A/N: This story is written from Otogi's PoV. The characters may seem kinda OOC, but it's a fanfic. I can't be perfect. Oh, and by the way, anything I say about Otogi Ryuuji's past and his family is made up, so if anybody can tell me something I can use here, AKA info on Otogi Ryuuji (or Duke Devlin if you don't know), let me know. It'll be helpful. Thanx!

P.S: I'm only using Japanese names here, in case you're wondering.

Disclaimer: If I owned Yu-Gi-Oh, do you think I'd be writing Fanfics?

Nexus

By

NexusBound_Muse

Chapter 1 – Symphony of Dissonance

It's third period of a normal Friday of school. All of the other students are either passing notes are whispering quietly as they wait for the teacher to return from her taking some guy to the office because he flicked off "the goddess of the classroom". Give me a break. Yuugi and Anzu were chatting calmly, the dog by whom I mean Jounouchi and Honda were bickering like an old married couple. Kaiba was reading a book, and Ryou was looking ill…. Wait a second, looking ill? I think that's definitely not good.

Ryou sits behind me, over by the window, at the back of the class. I had noticed that he usually looks pale, since all the girls in the class have gotten over my impressive good looks and my magnificent dice skills.  So, I've been watching the white haired guy. Big deal. He's nice and I kind of like him. Plus, like Yugi, there's more to him than meets the eye. Well, that's what I've noticed in my short time here at Domino High.

I decide to ask him if he's okay. I usually don't express any concern for these my not-really-friends-but-kind-of-not-enemies type people. They tend to think I'm either up to something or want something from them. I don't know why, but that's it. Well, here goes.

"Uh, Ryou, are you all right?"  I ask, trying to let a little of my concern leak onto my voice. Some of my hair falls into my face despite the headband.

He jumps, obviously not expecting my concern. His eyes looked subdued, almost tear filled. He looks at me and smiles wanly.

"It's nothing really… just a little head ache… yeah." Ryou replies, trying to feign confusion. "Why… is something wrong?"

Okay, now I'm sure something's wrong. Something is obviously up and I plan on figuring it out. I can tell it's tearing him up inside…

"Well, you look all pale, and your eyes are all red and puffy. You aren't sick are you?" I inquire curiously, blowing the stray hairs out of my face.

"Am I? Oh dear, that's not good…" He says, shaking his head. I hear him mumble something under his breath.

"Is this something you want to talk about?" I ask him, concerned. I look to see if anybody else is looking. Kaiba is watching our exchange out of the corner of his eye but that's all. Jounouchi is in the middle of a dogfight with Honda. I knew they were stupid but that's ridiculous. Yugi and Anzu are trying to stop them, and the whole class is watching, so nobody's paying attention to Ryou and I.

"…Y… yes…" He mumbles. There is something wavering in his voice. Like he's near tears and is trying to fight them back. 

"Ah, well, the Miss Crono's not back yet so it would be easy to leave if you wanted to. My place over my game shop is secure, so nobody will disturb us if you want to talk about it." I offer, genuinely wanting to help this guy. I hope I've said the right thing.

"Thank you…. " He says nodding and standing up shakily. I get up as well.

As we start for the door, Yuugi and his friends notice. They all look at us at the same time.

"Are you all right Ryou?" Anzu asks, worry lacing her voice.

Ryou leaves the classroom at a brisk pace, ignoring the others. I look at them, and decide to say something so they won't follow us.

"He's just feeling ill. Nothing special. I'm going with him." I then leave the room, before any other questions are asked. I catch up with Ryou easily.

Neither of us said anything much as we get our shoes and coats. Well… then again, we didn't say anything much as we walked to my house/game shop. The store was doing the usual business I noted as I lead Ryou to the elevator.

Once inside, I pulled out a key and put it in a keyhole underneath one of the buttons. The elevator then started moving up.

"I'm sorry the place's so far away from the school." I said, trying to make conversation.

"It's no problem." He said looking at me, the tears in his eyes still threatening to overflow.

I suddenly found myself at a loss for words. What was I thinking, inviting this guy over, to talk about something. I've always sucked at making people feel better, so I hope what I'm "trying" to do works.

The elevator stops and opens. Before us is a small room, and at the other side of it is the door to my apartment thingy. Unlocking the door with yet another key, I open the door for him, holding it as he enters.

It's a nice apartment, better than most. The living area is rather large. The kitchen is off of it on one side and there is a hallway on the other side leading to my office, the bathroom, and my room. I have my laptop sitting open on the coffee table, as well as some Dungeon Dice, and other normal coffee table stuff.

I notice that Ryou's looking a tad nervous, this being the first time in my house. I smile warmly at him, or at least try to.

"Have a seat. Just pick a place you want to sit down." I say, trying to sound kind of up beat, but not in an extreme way.

"Thank you." He said, nodding.

