuse seemed incredibly childish, especially in light of what they had all gone through. Lowering her eyes, she said softly, "I had a bad dream…"

Memories of sneaking into her brother's room late at night, robe clutched tight, tiptoeing so as not to wake their parents. Slipping into his bed, snuggling up tight, telling him about the monsters under her bed or the demons haunting her dreams. Jounouchi kissing her on the forehead, her cheeks, her lips, telling her that he was there and he'd beat down anything that tried to hurt her. Falling asleep tangled in his arms, feeling warm and safe.

Shizuka wasn't a small child anymore, and her brother wasn't there to save her; he was fighting his own battle. She had to find her own inner strength and not let a silly little dream dig under her skin quite like that.

"A bad dream?" Otogi was staring at her intently, no humor in his voice.

The girl had expected him to laugh at her. Blinking, she said simply, "Yeah. It was…" She shivered, rubbing her arms, almost surprised to find them covered; for an instant, she'd been in that black dress again, all made up like a pretty little doll and exposed for the world to see.

Dark lashes briefly dampened green fire, then he was looking right in her eyes again, his mouth drawn into a thin line. "Tell me about it."

She hesitated.

"Shizuka-chan…" Hesitantly at first, showing a very brief, very uncharacteristic bout of uncertainty and awkwardness one usually did not associate with ladies man Otogi Ryuuji, he reached out, resting a hand on her shoulder.

She already felt a little bit safer. Taking a deep breath, she told him of her dream, the snatches she could recall, the sensations and the whole feeling of wrongness that had permeated the entire thing and still clung to her like a disease. The dank, dark hallways, the disgusting things creeping along the walls, the touches, the voice…

And him. He was the essential part, the one aspect that had really and truly frightened her, a feral creature prone to violence and extreme hatred; one never really knew what he would do next, who he would try to hurt and in what manner.

"Malik," Otogi growled, and for a moment, his gaze took on a possessive light. Hand sliding down her arm, causing her to shiver, he slid it against her lower back, pressing her against his chest. Startled, she could only stand there, one hand braced against his shoulder.

"I won't let him hurt you, Shizuka-chan," he murmured into her hair, letting out a soft breath. "I swear it, I won't let anyone hurt you. You trust me, don't you?"

"Of course." He had saved her in the virtual world, after all, him and Honda Hiroto. Without them, she doubtlessly would have lost her body to those horrible old men and been forced to wander there forever.

She could feel her defenses breaking down, more pieces of her dream sliding into place like a jigsaw puzzle, revealing things she would sooner repress than remember.

Warm hands digging into her hips, unnaturally warm, like an open furnace, searing her flesh…

Her blood spilling from her throat, hot and wet, coating her skin and her clothing and forming a pool at her feet…

Laughter coiling around her as tight as a snake, constricting, cutting off her breath, never stopping…

And at the end of it all, a warmth – more pleasant, like the sun on a breezy spring day – spread over her, a wall building around her, stones black and green and solid and somehow alive, shielding her from the horrors. Long fingers slid through her hair soothingly, and she could feel – literally feel – the oppressive grip on her soul loosening and giving way entirely, fleeing.

The memories lingered, drifting around at the edge of her awareness, whispering but not able to be heard clearly. As frightening as her dream had been, as horrible as their current situation was and everything they had gone through, Shizuka had found something to hold onto, a buoy for a drowning victim.

Her brother had fallen, his physical strength failing, but she knew he was still fighting. She had no proof, but she just knew; he was her brother, they had a bond, and she knew he would dig in his heels and find a way back to them. If he could be so strong, why couldn't she?

Especially now that she had found something to hold on to, something to draw strength from; or more correctly, someone.

She could feel it in his embrace, the way he was smoothing her hair, the almost reverent way he breathed her name. Otogi cared about her, perhaps more than he should considering they had just met, but it seemed as if they had already explored more than one lifetime together, and they had still come out on top.

"Otogi-san," she said softly, pulling away a little to look up at him.

Her brother could remain strong because he had her to fight for. In return, she had Jounouchi to fight for, but he was in a place where she couldn't help him no matter how hard she tried. Now, she had to look after herself, since when – not if; when – her brother came back to them, she wanted him to be able to look at her and feel proud. However, she needed an extra boost, she needed to know that someone had her back.

And she had quite obviously found that someone.

Still…

"Do you think my dream means anything?"

Otogi blinked, clearly thrown off by the question. "It's just a dream," he said gently, tilting his head slightly. "It's a product of your own fears, nothing more."

"But…what if he…really hurts more people? I mean…onii-chan…Mai-san…"

"Yuugi-kun will defeat him." Otogi's voice was confident, as if he had absolutely no doubt that Yuugi would do just that. "He'll defeat that slime and your brother and Mai will be rescued."

"How can you be so certain?" Pessimism was alien to her, but the final traces of the dream were taking their toll on her, and she couldn't help but wonder what would happen if they lost. "What if Yuugi-san loses?"

Otogi sucked in a breath. "Then no matter what, I will see you safely off this blimp. I told you I won't let anybody hurt you, least of all Malik." He lifted one hand, brushing his knuckles across her cheek, his gaze adoring. "You don't need to worry about anything when you are with me."

There was something in his eyes that she couldn't quite place, a gleam she did not recognize – though something in the back of her mind did, a shadowed, dusty part that was long neglected – so she latched onto his words, desperate for…

Her internal struggle froze and shattered when Otogi leaned down, pressing his lips gently against hers. Shizuka stared, her eyes wide, heart beating hard enough to burst through her chest.

"Trust me," he murmured, and just for a fleeting moment, his voice was the voice from her dream.