He walked over to my couch and took a seat. I watched him carefully as he did. I walked over to an armchair, which was across from him. Looking at him critically for a couple of minutes, I decide to take a go at solving what appears to be a problem.

"So… what's wrong? Are you sick… or did something worse happen?" I asked, in a calm tone. I was almost certain that he was more than just sick. People usually don't look like they're gonna cry when they're sick. Well, at least I don't.

"I… it's hard to explain how I'm feeling right now." Ryou said, looking down at his feet, deftly avoiding my calm and hopefully warm gaze.

"Did something happen?" I ask, now curious. I try not to let it seep into my voice.

"Yes… something did happen." He said looking at me, the tears now close to overflowing.

"Wha…what happened?" I asked, getting ready to move over to comfort him if he broke down and started crying.

"M...my father died this morning. He was murdered, by my Yami, when he was beating upon me. Yami was going berserk, when my father walked in, Yami had a knife. He was going to cut me up really bad, but he killed my father instead. It was so terrible… there was blood everywhere. Yami looked at me spitefully and then left the house. He didn't return and I can't feel him through the ring. So terrible…" Ryou said this all very fast. Tears were flowing openly as he said it and at the end he finally broke down.

I rushed to his side, sitting on the couch. I hugged him, gently, as to not hurt him. A sob wrenched his body like it was a rag doll. He clung to me, crying into my designer red shirt and school uniform jacket, but I didn't care.

I don't know how the guy was able to keep his composure for that long. I wouldn't have been able to. I couldn't believe how cruel his Yami was. I was never told what a Yami was, but through my observations during Battle City and that duel between Yami Yuugi and Yami Bakura. That was more than a little freaky how Ryou got wounded and all.

Ryou's sobs were starting to subside. I looked at a nearby clock. I've been holding him for over an hour. It's safe to say that Yuugi and his little posse will be worrying now. I can expect them to come looking for him after school. I don't know how long it'll take them to come here, but I'm sure they'll come.

By now Ryou's just silently crying. I hold him for another twenty minutes, not sure what I'll do if his Yami gets fed up and comes here looking for him. I'm pretty sure I'll be pulverized if and when he does. Oh well, I guess there's no avoiding it.

My stomach growls, making Ryou look up at me with red eyes and a cocked eyebrow. I blush slightly.  He frowns for a moment.

"We missed lunch didn't we?" He asks me.

"Yeah, we did. It's almost two o'clock." I say looking at him calmly. I'm not used to holding a guy. Even if it's comforting him, so I'm feeling kind of awkward. It's not bad though, except that my shirt is starting to make me itchy.

"Oh dear. Sorry about that." He apologizes.

"No problem. I was the same when my father passed away. It's something that takes a while getting used to." I said smiling. I hope then that my mentioning my father doesn't upset him any further.

"Oh! I'm sorry." He apologized again.

"No need to feel sorry. He's in a better place now. I know it." I assure him, plastering a smile on my face. "Now, are you hungry? I could order in. I'm not a good cook."

"Do you mind?" He asks me, looking half happy for a change. I smile at this.

"Of course I don't. I wouldn't be offering if I did. Do you mind Chinese? Or do you want something else?" I ask reaching for a portable phone that is conveniently sitting on my coffee table.

"Sounds good to me."  Ryou agreed, nodding his head.

"Okay"

I have restaurant on quick dial. Makes things easier. Pressing the button, it dials. After waiting a moment, a person on the other end picks up. I order my usual, knowing that Ryou won't mind. The guy says it'll be there in thirty minutes or it'll be free. I thank him and hang up. Placing the phone back on the coffee table, I sigh.

"It'll be here in thirty minutes. Is there anything you want? Like a shower or something to make you feel better?" I ask the mass of white hair that's leaning on my chest in a very comfortable way. This kinda feels good.

"I wouldn't mind a shower. I feel kind of gross and icky." He says smiling. I know he's still traumatized from what happened to his father, but it's good for him to put it out of his mind.

"All right. The bathroom is just down that hall and at your left at the end." I say pointing towards the hallway. "There should be towels in the basket on the counter. You look like you'd fit some of my clothes so I'll give you one of my outfits to wear, all right?"

"All right." He said, sitting up. I think he was almost reluctant to leave he position he was in.

Standing, I motioned for him to wait a moment as I went to fetch him some clothes, it was a hard decision, considering I'm very picky about the clothes I buy and I love all of them. I don't know what I was thinking, offering to let him wear something of mine, considering he has his school uniform to wear. I sigh and remove my favorite ensemble: my black shirt and red vest with my nice leather pants. I even decide to grab the belt to make it look good. Smiling smugly now that I know he's going to be dressed in style for a change, I walk back out to him.

When I enter the room, pausing at the entrance for a moment. I see he's looking at a picture that I'd had sitting on my fireplace mantle. A picture that I'm particularly fond of. I smile as I know what I'm gonna say next is going to startle him. Oh well, here goes.

" Here are the clothes." I say. Ryou nearly jumps out of his hide. I start twirling my hair and decide to apologize for a change. "Sorry, I didn't mean to startle you."

"Oh, I'm the one who should be apologizing. I was snooping through around your living room." Ryou replied with a blush. He looked kinda sheepish. I stop twirling my hair and smile again.

"Oh, I don't mind. I've got nothing to hide for my friends." I say walking up to him and handing my outfit. "Here."

"Thank you, Ryuuji. I really mean it. You've been so helpful to me when I needed it. How can I ever repay you?" Ryou asks me. This is the first time that any of my friend people have called my by my first name.

"There's no need to repay me. I'm just helping a friend in need. I'll help you anytime. Just give the word." I say warmly. "Now, go take your shower. The grub should be here in 20 minutes."

"All right." With those words, he disappeared down the hall. I couldn't help but smile as I watched him go. He's such a nice guy. I have the feeling that we'll be great friends. The only problem with that is, of course, his Yami.

I decide to go change out of my wet shirt. I hear the shower click on in the bathroom as I walk towards my room. Just as I'm about to enter, I pause for a moment. Something's not right.

I hear a noise, coming from my front door (yes I have two). It always has this right nasty squeak when it opens, which I've been meaning to fix. I hear that tell tale squeak. I frown. The door has an auto-locking mechanism on it, or in basic terms, it locks when it shuts. It doesn't open with out the key, and there are only two people with one:
My security guard in the surveillance room and me. So this person entering obviously picked the lock. For some reason, I have a bowl full of multi-coloured dice sitting in my hallway. I grab a handful and get ready to throw it into the intruder's face.

A white haired guy walks around the corner. I am stunned by how much he looks like Ryou, only eviler.  The bastard must be Ryou's Yami. I've never seen one separated from his host before. I back up against the wall. He's glaring at me darkly. I can see that he wants me out of commission so I won't be able to stop him from taking Ryou and leaving.

As he approaches me a little closer, I decide that I'll do the more stupid option available to me. Try to reach my phone. I have the police on speed dial too. Well, here goes.

I throw the dice in his face hard. He stumbles for a moment in surprise. I dash by him, but he recovers faster than I had expected and tackles me. We hit the floor, which is hardwood. I end up having the breath knocked out of me. He quickly shifts his weight so I can't move at all. He roughly grabs my headband and rips it off of my head. I am confused as to what he's doing but all becomes clear when he expertly gags me with it. The front of my hair falls loosely into my face, but that's the least of my worries.

'Get off me you idiot!' I try to say, but is sounds more like, "Mmph mmph mmmph mph mmph." I try to struggle enough to get away, but he presses down on me harder. How his weight is so heavy I want to scream. I feel my ribs creak and a loud snap resonates through my apartment. The Yami makes a pleased sound as my eyes go wide and the pain explodes from my chest area.

"This is what you get for trying to help Ryou. Now I'll have to make him pay for accepting your help." Yami Bakura whispers in my ear darkly. "But why should I beat the hell out of him when you're right here, hmmm? Oh and by the way, if you even try to remove the gag and/or call for help, I'll kill you."

Okay. Now I'm scared. Here I am at the bastard's mercy, and there's nothing I can do about it. I decide that I'd better go along with him and try not to escape or anything, because I may be a nice guy, but I'm not the sort to sacrifice myself to some psychotic spirit for the sake of his lighter half.

There was silence for a couple of moments. I of course was having trouble breathing, but that was the least of my worries. He then stood up. He knew he had me down and scared, which I don't like admitting but it was the truth. He glared at me for a couple of moments before kicking me hard in the stomach. I gasped as the pain exploded from where he'd kicked me.

The rest of it was a blur. I don't really remember a lot of it, just the pain.  I tried to escape once, but he just ripped some of my nice silky black hair out of my head and used it to tie my hands behind my back. If this was how Ryou's Yami treats him on a daily, I'm glad I'm not him. I remember crying out a couple of times, and Ryou probably would have heard me, if I weren't gagged with my headband. It felt like it lasted eternity, but in reality, it couldn't have lasted more than fifteen minutes when he finally stopped.

As I lay on the floor, in a painful grey haze, Yami Bakura kneeled down beside me. He was smirking darkly. Black splotches were starting to appear before my eyes.

"Well, that was fun. I almost feel sorry for you, but I need this to make Ryou suffer, if you know what I mean." He growled at me. "Pleasant dreams, Otogi Ryuuji." He said just before everything went black…

How did you all like it? Please leave a review. If you all review, maybe the next chapter will appear sooner than later. Flames aren't bad. You all have the right to express your opinion.

Here's a question though. Do you think that the Rating is suitable? Yes or no? If no, what should it be changed to? Thanx!